Research News Roundup - May 2025 

This month’s newsletter highlights our new series of workshops and webinars supporting research, scholarships, and creative activities starting early June; introduces you to our newest OOR&GE member; lists resources such as Nature Masterclasses, new funding opportunities, and faculty highlights; provides you with updates from federal funding agencies and news from the Leatherby Libraries; and much more!

Have questions, need help? Join the monthly office hours – see below for time and Zoom links.

Nature Masterclasses Subscription Extended 

Since May 2024, Chapman University has subscribed to Nature Masterclasses, a series of on-line, self-paced, and on-demand modules designed to support researchers and scholars in building skills and confidence-building across the research lifecycle. These courses cover a broad range of topics, including scientific writing and publishing, grant writing, finding funding, data analysis, web presence, and more.

We are pleased to announce that the provost has approved another year’s subscription to these valuable courses. Visit our resources and tools page to sign up for your account and see what Nature Masterclasses has to offer.

The 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Competition is Open

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program competition for the 2026-2027 academic year is open. Check out Applicant Office Hours throughout the next months. The next one will be on Monday, May 19, 4:00-5:00 PM Eastern.

2025 National Institutes of Heath (NIH) Salary Cap Now Final

Effective January 1, 2025, the Executive Level II salary cap is $225,700 for 12 months and $169,275 for 9 months. Please use these numbers to budget new proposals going forward.

Drone Restrictions in Federal Research

Federal regulations restrict the procurement, operation, and use of certain Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS, or drones) and related components in federally-funded research to protect sensitive data and reduce potential security risks. While current restrictions are only applicable to specific funding agencies, we expect prohibitions to be included in all federal grants and contracts by the end of 2025. Please reach out to the Office of Research Integrity & Compliance (ORIC) for assistance in determining implications of drone use in your research.

Research Security Training Now Required

As of May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requires any individual who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the development or execution of the scope of work to complete research security training in the 12 months immediately preceding the proposal due date. (Covered Individuals from recipients or subrecipients who are added to an existing award that includes the research security training requirement must complete the training within 30 calendar days of joining.) The National Science Foundation (NSF) training requirement is anticipated to take effect in October 2025.

Ultimately all federal funders will soon require annual research security training and likely prior to proposal submission. The training obligation can be fulfilled by taking the NSF/DOE/DOD developed Research Security modules. Individuals should download their completion certificates and send a copy to ORIC for the University record. For faculty, the university has loaded an abbreviated (1 hour) version of the Research Security course into Canvas; it is available to satisfy the federal training requirements and can be assigned to individuals needing to meet the training mandate.

For more information, including who must complete the training and how to access the training, please contact Jen Donais in Research Integrity & Compliance at donais@chapman.edu. 

News from National Science Foundation (NSF)

• Did you know that NSF has a podcast? Tune in to hear about breakthroughs in STEM.
• Explore NSF’s impacts over the past 75 years in this spotlight and video. The official 75th anniversary is May 10, 2025.
• NSF is collecting your NSF research impact stories in this survey.
• Learn about updates on NSF priorities and the agency’s implementation of recent executive orders.

News from National Institutes of Heath (NIH)

• Learn about status of changes impacting NIH grans process and plans for implementation of new initiatives and policies. Are you New to NIH? Check out their video walk-through for beginners

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

NEW! July 1, 2025 – William T. Grant Foundation | William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas. Applicants should have a track record of conducting high-quality research and an interest in pursuing a significant shift in their trajectories as researchers. Focus areas: Reducing Inequality and Improving the Use of Research Evidence.

CAREER AWARD! Proposals responsive to the CAREER solicitation are due this year on July 23. Here are a few resources that can help you if you’re considering submitting this year:

1. Watch a 2024 NSF webinar that provides guidance and mentorship to prospective CAREER applicants.
2. Explore NSF Award Search service for active CAREER awards in your program. Read the abstracts to learn about funded projects.
3. Read a blog post by DRK-12 and CAREER awardee Lauren Margulieux, who offers insight into applying for a CAREER grant.

NEW! September 15, 2025 – William T. Grant Foundation | Institutional Challenge Grant supports university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.

NEW! Series of Workshops Supporting Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities

We’re excited to announce a new workshop series designed to support faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers in every stage of their research journey. Whether you're just starting out or looking to broaden your funding and collaboration strategies, these workshops will offer practical tools to help you succeed. Visit our events page for more information. 

• Writing Grant Proposals in 2025 – Strategies for developing/revising current proposals - In Person: June 2, 2025 @ Orange Campus and June 3, 2025 @ Rinker Campus

Sharpen your proposal strategies, learn how to align your research with evolving federal priorities, and craft compelling, competitive proposals in today’s funding landscape. This in person workshop will be hosted on the Orange campus on June 2, from 11 AM to 12 PM and on the Rinker campus on June 3, 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM. Locations for both of these workshops will be announced on our events page soon. 

