May 2016 Newsletter

Council on Research and Creativity Updates

The First Year Assistant Professor grant workshop will be held on May 5^th at the FSU Alumni Center. All new FYAPs are required to attend this all-day workshop. As part of the workshop, First Year Assistant Professor awardees from 2014-2015 are required to give a poster presentation of their research projects that they have completed and prizes will be given to the best posters.

The workshop will consist of many elements, including presentations from FSU’s Sponsored Research staff, as well as breakout sessions led by successfully funded faculty, who will be available for questions and answers.

The Vice President for Research and the Council on Research & Creativity (CRC) congratulate faculty for awards made by the CRC during the 2015 – 2016 Competition Rounds.

To view the CRC Program Statistics by Department and/or Awarded Projects by PI, please click here.

Date	Course Code and Name	Location / Time
5/5/2016	SRA04 Hands On Budget	UCA, 1203 10:00-12:00
5/5/2016	SRA03 SRA Financial Management	Dirac 2:30-4:30
5/10/2016	SRA11 Award Negotiations & Processing / Federal Acquisition Regulation Clauses	Strozier Library, 005A 10:00-11:30
5/11/2016	SRA26 Subcontracting / Audit Requirements	SSB, 301 8:30-10:30
5/16/2016	SRA28 Federal & State of Florida Conflict of Interest	SSB, 301 8:30-10:30
5/20/2016	SRA27 Administrative Requirements & Cost Principles	UCA 6244, 2:30-4:30
5/23/2016	SRA14 National Science Foundation	UCA 1203, 2:30-4:30

Pilot Program for Partial Salary Funding of Full-Time Specialized Research Faculty

In an effort to address potential grant compliance issues, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) will provide funding to cover 5 percent of current salary plus applicable fringe benefit coverage for certain full-time specialized research faculty supported exclusively by federal research contract or grant funds to recognize their participation in proposal development and writing. Applications for funding may be submitted by individuals who are PIs on grants or other key senior individuals who take time away from their funded research to actively engage in successful efforts to obtain additional extramural funding.

Eligibility for this program will be reviewed and confirmed by the OVPR. For clarity, the OVPR will provide funding only for the research activities defined in this notice. Funding for other non-project related activities should be sought from departmental or other sources. In no case should individuals engage in activities outside of their funded research if those additional activities would occur while being supported by an unrelated research contract or grant.

It is our intent that upon approval of an application, funding for the applicant could be made available for a period of up to 3 years contingent upon annual certification that the approved individuals are continually engaged in efforts to obtain extramural research funding. All awards approved under this program will be made at the discretion of the OVPR.

The application form should be used for funding requests and should be submitted to the OVPR for consideration at least five weeks prior to the beginning of the fiscal year funds are needed.

Download the application form by visiting https://www.research.fsu.edu/media/2455/application-for-salary-funding.pdf.

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program

The faculty portal is now open for FSU's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP): http://cre.fsu.edu/Faculty-Research-Mentors/Undergraduate-Research-Opportunity-Program-UROP

UROP is a year-long program in which high-achieving first- and second-year students, as well as some transfer and veteran students, serve as research assistants to faculty members working on research or creative projects. Students admitted into UROP get access to the projects submitted by faculty, interview with faculty, and serve as research assistants for the academic year. Faculty who submit a project are under no obligation to accept a student. All UROP students attend a year-long research colloquium and present their work at the annual FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.

As UROP research mentors, faculty members, postdocs and graduate students can have student research assistants at no cost to them. Faculty can also receive a materials grant for up to $1,000 (a maximum of $500 per student) and be eligible for a $2,000 Undergraduate Research Mentor award. Graduate students can receive a materials grant of up to $250 and be eligible for a $500 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. We encourage you to upload your research or creative project(s) for which you would like research assistants (and view previous UROP projects) through the UROP site. For more information on UROP, contact Dr. Jhunu Chatterjee at jchatterjee@fsu.edu.

FSU to host 2016 Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes

Florida State University will host the 20th Biennial Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes (EEEF) Meeting June 14-16, 2016. The meeting will be held on the FSU campus, with hotel accommodations nearby.

