Research News Roundup - June 2025

This month’s newsletter highlights our ongoing series of workshops and webinars supporting research, scholarship and creative activities including the amazing self-paced modules of Nature Masterclasses, e.g., try out Persuasive Grant Writing. Check out PantherAI, Chapman’s new multi-platform AI portal; review new funding opportunities from NSF and two foundations; and read up on your colleagues’ highlights and updates from the Leatherby Libraries; and much more! Finally, take advantage on our Zoom offices hours – we are here for you!

Summer Office of Research and Graduate Education Closures

The Office of Research & Graduate Education will be closed on Thursday, June 19th in observance of the Juneteenth holiday, and on Thursday, July 3rd through Friday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day. Please note that proposals with sponsor deadlines during this time will require additional lead time. Consult the list below or our Proposal Preparation Timeline for final dates to submit the full draft of your application to Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) for review. The Cayuse SP proposal should also be routed and have received unit approvals by these dates.

IS&T Release of new PantherAI Tool

IS&T has announced the initial release of “PantherAI”, a multi-platform AI portal that facilitates easy access to the latest technologies from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and beyond. PantherAI uses a new open-source application called LibreChat (developed in partnership with Harvard University) to connect users to various AI models, such as ChatGPT 4.1, Gemini, and DeepSeek.

An initial training opportunity is available during IS&T's Summer Showcase on July 22nd. Additional training workshops will be scheduled for August and into the fall.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

The NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program proposal submission window is October 15, 2025 - November 14, 2025 (NSF 23-519). This is a great time to apply for this opportunity, due to the CHIPS and Science ACT, the cost-match that is usually required is currently waived. This is a limited institutional submission. Proposals with limited institutional submissions require prior approval from the Office of Research and Graduate Studies If you are considering applying for this opportunity, Sponsored Projects Services needs to hear from you by August 1, 2025. Please send a Letter of Intent including track number intended, team members and general description of project to sps@chapman.edu.
Check out the John Templeton Foundation. You can submit project ideas to a variety of funding areas through their Online Funding Inquiry (OFI) at any point during the year, though the next Foundation’s review date is August 15, 2025. Check out their website and grantmaking calendar.

Upcoming American Heart Association (AHA) Funding Opportunities

AHA Predoctoral Fellowship Proposal deadline: Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Enhances the training of promising students in pre-doctoral or clinical health professional degree programs and who intend careers as scientists, physician-scientists or other clinician-scientists, or related careers aimed at improving global health and wellbeing.

Within this award, additional collaboration money has been designated through the AHA/CHF Congenital Heart Defect Research Awards, Autism Speaks, and by the Barth Syndrome Foundation and California Walnut Commission.

AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship Proposal deadline: Thursday, September 4, 2025

Enhances the training of postdoctoral applicants who are not yet independent. The applicant must be embedded in an appropriate investigative group with the mentorship, support, and relevant scientific guidance of a research mentor.

Within this award, additional collaboration money has been designated through the AHA/CHF Congenital Heart Defect Research Awards, Autism Speaks, and AHA/VIVA Physician Research Award and by the Barth Syndrome Foundation and California Walnut Commission.

Institutional Award for Undergraduate Student Training Proposal deadline: Wednesday, September 10, 2025

This award is made to qualified institutions that can offer a meaningful research experience that supports the AHA mission that encourages undergraduate college students from all disciplines to consider research careers.

AHA Institutional Research Enhancement Award (AIREA) Proposal deadline: Thursday, September 11, 2025

Stimulates research at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees related to scientific research training. Eligible institutions may not have been major recipients of NIH support. Awards provide funding for small-scale research projects related to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular topics, enhancing the research environment at eligible institutions, and exposing students to research opportunities.

Career Development Award Proposal deadline: Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Supports highly promising healthcare and academic professionals in the early years of first professional appointment to assure the applicant’s future success as a research scientist in the field of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular disease research.

Within this award, additional collaboration money has been designated through the California Walnut Commission and the AHA/VIVA Physician Research Award.

Feedback Survey Shows High Satisfaction for Industry Alliances and Commercialization (IAC)

Thank you to all faculty members who participated in our recent IAC Satisfaction Survey. Faculty reported high levels of satisfaction across key service areas on a 4-point scale. Surveyed areas included timely communication, overall satisfaction, future support, faculty needs, process explanation, updates, project needs, and turn around time The average satisfaction score was 3.49.

We appreciate the positive feedback on professionalism, responsiveness, and dedication. Your feedback is vital as we continue refining our processes in collaboration with Legal, Risk Management, and other partners to better support the faculty community.

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

We continue our new workshop series with this week’s webinar on scientific writing and in-person PIVOT workshops in July. All workshops are designed to support faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers in every stage of their research journey. Visit our events page for more information. Visit our events page for more information.

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.