• Principles of Scientific Writing – Webinar, June 11, 2025

Hosted by Dr. Harry Shirley (Springer Nature Masterclasses) this interactive webinar focuses on strategies to enhance your academic writing. Learn how clear, concise, and thorough scientific writing can maximize your research’s impact and accessibility. Dr. Shirley will cover key principles – including accuracy, conciseness, and audience engagement – and share real-world examples to help identify and address common writing challenges. The session concludes with a Q&Q and resources for continued learning. 

RSVP required for the June 11th from 1:30 PM - 2:30PM Zoom webinar.

• Shifting Focus while Utilizing Expertise - Part 1: Diversifying your funding portfolio – Webinar, September 4, 2025

Join Bryan Carlson, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, and Lawrence Lau, Director of Industry Alliances and Commercialization in this interactive webinar on the ins- and outs- of foundation and industry funding.

RSVP is required for the September 4, 2025,11:30-12:30 pm Zoom webinar. 

• Shifting Focus while Utilizing Expertise – Part 2: Developing collaborations - Webinar, September 8, 2025 @ Rinker Campus; September 9, 2025 @ Orange Campus

Join us for this workshop to explore the art and administration of building successful research partnerships! Learn about the benefits of collaborative research, techniques for integrating diverse expertise, and strategies for identifying and maintaining partnerships. Topics will include proposal preparation, managing external collaborations, navigating IRB and IACUC processes, and overcoming challenges in international collaborations. Plus, hear examples of successful projects and impactful teamwork. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your collaborative skills.

This workshop will be held in person on September 8, 12:00 to 1:30 PM at the Rinker Campus and on September 9, 12:00 to 1:30 PM at the Orange campus. Locations for both events will be announced soon. 

Upcoming NCFDD Webinars: Live on Zoom

• "What I Wished I Would Have Known About Being an Interim Leader" on May 15
• " Secrets to a Super Productive Semester" on June 17
• "Rethinking Faculty Mentoring: What Institutions Can Do Differently" on June 24
• "Framing and Maintaining Your Research Agenda" on June 25

On Campus Office Hours and Shared Table with VPR Martina Nieswandt

Have you always wondered what the Office of Research & Graduate Education (OOR&GE) does? Are you questioning how best to get your research, scholarship, and creative activities to the next level and wonder how the OOR&GE can help in addition to the support you get in your college/school? Martina has added another date to her spring semester Rinker campus office hours!

• May 28th Shared Table Lunch @ Rinker Campus from 11:30am - 1:30pm

Updated Grants Dashboard Now Available in Power BI

The dashboard can now be accessed via the Panther Analytics website, under Office of Research, Grants. To ensure easy access, delete any existing bookmarks and create a new bookmark for the updated version, which has an improved layout and user experience. Find step-by-step instructions and two short video tutoriolals to help you get started on the first page.

The Grants Dashboard helps Principal Investigators to more easily access their grant balances, recent expenses, and other key information.

If you have any questions or would like a walkthrough of the dashboard, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Office of Research team at officeofresearch@chapman.edu.

You can also visit our Resources webpage for additional training videos and a link to the dashboard homepage.

National Institute of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy - Effective Date Moves Up Moves by Six Months to July 1, 2025.

On April 30, NIH announced via notice NOT-OD-25-101 the change of the effective date of the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy from December 31, 2025 to July 1, 2025, in an effort to enhance and reinforce transparency and public accountability for research results. Any manuscript accepted for publication on or after December 31, 2025, that is the result of funding by NIH (in whole or in part) must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication. A 12-month embargo period is no longer allowable.

Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support (NIH) 

To further support a successful transition to the Common Forms, NIH is postponing the May 25, 2025 implementation for all applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs). NIH will issue future Guide Notices outlining the new effective date and additional implementation details as they are finalized. NIH applicants and recipients must continue to use the current NIH Biosketch and Other Support format pages for applications, Just-in-Time (JIT) and RPPRs.

Three Minute Thesis Competition Winners

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition is an internationally recognized competition that challenges students to summarize their thesis or dissertation scholarship in under 3 minutes with a single PowerPoint slide. 

The 2025 Chapman University 3MT® winners are:

• First place – Laura Neis, War, Diplomacy, and Society, M.A. program
• Second place – Ghana Tirpude, Food Science, M.S. program
• People’s Choice Award – Ponthea Zahraii, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science M.S. program

Our first-place winner has the opportunity to participate in the regional 3MT® competition at the Western Association of Graduate Schools Annual Meeting in March 2026. We look forward to next year’s competition and hope that our graduate students who will be returning next year will plan now to participate in 2026 and continue the tradition of excellence demonstrated by this year’s competitors.