The steering committee this year includes Dr. Felicia Coleman, Dr. Chip Cotton, Dr. Gary Ostrander, and Dr. Joseph Travis (all from Florida State University), Dr. Gene Helfman (University of Georgia), Dr. David Noakes (Oregon State University), Dr. Nathan Putman (NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center), and Dr. Colette St. Mary (University of Florida). The meeting is organized around four primary themes:

Population genomics of fishes (Organizer: Travis)
Sensory ecology, movement patterns, and behavior (Organizer: Putman)
Species Interactions (Organizer: Cotton)
Biodiversity: Discovery, Variation & Conservation (Organizer: St. Mary)

To learn more or register for the meeting, visit https://marinelab.fsu.edu/eeef/.

Upcoming Infographics Workshop

The Office of Proposal Development will be hosting a workshop this summer for faculty on how to effectively create and use infographics in research proposals. There will be a discussion of why data visualization is so important and experts will have demonstrations of helpful tools used to make infographics.

Please check our workshop page for more information coming soon.

Collaborative Collision: Health resources online

In April, the Office of Proposal Development hosted an event bringing together health-focused faculty researchers from across campus in an effort to foster discussions with the ultimate outcome being more and better health research conducted on our campus.

Please find the faculty posters, booklet and event photos on our workshop page under “past workshop materials.”

New NIH Policy on Data Will Affect PHS-Funded Research

A new policy became effective on Jan. 25, 2016, that should help the research community enhance the integrity of biomedical research. Scientists are expected to know how to select data, analyze data, and interpret data — with integrity. However, the access to Responsible Conduct of Research training across sub disciplines often varies, leading trainees to believe that “massaging” data (inappropriate data selection) to support a specific hypothesis is a common and acceptable practice. Unfortunately, those assumptions could lead a trainee to manipulate data in a manner not acceptable to the research community, therefore drawing into question the validity of the results being reported.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published an important new policy (in NIH Notice NOT-OD-15-103) that should help researchers understand what is expected of them and give them specific guidance on how to comply. NIH study sections will “focus on four areas deemed important for enhancing rigor and transparency: 1) the scientific premise of the proposed research, 2) rigorous experimental design for robust and unbiased results, 3) consideration of relevant biological variables, and 4) authentication of key biological and/or chemical resources.” NIH has published a new website on rigor and reproducibility, as well as a new FAQ site, both of which contain useful information for researchers who expect to submit grants for PHS funding.

See the entire newsletter article on page 11 here.

New Policy on Unpaid Visiting Scholar/Researcher

The university has adopted a new policy (3A-100) for inviting unpaid visiting scholars/researchers to FSU. The current policy is available here, while an amendment to the policy has been posted for comments at here. Effective as of April 1, 2016, no visiting scholar/researcher, whether international or U.S citizen or resident, may be invited to FSU for more than 14 consecutive calendar days without written approval of the Chair/Director, Dean, and the Director of Research Compliance Programs. A background check (paid for by the academic unit) may be required by Human Resources before the invitation is extended, and a courtesy appointment must be completed before the visiting scholar/researcher begins program activities on campus.

This university policy ensures that state and federal laws, policies and regulations are followed. Procedures to facilitate this process have been published here. Forms have also been updated recently and posted to the Procedures website.

Here are contacts for questions about:

Policy:

Janet Kistner at jkistner@admin.fsu.edu

Courtesy appointment process:

Sue Andres at sandres@admin.fsu.edu or Phaedra Harris at pharris@fsu.edu

Request to Invite an Unpaid Visiting Scholar/Researcher, Deemed Export Questionnaire, or Visiting Scholar/Researcher Agreement:

Diana Key at dkey@fsu.edu

J-1 visa or English proficiency requirements:

Tanya Schaad at tschaad@admin.fsu.edu

New Podcast on Writing the Vertebrate Animals Section

Proposing the use of animal models in your application? OLAW has a new podcast on writing the Vertebrate Animals Section in your grant application or contract research proposal. Join Dr. Patricia Brown, OLAW Director, for a discussion of why this application section is required, what reviewers look for, and more. Check out “Writing Your Vertebrate Animals Section” (mp3 | transcript) and other All About Grants podcasts.