PIVOT: Finding the Right Funding Opportunities and Collaborators - A Hands on Workshop - July 11, 2025

Join us for a hands-on workshop to set-up and refine your profile to receive the best-fit of funding opportunities for your research and scholarly activities. Be sure to bring your laptop. The Pre-Award team will be able to assist you in setting up your profile and refining search terms. PIVOT for Research Funding is available to all faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers.

RSVP for July 11, 2025, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM @ Rinker Campus CC 201

RSVP for July 11, 2025, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM @ Orange Campus BK 401

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.

RSVP for September 8, 2025, 12 PM to 1:30 PM @ Rinker Campus CC 201

RSVP for September 9, 2025, 12 PM to 1:30 PM @ Orange Campus BK 401

Upcoming NCFDD Webinars: Live on Zoom

NCFDD continues with some amazing Zoom workshops this June. Check them out:

"Moving from Resistance to Writing" on June 12th
"5 Secrets to a Super Productive Semester" on June 17th
"Rethinking Faculty Mentoring: What Institutions Can Do Differently" on June 24th
"Framing and Maintaining Your Research Agenda" on June 25th

American Heart Association (AHA) Funding Opportunities Webinar

Have questions about any of the AHA funding opportunities listed about? Join them for an overview and Q&A of upcoming research award offerings, application tips, and understanding the peer review process.

Thursday, August 7, 2025 - 1 pm Eastern/12 pm Central Register here

On-Demand Online Courses – Nature Masterclasses

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 topics ranging from "Persuasive Grant Writing" to "Effective Science Communication" to "Networking for Researchers" and more! Chapman faculty have full access to these courses by signing up for the platform using their Chapman SSO.

Visit our "Training and Development" section on our resources and tools page to sign up for your account and see what Nature Masterclasses has to offer.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Extension

NIH has granted the automatic extension of ESI eligibility. This extension addresses delays impacting grant application submissions, peer review, or award processing timelines between January 1, 2025, and May 31, 2025, and seeks to mitigate their effects on the biomedical research community.

Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Quarter Four Reports Now Available

Quarter four data showing proposals and awards broken down by sponsor and division is now available on our quarterly research data page.

Faculty Highlight! Chapman’s Postdoc Program Bridges the Gap to Tenure-Track Jobs

The university's Grand Challenges Initiative is becoming a reliable stepping-stone for postdocs seeking permanent academic roles.

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!

Thomas Piechota for "Hydrologic Connections of Transboundary Global Watersheds" from an Incoming sub University of Virgina (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) for $149,998.00

Sarah Bana for "Strategic Firm Behavior and Worker Outcomes under Advance Notice Regulations" from W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research for $7500.00

Anu Prakash for "The effect of UHT and retort processing on quality and stability of RTD coffee beverages containing milk" from Southern California Institute of Food Technology for $26,274.00

John Mikalavicic for "Size exclusion chromatography to purify exosomes from bovine milk and assess effects on intestinal inflammation" from Southern California Institute of Food Technology for $19,500.00

Mateo Jarquin for "Re-Thinking Democracy in Central America" from American Council of Learned Societies for $15,000.00

2025 2026 Faculty Grant for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Awardees

Congratulations to the recipients of this years FGRSC internal grant! We can't wait to see what amazing work you accomplish in your projects.

Brennan McDavid for "Economic Thought in the Ancient Academic and Peripatetic Schools"

Hilmi Ulas for "Exploring Cypriot Narratives of Immigration"

Renee Hudson for "Latinx Girlhood"

Rebecca Glineburg for "Investigating Mechanisms of Ovarian Stress Response and Resilience"

Jennifer Ko for "Creating best practices for addressing health equity in patient simulation through inclusion"

Lia Halloran for "Invisible Elements: Reimagining the Periodic Table through Art and Hidden Histories"

Vivian Yan-Gonzalez for "Impossible Citizens: The Making of Asian American Politics in California, 1882-1988"

Writing Motivation Tips

Find you way back to writing! We all have excuses that keep us from writing. Check out NCFDD’s this week's Monday Motivator to read about what holds you back and start writing (again).

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.

Announcing the 2025 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize Winners

The Leatherby Libraries is excited to announce the winners of the 2025 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize. This year’s winners include Megan Lewandowski (First Place), Cintya Felix (Second Place), and Cassandra Chan (Third Place).

Congratulations to the 2025 Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Research Prize Winners

The Leatherby Libraries is pleased to announce the 2025 Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Research Prize winners. Our first place winner is Gerald Obinna Ozota, our second place winners are Robin Gomes, Connor Bogenreif, and Mir Aminy, and our third place winner is Sevana Karagoulian.

Pivot Funding Search Office Hours

Looking for funding? Our Data Services Librarian, Andrew Greenman, is available to help you craft your Pivot keywords for your profile and searches. These hybrid office hours are available for drop-in with no registration needed in the Data Services Librarian's office, LL129, or online via Zoom.

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.