Research Notes

Ou Chen, assistant professor of chemistry, and others in his lab, have discovered a new type of quasicrystal, which he said “can inform research in material science, chemistry, mathematics and even art and design,”  Read more

Special Lecture:
Openness & Reproducibility in Science

Brian Nosek, leading social-cognitive psychologist at UVA and director of the Center for Open Science, speaks at Brown's Metcalf Auditorium Tuesday (Jan. 28), sponsored by OVPR & CLPS. Free and open to the public, tickets are required. Register here.

Office of Research Development

2020 Seed Awardees Announced
OVPR is pleased to announce the winners of its 2020 Seed Awards, which advance research through new directions and collaborations, and boost potential for subsequent external funding. Read about the 16 newly funded projects here. 

Crafting Evaluation Plans for NSF CAREER Proposals
On March 5, this workshop will discuss crafting & integrating education & assessment plans for NSF CAREER (and other) proposals. Register here. 

Save the Date - 2020 Grant Writing Workshop
This full-day seminar will be presented by M. S. (Peg) AtKisson on April 2 at South Street Landing and provides interactive instruction in all phases of grant writing, from deciding to submit through to how to write for peer review.

Research Development and Grant Writing Newsletter
This newsletter offers strategies on how to compete successfully for research funding and highlights new funding opportunities. Check out the January issue and catch-up on prior months here.

Office of Research Integrity

IRB Turnaround Time
Did you know that ORI’s QA/QI Program posts the average and median turnaround time data for human subjects research applications? Read more

Single IRB Mandate: January 2020 expansion
Federally-funded, multi-site human subjects research studies approved on or after January 20, 2020 may fall under the expanded single IRB mandate. Read more here and attend an upcoming training.

Leveraging Big Data to Improve the Public’s Health
On February 12, Professor Brandon Marshall and his team talk about using “big data” to evaluate public health policies and interventions. Click here to register and here to learn about other Love Data Week events.

For Researchers Shipping or Carrying Materials
Federal agencies have increased surveillance to control export of biological materials after incidents involving researchers attempting to transport materials abroad without appropriate permits, or other required paperwork. Read more

New ARPP Team member: Tara Campbell
The Animal Research Protection Program welcomes Tara Campbell, our new IACUC Specialist. Tara joins us from George Washington University where she served as IACUC Research Compliance Associate.

Office of Sponsored Projects

NASA NSPIRES and DOE PAMS Registration
OSP manages user access to two federal agency platforms, NASA NSPIRES and Department of Energy PAMS. To maintain proper contact information, OSP asks that all users register with their "brown.edu" email address.  

2020 PI Eligibility Policy is now in effect
See here for the full policy document and here for the approval form. The form is only required for those not automatically eligible to serve as PI. Note the second page on the form. 

Papers, Letters of Intent, Proposals
A new guidance document on our “How Do I” web page outlines proposal attributes and processing requirements. It includes submission timelines that differ by proposal type.

2020 Effort Reporting Schedule
The 2020 effort reporting schedule is now available. Please access the schedule here. Contact Robin Eubank at effort-reporting@brown.edu with any questions.

Office of Industry Engagement and Commercial Venturing 

Neil Veloso Arrives as New IECV Executive Director
Neil Veloso, the new Executive Director of Brown’s Office of Industry Engagement and Commercial Venturing, has spent two decades at the intersection of academic research, healthcare and commercialization, including running Johns Hopkins’ tech transfer office. Read more

Brown-Industry Pact to Increase Flu Vaccine Research
A $2.1 million agreement with Insight Therapeutics will enable PI Stefan Gravenstein of Brown’s medical and public health schools  to compare the effectiveness of flu vaccines in nursing homes. IECV helped secure the partnership. Read more

Hyundai Awards More Funding to Brown Bat Flight Lab
Starting a third phase of the Brown-Hyundai research collaboration, Hyundai awarded $200,000 to a research team jointly led by Prof Kenny Breuer in Engineering and Prof Sharon Swartz in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Read more

Research Administration Information Systems

Subscribe to the RAIS Newsletter (eRAF)
This newsletter offers the opportunity to receive updates focusing on electronic research administration systems, updates from external agencies on research administration, Workday Grants & Effort, and sponsored reporting. Subscribe here.

Funding & Awards

Featured Funding Opportunities

Limited | Whiting Foundation’s Public Engagement Fellowship and Seed Grant 
This opportunity is intended to celebrate and empower early-career humanities faculty who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. See the full limited submission database here.

Unlimited | Improving Management of Opioids and OUD in Older Adults
AHRQ seeks applications to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate strategies to improve the management of opioid use and opioid use disorder in older adults in primary care settings.

NIH S10 - High End Instrumentation (HEI); Shared Instrumentation (SIG)
Encourages applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase or upgrade a single item of expensive, specialized, commercially available instruments or integrated systems. More information on their FAQ website.   

Federal & Agency Updates

Office of Naval Research Grant Funding Guidance
Effective for grants awarded in FY20 no more than three funding increments will be issued  for ONR Grants, one at award execution and maximum of two increments thereafter. Read more

NIH

Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity
This notice is effective upon its release date and supersedes the prior Notice of Interest in Diversity and the current diversity language in existing funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). Read the full notice here. 

Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for FY 2020
This revision incorporates new and modified requirements, clarifies policies, and implements changes in statutes, regulations, and policies since the previous version dated October 2018. Read the full notice here.

ORCID iD Requirement Takes Effect
Beginning on January 25, the ORCID iD requirement takes effect for all Fellowship and Career (K) awards. See here for help populating your iD in publications and see why you need an ORCID iD here. 

NSF

NSF Biosketch Update
NSF is partnering with NIH to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an approved format in preparation of Biographical Sketch & Current and Pending Support sections of an NSF proposal. Read more

Measuring the "Cheerios Effect"

Photo: Nick Dentamaro/Brown University

Brown researchers published a study in December, with lead author Ian Ho '21, which measured the forces that cause small objects to cluster together on the surface of a liquid — a phenomenon known as the “Cheerios effect.” Read more