NIH and AHRQ Requirements for Rigor and Reproducibility

In October 2015, NIH and AHRQ introduced new requirements for rigor and transparency for most research grant and individual mentored career development award applications (see NOT-OD-16-004, NOT-OD-16-011 and NOT-OD-16-012).

Originally this requirement was to be implemented for institutional training and individual fellowship applications submitted for the May 25, 2016 due date and beyond. NIH recognized however, that the development of substantive and effective instructional plans and curricula to ensure in-depth, transformative education and training in rigorous experimental design across the many different fields and disciplines supported by institutional training grants, institutional career development awards, and individual fellowships would require time and resources on the applicant’s part; therefore, the timeline for implementing this requirement has been extended.

Implementation of these requirements will be as early as FY 2017 but will not be in 2016 as indicated in NOT-OD-16-004. A new website focused on what these reproducibility efforts mean for NIH applicants and grantees may be found at http://grants.nih.gov/reproducibility. The associated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ; http://grants.nih.gov/reproducibility/faqs.htm), will continue to be updated.

Library launches Project Enhancement Network & Incubator

FSU Libraries' Office of Digital Research and Scholarship is pleased to issue a call for proposals for the Project Enhancement Network & Incubator (PEN & Inc), a digital research project accelerator. PEN & Inc is a structured 7-week program for members of the FSU community who are looking to take a digitally-inflected research project from idea to implementation. This is a cohort-based program, where participants work together to craft their ideas. In addition to incubating projects, PEN & Inc. is designed to act as a hub, connecting researchers to each other in a trans-disciplinary space, so that they can openly share ideas, resources, and techniques.

Apply here by May 13: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1uKBElt_DoWVIv2DgodVVF6M0d-V-kqGP_pNINE4ygf8/viewform?usp=send_form

Proposals will be reviewed by the Office of Digital Research and Scholarship, and a select group will be accepted and notified in early summer to begin work in the Fall.

SUS Washington Update

Attached is the May edition of the State University System E-Update Newsletter from Washington. Included are brief articles on the budget, NIH grant applicants and new competitive grant program opportunities. Click here for the update.

FSU Awards Report

A monthly awards report is available online. This report will allow interested faculty, staff and others, to learn more about who has been recently awarded research grants. Access the latest report here.

Funding Opportunities

Please click here to access some of the latest funding opportunities available for the arts, humanities, social sciences, STEM disciplines and medicine.

NSF Science Communication Toolkit

The National Science Foundation has created a science communication toolkit to help principal investigators think about how to share their work with the broader world and further its impact. The toolkit and other resources are available at http://nsf.gov/about/congress/toolkit.jsp.

New Faces in the Office of Research

Three new team members have recently joined the Office of Research family. Please join us in giving them a warm welcome.

Russ (William) Burcher
If you are headed out to the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory, make sure you say hi to Russ, who is the new facilities director. He is responsible for the direct supervision of the maintenance staff and marine operations staff, providing guidance and direction in scientific and research services and programs, which include ecological research and research facilities. He will also assist in developing and maintaining partnerships throughout FSU in order to attain FSUCML goals and objectives. Russ is a civil engineer with more than 36 years experience in facilities and infrastructure maintenance, design, and construction both in the public and private sectors. Russ comes to us via Colorado where he recently managed facility responsibilities for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Mary Livings
The next time you interact with the Human Subjects Committee make sure to say hello to Mary, who will be the office representative for HR, travel and purchasing, as well as help manage human subject protocols. Mary has more than 15 years of experience working in the university setting and takes over for Jennifer Bruce, the previous holder of the position.

Laura Schaecher
Sponsored Research Administration has added Laura as its newest grants officer I. She will be responsible for pre-award activities such as proposal review/submission, award/contract review and negotiation, no-cost time extensions and amendments. Laura most recently worked for the non-profit Florida Health Choices as administrative services director, overseeing contracts and board relations. She maintains a background in government relations with an emphasis on research and analysis and holds two graduate degrees from FSU.