Grants.gov Eliminating PureEdge Software – Applicants Must Now Use Adobe Forms

NIH Making the Switch with January 2009 Submissions

Beginning with proposals submitted in January 2009, Grants.gov will no longer use the PureEdge software. All proposals will be submitted using the new Adobe Forms software.

This change is of particular importance to those who have applied to NIH in the past using PureEdge form sets.

What this means for the Principal Investigator:

  1. The PI must download a compatible version of the Adobe Reader software. This software is available free of charge on the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp#adobe811

  2. A new application package must be downloaded from Grants.gov for the specific funding opportunity. If you downloaded any application package prior to December 5, 2008, that package may no longer be allowed by Grants.gov.

Hint: Do not reuse old forms packages from previous Grants.gov submissions. Always download a new forms package for your targeted funding opportunity.

  1. If you are applying to NIH, even for a resubmission, you must now use the Adobe Forms software and download a new application package from Grants.gov. For more information on the NIH transition to Adobe Forms, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-020.html

As always, please contact the ORSP as soon as possible if you plan to submit a grant proposal.

UM Research Funding News

Proposal and Award Activity

UM faculty and staff submitted 21 external funding proposals and received 17 external funding awards during November 2008. For a complete listing, see the Monthly Report.

Faculty Travel Support

In November a total of $1,065 was awarded by the ORSP to help support research-related travel. Examples of research purposes for which faculty have recently received support include:

  • Help create new research group while at conference
  • Meet with collaborators to develop and extend research
  • Conduct in-person interviews for ongoing research project while at conference
  • Travel to sabbatical research location for project on development of international research center
  • Conduct research on historical artifacts in museums overseas, plan new book project, and investigate funding opportunities

Faculty Travel Support guidelines, application, and FAQ are available from the ORSP Internal Support page.

Additional Information

Speaking of COS

COS Profile Management Tips

If you have trouble finding time to build and update your COS profile, try these suggestions:

  • Work on your profile one section at a time, whenever you can spare a few minutes.
  • Have a research assistant or graduate student take care of basic text entry for you, then edit or update as needed.
  • Once your profile is up to date, just a few minutes every few months is all you’ll need to maintain it.
  • Save time managing your CV and related information by keeping it all updated in one location: your COS profile.

Why should you do this?

The COS Expertise database is searched by corporations, research institutions, societies, and others who are looking for peer reviewers, consultants, and speakers. Two of the biggest Expertise searchers are the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). And of course, other scholars and researchers search COS Expertise for collaborators. If you think you know everyone in your field and they know you, try a COS Expertise search and find out! COS Expertise is an international database, and you’ll find researchers and scholars all over the world working in the same or related fields.

Don’t know about COS?

Check out our COS page, the January 2005, September 2006, and March 2007 newsletter articles, and/or the COS home page. COS is for all UM faculty in all academic disciplines and research areas.

Bits & Pieces

Six Receive RAMP Certificates

Congratulations to the following for successfully completing the ORSP’s Research Administration and Management Program (RAMP) and receiving their Certificates of Completion on November 20, 2008:

  • Marie Barnard, School of Applied Sciences
  • Stephen Goodnoh, Accounting
  • Pat Jones, Small Business Development Center
  • Kathy McCombs, National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
  • Kendra Rauschenberger, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  • Michelle Swearingen, School of Pharmacy

RAMP consists of a series of six workshops offered over the course of a semester that are designed to facilitate responsible oversight of externally sponsored research projects.  RAMP will be offered again in the spring semester.

Position Available

The National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi seeks a Research and Development Licensing Associate.   This position will serve as a liaison between NCNPR faculty and staff and the ORSP Division of Technology Management. Additional details are available via the University's online employment system, Jobs at Ole Miss (search under National Center for Natural Products Research or R&D Licensing Associate). Applications for the position must be submitted via the online system.

