Research Notes

A team of School of Public Health and Warren Alpert Medical School researchers, led by associate professor of epidemiology Mark Lurie, found in a study that stay-at-home orders in the United States significantly slowed the COVID-19 pandemic last spring. Read more. 

 Resuming Research

As the end of the fall semester approaches and in light of rising COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island, there are reminders about campus resuming research guidelines, including on the eligibility of undergraduates to work in labs after Thanksgiving. 

Office of Research Development

Submit Brown Research Achievement Award Nominations 
Brown is pleased to recognize outstanding research and scholarship through the annual Research Achievement Awards program. Distinguished & Early Career awards are given. Full guidelines available here, submit nominations via UFunds.

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 November issue and catch-up on prior months here.

Free Brown Bag events for the Academic Research Community 
AtKisson Training Group is launching a free Brown Bag series on topics of interest to the academic research community. Learn more here, and sign up to see the full schedule.

Brown Technology Innovations

Start Up Weekend Coming for Entrepreneurs
Brown, led by Brown Technology Innovations, is a prime supporter of RI Hub’s “Rhode Island Startup Weekend 2020,” a free online program Nov. 20-21 with workshops and networking for those starting companies. Learn more.

Brown to attend JPM Health Conference 2021  
The annual JPM Health Conference will take place online in January. Brown Technology Innovations will send a team. Please contact us (tech-innovations@Brown.edu) with news or connections related to the conference.

Slater Technology Fund Award to Aid Brown Health-Care Startups
RI's Congressional delegation announced a $300,000 award to Slater Technology Fund from the U.S. Economic Development Administration 2020 Build to Scale Capital Challenge. This enables Slater to work with Brown to support health-care technology startups. Sen, Whitehouse’s statement is here & our news recap is here.

Accepting Applications: Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII)  
Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII) is an accelerator fund that supports biomedical technologies with high impact potential to become attractive to industry partners and investors. Applications due by Dec. 17. Learn more. 

Steady Pace of Patents Continues  
Three patents were awarded to Brown last month for research led by Gang Xiao, Amit Basu, and Christoph Rose-Petruck. More details here.

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.

Support Tickets vs. Access Tickets for Coeus and InfoEd
To ensure the timely handling of all tickets, please file the correct request type for your needs. More information here.

RAIS Report Request Ticket
Have a report request outside the parameters of the reports you currently utilize? Now you can simply create a ticket, fill in a few fields and submit the report request to the RAIS team.

Coeus Premium Grant Proposal Budget Class Now Available  
A Coeus Premium online grant proposal budget class is available in Workday Learning. Learn creation to completion of budgets in this new online class. Video lessons and PDF guides are part of this Coeus budget learning experience.

Coeus: Methods to Avoid Negative Under-recovery on Copied Budgets
Due to the recent decrease in negotiated F&A changing from the prior 62.5%, PD records may show a negative under-recovery dollar amount. Read more. 

Read here for InfoEd training
Opportunities for InfoEd training are available in several ways. Details can be found here.

Office of Sponsored Projects

Welcome New OSP Team Members
OSP is pleased to announce the addition of  Brandon Nance and Amanda Goncalves as Grant and Contract Accountants on the Post Award team. Brandon joins Brown after several years of experience in finance and compliance in higher education and government. Amanda joined Brown in 2018 as Grants and Financial Specialist in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry department.

Revision of NSF Award Terms and Conditions
The following sets of NSF Award Conditions, for new NSF awards and amendments made on or after November 12, 2020, have been updated for consistency with the revised 2 CFR §200, Uniform Guidance.

Preparing NIH Applications During the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic
Guidance for applicants preparing applications during the COVID-19 pandemic (NOT-OD-21-122) is extended until further notice.  

Winter Break Proposal Submission Schedule
Winter Break will be here soon.  Please plan ahead for all your sponsored project activities. At this link you’ll find guidance for proposal due dates. 

Office of Research Integrity

Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing
NIH's Data Management and Sharing Policy (effective January 2023) will require researchers to plan prospectively for managing and sharing scientific data generated with NIH funds. Training will be provided closer to the implementation.

