University of Georgia

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Compliance, Integrity & Safety

Research Ethics Course Offered in Fall to Meet NIH RCR requirement

A course on research ethics that meets the NIH Responsible Conduct of Research requirement for T, K, and F awards will be offered this fall.

Qualitative Research 8595  – Research Ethics in the Professional and Social Sciences meet the NIH requirement and also counts as an elective for the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Certificate.

The course explores ethical dilemmas in conducting research in the social, professional, and human sciences and the sources of ethical principles and practices used to address these dilemmas. Philosophical traditions in ethics from around the world and codes of ethical practice from professional associations, government agencies, and other relevant institutions are examined for their applications to choices researchers make and challenges they face. This course is designed to equip researchers studying human behavior and experience to engage in ethical analysis and concrete ethical problem solving when designing, conducting, analyzing, reporting, and applying research design.  The prerequisite for QUAL 8595 is any prior course in research methods and design.

Class time: Tuesdays, 5.00-7.45 p.m.

River’s Crossing, Room 139

Instructor: Dr. Kathy Roulston

roulston@uga.edu

 

Categories
Announcements

OVPR launched a new website this week at “research.uga.edu. All links to ovpr.uga.edu redirect to the new website.

The new website includes new navigation that directs researchers, business and industry, and visitors and supporters to resources and topics of interest.  Explore Research reveals  a “mega-menu” of the primary topics audiences look for.  Search and Research A-Z are additional ways for visitors to find OVPR resources.

New Home page features include links to the latest Research Announcements and a new Research Calendar. The calendar aggregates research-related events from multiple research units across campus, as well as OVPR units. If you have an research announcement or research event, please send information to rcomm@uga.edu.

The latest UGA Research News also appears on the home page.

Phase 2 of the OVPR website redesign will include a new documents library and design enhancements.

We want to continue to improve the website.  Please provide feedback about content and design to rcomm@uga.edu.

 

Categories
Announcements

A series of workshops on the essentials of conducting research at UGA will be held this fall. Although targeted to new UGA faculty, all are welcome to attend.  RSVP and questions: rcomm@uga.edu.

Download a list of all workshops. 

The eResearch Portal

Tuesday, September 2, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. or Friday, September 19, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Paul D. Coverdell Building, Room 175

This workshop will introduce the OVPR eResearch Portal, an interactive tool integrating proposal development, submission, and approval with award management, modifications, renewals, no-cost extensions, etc. Learn how to make the Portal work for you as a faculty researcher. Use the eResearch Portal to communicate clearly with administrators, organize your proposal and award documents, and see where your project is in its lifecycle.

Hosted by Office for Sponsored Program

Find Funding Made Easy

Friday, September 5, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Science Library classroom

A hands-on introduction to finding and using grant funding resources. Workshop will include techniques to effectively use Pivot, a comprehensive funding database, and other grant-finding aids, as well as tips for writing effective NSF data management plans.

Hosted by UGA Libraries

Developing Proposal Budgets

Friday, September 5, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. or Tuesday, September 16, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Paul D. Coverdell Building, Room 175

A detail-packed session covering basic budget development for all types of proposals. Learn about UGA and federal policies and practices regarding a variety of budget items, such as fringe benefits, cost sharing, salary savings, etc. Learn who to call and where on the web to locate information when budget-related questions arise.

Hosted by Office for Sponsored Programs

Research the Right Way

Tuesday, September 9, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Paul D. Coverdell Building, Room 175

A workshop for new faculty on the fundamentals of research compliance at UGA, including regulations related to human subjects, animal care and use, biosafety and export control.

Hosted by Office of Research Compliance

Opportunities in Humanities & Arts

Tuesday, September 30, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Richard B. Russell Library Auditorium

An overview of Willson Center for Humanities and Arts grant opportunities, as well as strategies for external funding.

