Research News Roundup - December 2024 

As the year draws to a close, we wish you a joyful and peaceful holiday season – whether you observe Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, or another cherished holiday. Whether you celebrate with family, friends, or colleagues, we hope this season brings you warmth, connection, and inspiration for the year ahead. Thank you for being an engaged reader of Research News Roundup. Your interest in our newsletter is what drives us to keep sharing funding opportunities, workshops, and seminars to enhance your research and scholarly activities, highlights of Chapman faculty’s research and scholarship, updates from the Leatherby Libraries, and our new section dedicated to Graduate Education. We look forward to continue sharing news, tips and more impactful stories of your research, scholarship and creative activities in the coming year.

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

December Proposal Deadlines

The Chapman University Office of Research & Graduate Education will be closed for the winter break Monday, December 23, 2024 through January 1, 2025.  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 all unit approvals by these dates.

Effort Reporting Now Overdue

The deadline for effort report certification was Monday December 2nd. All uncertified forms are currently considered out of compliance. Please check your inbox for communication from our office if you have yet to certify your individual or project certification forms. We ask that you either certify your forms or reach out to our office via JIRA ticket with any questions you may have ASAP. The link to the effort reporting platform along with training materials can be found on our effort reporting resources page. 

2025-2026 Faculty Grant for Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activity Now Open!

Our office is now accepting proposals for the 2025-2026 Faculty Grant for Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activity (FGRSC). This internal grant provides competitive, merit-based support for research, scholarly, and creative activities in all disciplines and fields. The call for proposals, guidelines, and supporting documents can be found on our resource page. RSVP for our FGRSC workshop on Thursday January 16th from 10am-11:30am, which will cover an overview of the grant, application, and review process. 

Proposals are due Monday, February 17th, 2025 at 12pm (Noon). 

Spring 2025 Faculty Research Development Fellow 

We are pleased to announce the leadership opportunity for a Faculty Fellow for Spring 2025 in the Office of Research and Graduate Education. This opportunity seeks tenure track and tenured faculty who seek to enhance their professional leadership through supporting each office’s strategic goals through a variety of activities.

Appointments will start with the beginning of the Spring 2025. Faculty Fellows will receive a stipend for their work. Applications are due on Friday, December 20, 12 PM.

Quarter Two Quarterly Reports of Proposals and Awards

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

National Science Foundation Dear Colleague Letter Reminder

On October 11, 2024, the U.S. National Science Foundation issued a Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 25-011) to notify the external research community about the implementation of multifactor authentication (MFA) for Research.gov sign-in, effective Oct. 27, 2024. All external users must first complete a one-time MFA enrollment process and then use MFA to sign into Research.gov going forward. For more information, please see the FAQs or Research.gov Help. 

National Institute of Health (NIH): Pilot: Science of Science Scholars Pilot Program

Do you often think about how science works? Maybe you have ideas to accelerate the progress of biomedical research? Want to better understand the impact of NIH policies and programs?  Are you an experienced science of science researcher? If so, consider applying to be one of NIH's inaugural Science of Science Scholars.

New Funding Opportunity 

National Science Foundation – Due: February 20, 2025. Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT). Supports inclusive and hands-on learning opportunities for all learners, facilitating career pathways in emerging technology fields while building a skilled and competitive STEM workforce to tackle national challenges and drive innovation.

National Institute of Health Update - Sponsor Guidance Available for Fellowship Applications with Due Dates On/After January 25, 2025

Is a graduate student or postdoc in your lab planning to apply for an NIH fellowship in 2025? As their sponsor, how can you prepare? What does it mean to be a sponsor? What conversations should you be having? What do the changes to fellowship applications mean for you? Review NIH’s fellowship sponsor guidance page. There, you can learn more about what it means to be a good sponsor, what’s changing on January 25, and how sponsors can start to prepare for the application changes.

New! Graduate Student Tuition Support Policy 

This new policy describes implementation procedures for tuition support for graduate students who are appointed to eligible graduate student research and teaching positions (Graduate Assistantships, GShips). You can view this policy on our policies and guidance page. 

If you have questions or concerns about how this policy may affect you or your students, please email officeofresearch@chapman.edu. 

Graduate Education Resource Reminders

Chapman University is a member of the national Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and its western regional affiliate Western Association of Graduate Schools (WGS). Both the CGS and WAGS offer members a plethora of resources and we encourage you to visit their websites regularly.