A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines

Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion Project Grants

Deadlines January 1, May 1, September 1

The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion provides these grants for activities that enhance teaching and learning in the fields of religion and theology. Proposals need to demonstrate that the project improves practical application of teaching and learning methods, creates a supportive environment for teachers, promotes a sustained conversation about pedagogy, or supports research and study of pedagogical issues.

DoD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program

Deadlines January 8, March 12

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program  (SERDP), is seeking to fund environmental research and development efforts. The development and application of innovative environmental science and technology supports the long-term sustainability of DoD’s installations and ranges, as well as significantly reduces current and future environmental liabilities. Proposals responding to focused Statements of Need (SON) in the following areas are requested:

  • Environmental Restoration — innovative technologies for the detection, characterization, containment, and remediation of a wide range of contaminants in soil, sediments, and water.
  • Munitions Management — advanced geophysical sensor and signal processing technologies for the detection, discrimination, and remediation of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and technologies for range clearance and reduced generation of UXO.
  • Sustainable Infrastructure — natural resources (e.g., ecosystem-based management; threatened, endangered, and at-risk species; land management and watershed protection; and maritime sustainability), facilities (e.g., installation/regional sustainability, energy, noise, air and water quality, and facility waste), and cultural resources.
  • Weapons Systems and Platforms — advanced alternative environmentally benign technologies and materials that reduce, control, or eliminate the waste and emissions associated with the manufacturing, maintenance, and use of DoD weapons systems and platforms.

Proposals responding to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 SONs will be selected through a competitive process. The Core Solicitation provides funding in varying amounts for multi-year projects. FOR THE CORE SOLICITATION, PRE-PROPOSALS FROM THE NON-FEDERAL SECTOR ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009.  

SERDP also will be funding environmental research and development through the SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) Solicitation. The SEED Solicitation is designed to provide a limited amount of funding (not to exceed $150,000) to investigate new environmental technologies with innovative approaches that entail high technical risk and/or have minimal supporting data that provide risk reduction and/or proof of concept. For FY 2010, proposals are being requested that respond to one SEED SON in each of the following focus areas: Munitions Management, Sustainable Infrastructure, and Weapons Systems and Platforms. ALL SEED PROPOSALS ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009.

John Carter Brown Library Short-Term Fellowships

Deadline January 10

Sponsorship of research at the John Carter Brown Library (JCB) is reserved exclusively for scholars whose work is centered on the colonial history of the Americas, North and South, including all aspects of the European, African, and Native American involvement. The JCB offers several Short-Term Fellowships to scholars who are engaged in predoctoral, postdoctoral, or independent research in areas of research on colonial America that may benefit from the use of JCB materials. The fellowships are open to Americans and foreign nationals who are engaged in pre- or postdoctoral, or independent, research.

Winterthur Research Fellowships

Deadline January 15

Winterthur Research Fellowships are short-term residential fellowships for research at Winterthur Library at the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Delaware. The library is a recognized center for advanced study and is dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of America's artistic, cultural, social, and intellectual history from colonial times into the twentieth century. Fellows have conducted research in the areas of material culture, architecture, decorative arts, design, consumer culture, garden and landscape studies, Shaker studies, travel and tourism, the Atlantic World, childhood, sentimental literary culture, and many other areas of social and cultural history. Winterthur invites academic, independent, and museum scholars and advanced graduate students to apply. Fellowships are for one to three months.

NRC 2009 Postdoctoral and Senior Research Associateship Programs

Annual Deadlines February 1, May 1, August 1, November 1

The National Research Council of the National Academies announces the 2009 Postdoctoral and Senior Research Associateship Programs to be conducted on behalf of over 100 research laboratories throughout the United States representing nearly all U.S. government agencies with research facilities.  The programs provide opportunities for Ph.D., Sc.D., or M.D. scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability to perform research on problems largely of their own choosing, yet compatible with the research interests of the sponsoring laboratory. Full-time Associateships will be awarded on a competitive basis in 2009 for research in the fields of chemistry; earth, atmospheric, and space sciences; engineering; applied sciences and computer science; life and medical sciences; mathematics; space and planetary sciences; and physics.  Many of the laboratories are open to both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, and to both recent doctoral recipients and senior investigators. Contact with the research adviser/mentor at the proposed sponsoring laboratory, including discussion of the proposed project, is necessary prior to submitting a formal application to the NRC.