Hosted by Willson Center for Humanities and Arts

Developing Complex Project

Wednesday, October 1, 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. Paul D. Coverdell Building, Room 175
The GrantSMART team provides project management for complex, interdisciplinary proposals by UGA research teams. Find out how to identify funding sources, assemble your research team, and manage the process to coordinate a competitive and compliant proposal.

Hosted by GrantSMART Office

IP, Patents & Products

Tuesday, October 14, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Paul D. Coverdell Building, Room 175

Made a discovery that might have commercial potential? Want to conduct research with non-UGA partners? Transferring or receiving materials from another institution? Want to form a startup company? Find out about intellectual property, patenting, licensing, material transfer, non-disclosure, collaborative research agreements, and more.

Hosted by Technology Commercialization Office and Georgia BioBusiness Center

Core Crawl

Wednesday, December 10, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Tate Student Center Ballroom

Come to UGA’s first annual Core Crawl – a unique event to introduce the services, products, and expertise offered to UGA researchers by UGA core facilities around campus. Come for the information; stay for the free food and door prizes!

Hosted by Coreserve

Categories
Announcements Compliance, Integrity & Safety

The US Department of Agriculture implemented a new regulation in February, 2013 requiring all employees (PIs, Co-PIs, undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and sub-recipients) on National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awards to have appropriate training in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).  PIs of currently active NIFA awards and all others employed on this award must complete required RCR training.

UGA uses an on-line RCR training program we implemented in 2010 to meet similar National Science Foundation (NSF) regulations pertaining to RCR training for grant employees.  This system, called the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI), is also the same online system used by the Human Subjects Office to meet the federal training requirements regarding use of human subjects in research.

This training needs only be taken once.  Anyone currently employed on a NIFA award who might have previously worked on an NSF award since 2010 does not have to re-take RCR training.

The link to enter UGA’s RCR training module is https://paul.ovpr.uga.edu/CITI/ .  More information about this requirement, CITI, and your options for taking this training can be found at https://ovpr.uga.edu/rcr/.  Please contact Maryann Deom (mtd@uga.edu or 2-8808) if you have any questions about your obligations under NIFA regulations.

Categories
Announcements

UGA is taking deliberate steps to enhance its export control compliance program, with the goal of facilitating compliance by the research community.

Export controls are the U.S. laws and regulations that govern the transfer of controlled items or information to foreign nationals, countries, and entities for reasons of national security and foreign policy. Compliance enhancements include the addition of a dedicated export control compliance officer within the Office of the Vice President for Research, user-friendly export procedures, and awareness training. A website, now under construction, identifies export requirements, answers commonly asked questions, and identifies “go-to” individuals on campus.

Export control regulations have a direct impact on the hardware, laboratory equipment, materials, software, technology and technical data that may be exported to other countries or apply to individual citizens of foreign countries working or studying at UGA. While some regulations have a focus on military technologies, others address dual-use items having both civilian and military applications. Regulations may also restrict specific foreign entities and individuals with which UGA can do business.

In recent years, the U.S. Government has strictly enforced these regulations within higher education, resulting in numerous investigations as well as civil and criminal sanctions at the university and individual levels. While UGA is committed to maintaining a teaching and research environment with global reach, we remain equally committed to full compliance with all export regulations.

As with all areas of research compliance, we strongly emphasize taking advantage of these resources. Most importantly, if you have any questions or become aware of a potential export control issue, please contact one of the designated individuals listed on the contacts page as soon as possible.

 

 

Categories
Announcements

The Office of Research Support Services will launch iLab Solutions, a web-based solution, in early August to streamline  equipment scheduling and product ordering, as well as billing and invoicing for UGA core facilities and service centers.

The first core facility to use iLab Solutions for scheduling is CTEGD Flow Cytometry. Subsequently, the online solution will be implemented for the UGA Glass Blowing Shop, Coverdell Stockroom,  Central Research Stories and Campus Scientific Stores.

The login screen will be available on the webpage for any core facility or service center using iLab.

