|
April 18, 2012 |
|
|
On April 15, 2012, the University of Tennessee Institutional Review Board began requiring each principal investigator, co-PI, and advisor listed on a human subjects application to provide certification of training in human-subjects research.
As previously announced, all researchers using human subjects are now required to document that they have taken human subjects training provided by the university. Researchers who have not already taken the training may face delays in getting approval of research protocols. Researchers involved in a sponsored program (funded by an outside agency) should register for the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative course, being careful to affiliate with UT Knoxville. Faculty and students doing nonsponsored research can take online IRB/Human Subjects Research training through UTK Blackboard. Contact ortraining@utk.edu for registration and access information. The Sponsored Programs unit of the Office of Research has unveiled a new tool to give an overview of the people and processes involved in submitting proposals, executing and administering awards, and conducting research (or other sponsored activities) at UT Knoxville. The Proposal and Awards Roles and Responsibilities Matrix diagrams what is expected of principal investigators, departments, deans, sponsored-program personnel, the proposal development team, and sponsored projects accounting staff in some 16 major processes involving proposals and awards. More Information Scholarly Activity and Research Incentive Funds (SARIF). Seven programs are available to faculty and principal investigators whose departments fall under the jurisdiction of the chancellor of UT’s Knoxville campus. News & Opportunities will focus on individual SARIF programs in order to make faculty more aware of the internal support that is available to them. Foreign Travel Fund The Foreign Travel Fund pays one third of the cost of foreign travel for faculty who are presenting the results of their scholarly activity at meetings or conferences. SARIF funds for foreign travel are limited, and colleges and/or departments are expected to pay up to two-thirds of the travel expenses. Criteria for selection include the significance and quality of the conference, as indicated by sponsorship and history, and the career stage of the faculty member (with preference for early-career applicants). Awards are also available to faculty who are not tenured nor on a tenure track. The fund will support no more than two representatives from a single academic unit for the same academic event. The fund does not support conferences in Hawaii or Puerto Rico. Applications may be submitted at any time during the year. More Information Summer Graduate Research Assistantships. The UT SARIF program funds a $3,600 stipend for a three-month summer research calendar. Recipients List Seventy-five undergraduates have been chosen for Undergraduate Summer Research Internships in 2012. The Chancellor’s Office and the UT Office of Research sponsor the two-month, $2,000 research experiences to increase the participation of undergraduates in the research enterprise. Recipients List Robert Porter, director of research development in the UT Office of Research, is participating in a major development project in Cambodia. Funded by a $11.5 million U.S. State Department grant, the project aims to enhance Cambodia’s higher-education infrastructure. Among the initiatives in the Higher Education Capacity and Improvement Project (HEQCIP) is a focus on expanding the role of sponsored research in the Asian nation’s universities. Porter will design and conduct grant writing workshops for faculty in leading universities, preparing them to obtain external funding for their institutions. Porter will spend three weeks in Cambodia, preparing materials for a three-day workshop to be presented in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. “I’m honored to be selected for this exciting project,” says Porter, “as it supports UTK’s ‘Ready for the World’ initiative, and it speaks well for our Office of Research that we can be part of such a high profile project in that part of the world.” Lauren Hill, an administrator in the Sponsored Programs unit of the Office of Research, was recognized at the Chancellor’s Honor’s Banquet with the LGBT Advocate Award. UT faculty and staff who hold professional licenses that are subject to Tennessee’s professional-privilege tax may qualify to have that $400 tax paid by the university if they are full-time employees and their license is directly related to their work for the university. UT can pay taxes on the following professional licenses: accountant; architect; broker under Title 62; engineer, landscape architect, audiologist, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist, osteopathic physician, pharmacist, physician, podiatrist, psychologist, speech pathologist, veterinarian, attorney, and sport agent. Key Date: Friday, May 4, 2012 – submission of online request for payment More Information OPPORTUNITIES
UT Knoxville Materials Science & Engineering faculty member Gerd Duscher recently submitted a planning grant proposal for the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers program. Duscher is pursuing thin-film silicon photovoltaics research in TN-SCORE Thrust 1. The Tennessee Solar Institute (TSI) and TN-SCORE have been working to identify industry partners for solar conversion research, including consideration of different models for collaboration.John Sanseverino, director of TSI; Chad Duty, Solar Technologies program manager at ORNL and director of technology at TSI; and Thrust 1 leader and UT Knoxville microbiologist Barry Bruce met with NSF, industry, and university partners to discuss the benefits of the I/U CRC model and the potential for UTK establishing such a center. “These exploratory discussions are open to any UT faculty who have an interest in thin-film silicon research, organic-based photovoltaics, and similar energy conversion systems,” said John Hopkins, director of TN-SCORE. Hopkins (jhop@tennessee.edu, 865-974-2816) is the point of contact for inquiries and expressions of interest. The deadline is nearing for five major initiatives that are part of the Grand Challenges Explorations program sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The five are
Contact: GCEhelp@gatesfoundation.org Key Date: May 15, 2012 – submission of proposal More Information The HIV Diagnostics team in the Gates Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry about projects that would identify novel biomarkers that can be used effectively to measure HIV incidence at the population level. The letters should describe biomarkers at initial stages of development that could be used alone or in combination. Applicants at any experience level or from any type of organization are solicited. Awards of up to $1 million are possible. Contact: HIVDiagnostics@gatesfoundation.org Key Date: May 18, 2012, at 10 a.m. (PST) – submission of letter of intent More Information The FY 2012 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for a number of programs doing research on health-related problems. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command administers the research programs through the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Programs with pending deadlines are listed below. Pre-announcements The Army MRM Command issues advanced notice of pending announcements so that researchers can make plans and marshal resources. Pre-applications (letter of intent) may be required. The Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program will offer two types of awards:
More Information The Autism Research Program will offer two types of awards:
More Information |
|
|
News & Opportunities is published by the Office of Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
|
|