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SEPTEMBER 2025
In the Spotlight
New study: School finance reforms increased funding inequities based on student race and ethnicity
Sociologist Emily Rauscher co-led an analysis that uncovered the failure of state-led school finance reforms to close funding gaps between high- and low-income school districts, and found growth in racial and ethnic funding inequity after decades of school finance reforms.
MESSAGE FROM THE VPR
Greetings,
As we kick off the new academic year, I’m happy to share some exciting news on internal funding opportunities and a new resource to improve the efficiency of your research efforts at Brown.
The Division of Research, in collaboration with Strategic Procurement and Contracting, is launching ContractHelp@brown.edu, a new centralized inbox for all your research contracting questions.
ContractHelp will guide you at those times when you have a question and you’re not sure who to ask. Need guidance on a specific agreement? Unsure about who should review or sign a contract? Just email your question, and it will be routed to the right person. If you already know who should review your contract, you should continue to contact that office directly.
This new inbox is the first effort in DOR’s Research Red Tape Reduction Initiative (3RI), which is designed to improve efficiency for researchers at Brown. We’ll share more details on 3RI with you soon.
I’m also thrilled to announce, thanks to the generous gifts from donors, the availability of additional funding which not only increases funds for seed ideas but also expands our efforts to sustain an innovative and resilient research environment at Brown. See the Priority Announcement below.
Thank you for your collaboration. I wish you all the best for a successful year ahead!
Cheers,
Greg Hirth, Vice President for Research
Coming soon! DOR’s expanded Seed Fund Program
We are pleased to announce increased funds for research while expanding our efforts to sustain an innovative and resilient research environment at Brown. Prepare for three tracks: *NEW* Research Resilience Award (up to $75K / 12 months), *NEW* Research Innovation and Interdisciplinary Award (up to $250K / 24 months), and the Research Seed Award (up to $75K or up to $50K for single PI / 12 months). Details to be announced soon.
Registration is open for the Innovation@Brown Showcase!
Only one week until the 3rd annual Innovation@Brown Showcase on Sept. 25 from 2-6pm at CIC, 225 Dyer Street in Providence. The Showcase is a “can’t miss” event during Rhode Island Startup Week and the best opportunity to see all the exciting new ideas coming out of Brown and the innovation ecosystem in RI. Register here.
BROWN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS
Innovation@Brown Pitch Competition
New for 2025, six Innovation@Brown Showcase ventures were invited to participate in a live pitch competition to a panel of VC judges before the main Showcase event. The winner will be awarded $1,000 sponsored by Slater Technology Fund! Participating ventures include Chronospace AI, Ember Therapeutics, Fermi Energy, Kyron Medical, Lilac Biosciences, and SomaCare.
Angel Nest Podcast with XM Therapeutics
BTI was recently featured on the Angel Nest Podcast along with Innovation@Brown Showcase alum XM Therapeutics. Listen to the episode to hear about how researchers are harnessing the power of the extracellular matrix to help the body heal itself—potentially transforming treatment for heart disease and other serious conditions.
2025 BBII Awards announced!
Five faculty members are one step closer to translating research into new biomedical innovations designed to improve patient care, thanks to hundreds of thousands of dollars awarded this year through the Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact accelerator fund.
Participate in the Science & Technology (S&T) Plan Survey!
The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) is conducting a survey to identify key growth areas for the state's upcoming 5-Year Science & Technology (S&T) Plan. The results will help guide future investments and strategic initiatives. Share your valuable insights in this confidential survey by Sept. 19.
RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Huron Grant and Agreement: Notifications
Learn about the different types of notifications users may receive through Huron.
RESEARCH INTEGRITY
BEARCORE RCR training program registration open
BEARCORE will be held in person on Jan. 14-15 and May 13-14, 2026. Register in Workday Learning. BEARCORE meets NSF and NIH RCR Training requirements. Email Torrey Truszkowski with questions.
Research Security Training available
Research Training Programs and the Office of Research Integrity are pleased to offer Research Security Matters, an online, self-paced course for members of Brown's research community as an alternative to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research Security Training.
Library workshop: Journal Article Publishing Pathways Compliant with the New NIH Public Access Policy
NIH's new Public Access Policy requires that journal articles from NIH-funded research be made public without publisher embargoes. Learn how to update My Bibliography and submit manuscripts to PubMed Central, how major publishers are adapting, and the implications for authors' publication choices and grant budgets at an online workshop hosted by the University Library on Sept. 25, 12-1pm.
NIH “Other Support” training
In July, the NIH announced additional requirements for institutions to provide training to researchers regarding the disclosure of “Other Support,” (NOT-OD-25-133). The Brown training will be available this fall.
Updates to export controls for Syria
Syria is no longer comprehensively embargoed. However, some export restrictions remain in place. If you are considering travel to or research in Syria, contact exportcontrol@brown.edu in advance to ensure your plans are aligned with the current regulations.
RESEARCH STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT
Find high value research funding opportunities in Pivot-RP!
Do you have big research goals that require significant external funding? Check out the list of funding opportunities >$10M in the Pivot-RP funding discovery platform (Brown login required for full platform functionality). Contact orsd@brown.edu with questions.
SPONSORED PROJECTS
Join the virtual OSP Quarterly Brown Bag—Thurs., Sept. 18, 2pm
We’ll provide updates from major sponsoring agencies including new training requirements for PIs and Senior/Key Personnel.
Federal fiscal year end—be prepared!
As Sept. 30 approaches, be prepared for ‘quick turnaround’ due dates on requests from federal funding agencies. This may include requests for proposals and budgets or new policy requirements. Reach out to your OSP Contact for support.
What is a prepaid expense and how does it work on sponsored projects ?
A prepaid expense is something you pay for in advance, but the benefit (service, event, or subscription) doesn’t happen until a future date. Ordinarily, if you prepay for something now, it must be held as a prepaid expense (asset) on a non-sponsored account until the goods or service is received. Read the Sponsored Travel Policy FAQ for more details.
Federal
Federal Advisory Updates
Two recent Executive Orders have been added to the DOR website under the Federal Updates section. As a reminder, Executive orders do not directly create or change laws. Their purpose is to direct federal agencies on how to interpret and enforce existing laws and regulations. View Executive Orders and Other Federal Documents (behind Brown login).
NIH
NIH Notice of Grant Award timelines
Lately, NIH Notices of Grant Awards are taking a week or more to arrive at Brown, rather than the usual 1-2 days. If you have questions about an award, please contact your Pre-Award Specialist.
Preview of NIH Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support coming soon to SciENcv
NIH has announced that their new SciENcv forms will soon be available for preview (NOT-OD-25-152). Note that these forms will not be usable at this time, but NIH is giving applicants the opportunity to preview the new system functionality and new instructions.
NSF
NSF Research Security Assessment
Effective Oct. 10, 2025, the NSF will require institutions to keep and review supporting documentation for contracts, grants, and agreements related to foreign activities and appointments listed on current and pending support proposal documents. Qualifying documents should be submitted via the NSF documentation form. Send questions to researchsecurity@brown.edu.
Sharing stories of research and discovery at Brown University.