What is Research Misconduct? 
Research misconduct is defined by federal agencies and Brown’s Policy as fabrication and/or falsification of data and plagiarism. Suspected research misconduct at Brown should reported via the channels outlined on ORI’s website.

HRPP Winter Break Office Closure and Submission Deadlines
HRPP will close for Winter Break on Dec. 21 and reopen Jan. 4. The deadline for December Full Board reviews is Nov. 30; all other submissions will continue to be accepted until Dec. 17 at 5 pm.

IRB Attestations for Collaborative Research
This is required prior to study approval when asking Brown to cede IRB review to another institution. It affirms that the PI will adhere to the requirements of the IRB of Record regarding protecting participants from COVID-19 related risks.

IRB Attestations for International Research
This is required prior to study approval when conducting in-person research activities abroad. It affirms the PI will adhere to health and safety requirements of all applicable entities in protecting participants from COVID-19 related risks.

Exception to the Single IRB Mandate during COVID-19
OHRP and NIH released exceptions to the sIRB mandate for some HHS cooperative clinical trials disrupted by COVID-19. HRPP does not anticipate this will be applicable to most Brown research. Questions? Contact HRPP at IRB@brown.edu.

Policy for Managing Conflict of Interest in NIH Peer Review
Do you serve on NIH Scientific Review Groups? If so, take careful note of NIH’s conflict of interest in peer review policy. Violations of this policy are considered a breach of integrity with potential significant consequences.

Additional Document Requests for STEM Visa Applicants
International students applying for visas to study in STEM fields may be asked to submit additional documents to the visa issuing consulate, including an advisor letter from the hosting PI. ORI can assist.

Sending Materials to Students Participating Remotely
If sending materials, equipment, or kits to students participating remotely, ensure that international shipments comply with export control regulations and shipping policies. Contact ORI’s Export Control Team for assistance.

Sponsor Citizenship Information
Reminder: please do not share citizenship information with sponsors. If a sponsor requests citizenship information for research participants, contact your OSP administrator or ORI for assistance. 

Conferences & Training

UNH Webinar: Career-Building Opportunities at DOE National Labs  
Thursday, November 19, 3-5 pm: This session, targeted to undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral and early-career researchers, highlights the myriad career-launching programs at DOE National Labs. Learn more and register. 

Funding & Awards

Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant
New from NIH: The Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant supports innovative projects that represent a change in research direction for an early stage investigator and for which no preliminary data exist.

Mid-Career/Research Area Pivot Funding Opportunities
Brown's Office of Research Development has assembled funding opportunities for mid-career researchers and those looking to explore research areas that are new to them. 

Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
Limited Submissions require institutional nomination or endorsement from Brown. Interested? See the featured funding database of searchable limited submission opportunities here. 

NIH Federal Updates

Temporary Changes to NIH Policies Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
For those planning an upcoming grant application: applicants should not include contingency plans related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and applicants can provide a one-page summary of additional preliminary data up to 30 days before the review meeting. Learn more. 

NIH 2020 Virtual Seminar on Grants Administration
The National Institutes of Health invites you to take part in a unique opportunity to learn more about working with the NIH grants process, programs, policies, and staff at the 2020 NIH Virtual Seminar on Grants Administration and Program Funding. It is available online until Nov. 27. 

Change in Submitting Trainee Diversity Reports  
Organizations receiving institutional research training, career development. and research education awards will be required to submit the Trainee Diversity Report necessary with Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs), Interim Final RPPRs, and Final RPPRs electronically, utilizing a new option that will be provided in the xTrain and RPPR modules in early FY 2021.

NSF Federal Updates

Fall 2020 Virtual Grants Conference
A virtual conference is giving faculty, researchers and administrators insights into current issues at NSF.  Program officers will be providing up-to-date information about funding opportunities and answering attendee questions. Zoom sessions are at capacity but live-stream and on-demand viewing are available.

​Broadening Participation in STEM Webinar
NSF's Broadening Participation in STEM through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar, recorded September 30, 2020, is now available in video and PDF formats.

Request for Information on Topics for NSF's Convergence Accelerator 
This RFI and call for future topics conference proposals is to seek input on potential NSF Convergence Accelerator tracks for FY 2022.