PIs, lab members and departmental administrators may register for an iLab account. Registration is required only one time to use iLab for all core facilities and service centers for which it is available.

Login to UGA iLab

Click by Click instructions for UGA iLab registration

 

Categories
Announcements

UGA continues to support process improvement initiatives that facilitate the conduct and administration of research and other sponsored projects.

Through a collaborative effort by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Vice President for Finance and Administration, a work group comprising research faculty and staff was assembled to focus on key operational processes and organizational activities and make recommendations for business process improvements to enhance support for UGA’s research and sponsored project activities.

As a result of the Work Group’s efforts, a report was issued containing 41
recommendations to improve the infrastructure for the administration of
sponsored programs. These recommendations encompass four areas of
emphasis:
1. Customer service and training;
2. Research administrator support and distribution;
3. Communication between central offices and with campus units; and
4. Institutional risk tolerance

To build on the efforts of the Research Administration Work Group, a
group of UGA faculty and administrators will be working with a consultant to
complete an independent review of UGA’s research and sponsored project
administrative infrastructure and the business processes supporting research
and sponsored projects.

The information gleaned from this independent review will inform and guide UGA in creating and implementing a plan for improving sponsored project and research administration infrastructure throughout UGA.

Categories
Announcements

CDC and UGA investigators are invited to submit proposals for seed funding in support of collaborative research infectious diseases. Letters of intent are due August 22, 2014.

Investigators must be either a full-time CDC employee or a tenured / tenure-track UGA faculty and member of the UGA Faculty of Infectious Diseases.

Successful proposals responsive to the CDC/UGA guidelines for seed award funding will have collaborative, interdisciplinary infectious disease research in at least two of the three following broad priority areas: i. public health (e.g., infectious diseases, biostatistics and modeling, surveillance and epidemiology, diagnostics and clinical/public health laboratory science or practice, and environmental health); ii. veterinary medicine (e.g., wildlife, companion animals, surveillance, risk analysis, disease detection and prevention, and human interface); iii. ecological science (e.g., climate change, entomology, spatial analysis, mathematical and environmental modeling, environmental exposures/conditions, informatics, and infectious disease ecology)

Up to three seed awards will be funded. The maximum award amount is $50,000 per project year ($25,000 for each institution) for one- or two-year durations. Seed proposals should approach existing problems from a new perspective and/or use new avenues of investigation.

It is strongly encouraged that proposals should align where possible with CDC Winnable Battles, which is a CDC initiative addressing public health priorities with large-scale impact on health and with known, effective strategies to address them. Proposals should be based on a rational hypothesis derived from critical review and analysis of the literature and/or logical reasoning and should demonstrate a collaborative relationship between UGA and CDC research scientists.

Letter of Intent: Due August 22, 2014. 

Full proposals: Due September 1, 2014. 

See UGA CDC Call for Proposals 2014 for complete details.

 

Categories
Compliance, Integrity & Safety

How is your lab managing its waste?  Autoclaving is the most dependable procedure used by researchers for the destruction of biological waste material.

A proper autoclave preventive maintenance program along with a biological monitoring program are essential components of ensuring the reliability of an autoclave. Having neither of these in place could pose significant issues as waste moves from the lab to the landfill. The Office of Biosafety has placed autoclave guidance documents on their web page https://ovpr.uga.edu/biosafety/  for easy reference.

If you have any questions or need assistance with your autoclave or waste program, please contact the Office of Biosafety at biosfy@uga.edu or 706.542.5300.

Categories
Compliance, Integrity & Safety

It is time for the Occupational Health and Safety Program’s Annual Update for those individuals currently enrolled in the program.

If you have had any changed in your health status or changes in job responsibilities that might increase your occupational health risks or exposure, please complete an updated form at https://ovpr.uga.edu/docs/forms/compliance/oacu/pdf/OHSP-Annual.pdf. Please submit this update to occhealt@uga.edu