Application Open for UCLA's Bio-Launch Program

Are you thinking about doing a postdoc? Would you like more clarity on how to get a postdoc position? Do you want to meet UCLA postdocs and faculty? The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in the UCLA Biosciences invites you to apply to UCLA Bio-Launch, a recruitment initiative for bioscience researchers. This program includes professional development workshops, networking opportunities, and a faculty matching service. For more information visit Graduate Educations UCLA Bio-Launch Info Page.

Faculty Highlight! Faculty Story

Faculty and students are producing groundbreaking research, contributing to impactful community programs and designing curriculum to improve quality of life for the aging population of Orange County and beyond.

Kudos to Chapman Faculty Award Recipients 

Please join us in congratulating the following faculty who have received a new award in 2024. Keep up the amazing work!

• Erik Kimbrough for "Diversity, Dynamism and Inclusion: A New Multi-Method Approach for Studying Liberalism" from The University of New York at Buffalo for $159,699
• Rachita Sumbria for "The impact of obesity-induced hepatic amyloid beta dysregulation on Alzheimer’s disease pathology" as a Subaward from Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Sciences (prime sponsor is NIH) for $219,394
• Uri Maoz for "Using advanced AI to discover subtle patterns in a large, multi-lab metascience dataset" from The Paradox Science Institute for $20,409
• Andrew Hooyman for "Measuring Expectancy Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Learning" as a Subaward from Arizona State University (prime sponsor is NIH) for $19,945

NSF Opportunities Introduction & Listening Session

Join the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) to learn about EDU funding opportunities on January 29, 2025, 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDU program representatives will introduce funding opportunities and invite questions. They will then open the floor to discussion about ideas and challenges associated with acquiring NSF funding.

American Heart Association Save The Date

The American Heart Association will be visiting campus to inform faculty and students about their research programs on Friday, February 7th. Mark your calendars now, and keep an eye on future newsletters for more information about their visit!

Nature Masterclass On-Demand: Chapman University Only!  

Register for the upcoming Chapman only training session hosted by Nature Masterclass editors and experts! This event will be hosted via Zoom on Friday, February 21st from 1:00pm - 2:00pm. This one hour presentation will cover an overview of nature masterclasses, course offerings, account creation and navigation, completing lessons and tracking progress, Q&A, and more! RSVP for the Zoom information!

Human Resources Supervisor Development Series

Enrollment is now open for HR's new Supervisor Development Series! The series is currently open to supervisors of staff and supervisors of administrators; including faculty that supervise staff. The Communication Track is the first in the series and will focus on crucial conversations, master effective listening, and give and receive feedback. The series begins in February 2025. 

What is "Indirect Cost"?

Have you heard the terms indirect (IDC) or facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, but don't know what they mean? Be sure to take a look at our Distribution and Use of Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Funds to PIs and Managing Units Policy to familiarize yourself with what these costs are and how to use your portion of the IDC return!

Nature Masterclass Publishing Research a Research Paper Course

Publishing a paper is an essential step in the research process and the culmination of the time and effort spent on your research. To help you navigate the publishing process, Nature Masterclasses’ updated and enhanced Publishing a Research Paper: 2nd Edition course; it is designed to help you with widely applicable best practices and strategies to increase your chances of success and help you towards a smooth and seamless publication. Access the course here.

17th Annual Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Library Research Prize Applications Now Open

The Leatherby Libraries is pleased to open submissions for the 2025 Undergraduate Student Research Prize. This prize is open to any undergraduate students at Chapman University who have completed a research paper or project using the Leatherby Libraries’ resources. For information about eligibility and application guidelines, and to access the prize application, check out the prize’s homepage. Submissions are due Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.

Applications Open for the 2025 Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Library Research Prize

Graduate students across disciplines who have completed research projects and papers using the Leatherby Libraries’ resources are invited to apply to the 2025 Graduate Library Research Prize. This prize recognizes Chapman University graduate students who created exceptional research by effectively utilizing library resources. The application form, as well as additional information about eligibility and application requirements, can be found here. Submissions are due Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.

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.

Pre-Award Virtual Office Hours is moving to the first Thursday of each month.

Please visit us with your proposal and sponsor questions. Our next office hours will be December 5^th at 11am. Please use the Zoom link provided below and not the Zoom link on our website. Hope to see you there!

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.

Congratulations to Jeremy Hsu from Schmid College for being our December giveaway winner! Enjoy the game board, lunchbox, and swag items!

To be entered into the next monthly drawing be sure join one of our department office hours.

Contact our office for inquiries using our Jira ticketing system.