2025 James L. Doti Award Recipients

The Doti Awards are bestowed annually to an outstanding graduating master’s and doctoral student with a distinguished record of academic accomplishment, scholarly/creative activity, and/or service. The award recipients’ names are permanently inscribed on the Doti Award trophy, which incorporates artist Nick Hernandez’s sculpture Emergence, on display in Argyros Forum.

The recipients of Chapman University’s 2025 James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award are:

Doctoral category - Anika Patel, Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy.

Master’s category - Iara Gonzalez-Ascencio, Master of Arts in International Studies, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Congratulations to our 3MT® and James Doti Award recipients! A special thank you and congratulations to the faculty advisors and programs for their continuous support of our great students! 

Faculty Highlight! Chapman University Emerges as a Leading Hub for Quantum Innovation

By recruiting top faculty and researchers, investing in innovative facilities and providing students with unique, hands-on learning experiences, the university is making a substantial investment in the future of this discipline.

Kudos to Chapman Faculty Award Recipients 

Please join us in congratulating the following faculty who have received a new award in 2025. Keep up the amazing work!

Sherry Wang for "Ethics and Equity in healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) application: Bias assessment in machine learning (ML) models for opioid prescribing" from  NIH (via subaward from Vanderbilt University Medical Center) for $249,999

Sun Yang for "Evaluating the Impact of Human Metapneumovirus Infection on Infants and Children During the COVID and RSV Control Era" from a major pharmaceutical company for $130,000

Alison McKenzie for "Telerehabilitation In The Home After Stroke: A Randomized, Controlled, Assessor-Blind Clinical Trial (The TR-2 Trial)" from NIH (via subaward from UCLA) f0r $80,773

Doug Dechow for "Advancing AI Governance, Implementation, and Equity at Emerging Research Institutions" from Incoming sub ITHAKA (NSF Prime) for $14,368

Maryam Etezadbrojerdi for "Advancing STEM Learning with Interactive Educational Games for Blind and Visually Impaired Children" from NSF for $499,134

Jared Izumi for "Unveiling Rater Bias in Social-Emotional and Behavioral Screening with Cognitive Interviews" from Incoming sub Utah State (SSSP) for $10,398

"The Biggest Mistakes New Faculty Members Make" Series Recap

As you transition into the summer, summer teaching, and picking up on your research and scholarship, check out the NCFDD website with a recap of this Spring’s Monday Motivator series on the theme “The Biggest Mistakes New Faculty Members Make”. It not about naming them to be mean or judgmental. Instead, the series makes them explicit so you can identify any you may be making AND suggests concrete skills and strategies to move forward. Continue reading this week's Monday Motivator.

We are here for you! Join us in our office hours to get answers to your questions; discuss trends and news from funding agencies and federal guidelines; get tips about proposal development for grants, IRB and IACUC protocols; or to find out what’s all the talk about inventions, patents, and industry partnerships.

SPS Pre Award & Non-Financial Post Award: The first Thursday of every month from 11:00-12:00pm. Zoom Link.

SPS Post Award: The last Tuesday of every month from 9:30-10:30am. Zoom Link

IRB: The first Tuesday of every month from 9:00-10:00am. Zoom Link.

IACUC/COI/Export/Import: The fourth Tuesday of every month from 9:00-10:00pm. Zoom Link.

Industry Alliance and Commercialization: The third Thursday of every month from 3:00-4:00pm. Zoom Link.

Graduate Education: The last Thursday of every month from 10:00-11:00am. Zoom Link. 

For a full schedule including quarterly and semester specific dates for additional departments and for Zoom information visit our events page.

Exploring the Leatherby Libraries’ Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis Service

The Leatherby Libraries is excited to launch the Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis Service (SRESS)! Created to support Chapman University’s research mission, SRESS will support Chapman faculty, staff, researchers, and students with their systematic review and evidence synthesis projects.

Share your Research Data with Chapman Figshare

This virtual workshop will explore Chapman Figshare, the Leatherby Libraries’ newest digital repository platform that acts as a home for research data and accompanying code, documentation, instruments, protocols, and other intermediate products of research and scholarly or creative activity.

Going Beyond Text and Discovering Multimodal GenAI

The final part of a 4-part workshop series will explore the cutting-edge world of multimodal Generative AI, including its significance and potential applications for accomplishing daily tasks while exploring its potential use in the health sciences. Participants do not need to have attended prior installments to understand the concepts presented.

To be entered into the next monthly drawing pop in to one of our department office hours!

Contact our office for inquiries using our Jira ticketing system.