Research Notes

Research information from the Office of the Vice President for Research
for Brown faculty, grant-related staff, and students

Principal investigator John Sedivy will lead a $16M grant and multi-university effort to explore the potential cause and treatment for Alzheimer's disease, building on recent discoveries about the mechanisms of aging. Read more.

Lecture—Digital Healthcare: From Cyber Threat to Health Equity

Eric Perakslis of Duke Clinical Research Institute and Dr. Megan Ranney of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health will discuss the 10 “toxicities” of digital health and how they can be managed with a focus on health equity. April 13, 5-7pm. Register.

*New* Pandemic Research Fund (due April 19)

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation Pandemic Response Policy Research Fund is a limited-time $1 million award to fund multidisciplinary research on the challenges presented by pandemics, as well as potential solutions, that span public health, healthcare, fiscal policy, the economy and education. Awards may be up to $100,000.

Technology Innovations

Welcome Tina Cooper!
We are thrilled to welcome Tina Cooper, who joins us from the UCLA Technology Development Group to support BTI as Patent and Agreement Data Coordinator. Tina will manage incoming invention disclosures and the Minuet database.

New patents to Brown
A jump from last month, we are celebrating three new issued patents. The patents include development of nanoparticles used to treat fungal infections, methods for treating alcohol use disorder, and microtissue manipulation techniques.

AtomICS wins first-place Venture Prize
AtomICS took first-place at the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship’s Venture Prize pitch night. Brenda Rubenstein (Chemistry), and Jacob Rosenstein (Engineering) lead this venture with two graduate students.

Inventor’s Toolkit: Digital Health Commercialization Seminar Series
#ICYMI—The Digital Health Commercialization Seminar Series, hosted by BTI and Life Span, covered a range of topics from preparing a string pitch to how to achieve FDA approval. Catch up on the seminar talks here.

Inventor’s Toolkit—Industry Night: Data & Technology
Presented by the Brown Women's Network and co-sponsored by BTI. Please join us for Industry Night: Data & Technology on May 9 as students and young alumnae are invited to connect with Brown students. Register.

Office of Research Strategy and Development

Primary differences between NSF and NIH proposal submissions
New to grant seeking or grants administration? Review this chart comparing the primary differences between NSF and NIH proposal submissions.

"Workshop Your BI Idea"
A prerequisite for the NSF CAREER mock panels, this is for faculty developing proposals with a Broader Impact or community engaged component to share ideas and get feedback from supportive colleagues. 4/14/22, 12pm. Register.

Office of Research Integrity

Revised Notice of NIAAA Data-Sharing Guidance for Human Subjects Research
This notice informs prospective applicants of the revised policy whereby the NIAAA expects investigators to provide plans for submitting grant-related human subjects data to a NIAAA-sponsored data repository, the NIAAA Data Archive (NIAAADA).

Coming soon – new Scientific Data Sharing Website (NIH Extramural Nexus)
In April, NIH will be launching a new NIH Scientific Data Sharing website, a one-stop shop for all the information you need to know about NIH sharing policies.

IACUC - prompt reporting form update
The IACUC Event Report Form to submit IACUC related incidents has been updated.  Please email IACUC@brown.edu if you have any questions.

Revised COVID-19 human subjects research guidance
The guidance on the COVID-19 and Human Subjects Research web page has been revised to align with updated Brown policies as they apply to human subjects research activities.

Offering online courses to individuals outside the U.S.
If you are considering offering an online course involving participants in comprehensively embargoed countries, this may require authorization from the U.S. government and you must coordinate with Brown's Export Control Team.

Meeting dates & submission deadlines

Research Administration Information Systems

IMPORTANT UPDATE: No Access/roles tickets for more than one user - Coeus, InfoEd, Workday - Grant Roles
As of 4/01/22, access and role tickets that arrive for more than one user will be returned as closed and require resubmission for each single user. Read more.

Coeus FIX: Narrative will not upload - ‘Print to PDF’
You can use ‘print to PDF’ as well as separate the Narrative file in order to shrink the file size and upload the final file. Read more for this fix.

Submitting a Coeus Access ticket for another user
Managers and others take note—if you submit an Access ticket on behalf of someone else, there is a required step to be taken to avoid your ticket being returned. Read more.

Office of Sponsored Projects

The Department of Energy (DOE) offers supplemental funding for collaborations with Ukrainian scientists and students (4/4/22)
DOE's Office of Science (SC) encourages university PIs who receive financial assistance from SC to request supplemental funds to host or collaborate with students, post-doc researchers, or scientists who have been impacted by the war in Ukraine. Read more.

BIG proposal preparation news from NSF
In accordance with Important Notice No. 147, many National Science Foundation (NSF) program solicitations now require the use of Research.gov for the preparation and submission of proposals.

NIH Other Support — 19 new FAQs added
The answers to new and updated FAQs are now available on the NIH Other Support FAQ page. Just look for the NEW and UPDATED icons.

*Important and Time Sensitive*  PI eligibility is a key factor in proposal development
Brown has a published policy on PI Eligibility. Some appointment types require prior approval of the Dean and Vice President for Research. The fully signed PI Eligibility Form must be included in the proposal record prior to submission to OSP or BMRA. 

University Prior Approval System (UPAS) general reminder
Signing the UPAS Form guarantees funding of all costs incurred in the event: (1) the proposal is not awarded; or (2) in the case of pre-award costs, the anticipated start date changes. These are considered “At Risk” requests.

RPPRs are subject to the five day proposal review timeline
Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) outline past accomplishments and activities of senior/key personnel, and provide justification for the release of continued funding. Please plan ahead in accordance with Brown’s Submission Policy.

Research Subcontracting: contacts
Each department now has a Research Subcontracting contact. This information can be found on the OSP Contacts by Department page.

Research Subcontracting: updated Subaward Closeout Certification Form
The Subaward Closeout Certification Form has been updated. Please utilize the new form, which is available on the OSP Forms and Policies page.

Solution to the March Mini Case Study Challenge
Let’s see what Sally learned about NIH Other Support.

April Mini Case Study
Sally has a question about a proposal budget, can you lend her a hand?

Funding & Awards

NSF Federal Updates

Resource: LaTeX templates formatted for use with Research.gov
As you prepare your next NSF proposal, check out the open-source repository created by a group of volunteers for formatted LaTeX samples to use in the Research.gov Proposal Preparation system.

Research Communications