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Research Fellowships

Deadline February 2

The Harry Ransom Center awards fellowships to support scholarly research projects in all areas of the humanities. Priority will be given to those proposals that concentrate on the center’s collections and that require substantial on-site use of them. A variety of named, one-month fellowships are available as well as a limited number of two- and four-month fellowships. All applicants must be postdoctorate or possess an equivalent terminal degree or substantial record of scholarly achievement. Independent scholars are encouraged to apply.

NIH Research on Integrity in Collaborative Research

Deadline March 17

This opportunity encourages research grant applications from institutions and organizations that propose to study research integrity as it relates to collaborative interactions or activities. The R21 exploratory/developmental mechanism will be used to foster research where there are few published data and where problem areas that would benefit from further investigation could be identified. Applications must address the influence of collaborative interactions and activities on research integrity in at least one of the following areas that are of particular interest to NIH: the clarification of community norms and standards; the effectiveness of self-regulation; the societal, organizational, group, or individual factors that affect integrity in research, both positively and negatively; or the impacts of non-adherence to accepted codes of conduct. The proposed project must challenge existing paradigms, be developed around an innovative hypothesis or address critical barriers to progress in understanding the multiple factors that underlie deviation from integrity in collaborative research. Proposals must have clear relevance to biomedical, behavioral health sciences, or health services research. Applicants are encouraged to take into consideration problems or issues that have relevance to the specific interests of NIH institutes and centers.

Additional Resources

Some Upcoming Events

2009 Research Conference on Research Integrity

May 15-17 in Niagara Falls NY

A conference for scholars interested in research on research integrity: policy studies, behavioral analysis, law, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, education, biomedical sciences, information science, and other related areas. The target audience includes investigators, researchers, research coordinators, Institutional Review Board staff and members, institutional officials, pharmaceutical research personnel, department chairs, basic science students, and medical personnel with an interest in research.

2009 ISPIM Conference - The Future of Innovation

June 21-24 in Vienna

Organized by the International Society for Professional Innovation Management, this conference will bring together academics, business leaders, consultants and other professionals involved in innovation management. The conference format will include facilitated themed sessions for academic and practitioner presentations together with interactive workshops and discussion panels. The ISPIM 2009 Conference will be held along side The R&D Management Conference 2009 allowing delegates to move freely between conferences and connecting the ISPIM and R&D Management networks. Outlines of paper submissions are due December 31.

Congratulations from the VCRSP

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs oversees funding for research, service, and education projects. These activities complement the fundamental aspects of The University of Mississippi’s mission and are among its most tangible contributions to the future. Funding for these activities is one of the best measures of a university’s success in engaging with national and international communities.

All of us who have sought funding to test our ideas know that it is difficult and that the communities to which we belong are highly competitive. That spirit of competition is critical and it contributes more than a little to the relief and excitement a researcher feels on receiving a funding award.

Listed below are our colleagues who have been notified of external funding awards in the last calendar month. Please join me in congratulating them. The news of their discoveries and the importance of their contributions are part of all of our futures and the future of Ole Miss.

Alice M. Clark Signature

Alice M. Clark, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

Summary of Awards Received in November 2008

PI Name PI Department/Unit Co-PI Name/s
Aranchuk, Vyacheslav Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics
Carithers, Teresa Family and Consumer SciencesLambert, Laurel
Cheng, Alexander H D Civil EngineeringAl-Ostaz, Ahmed Hajmohammad-Khalil
Mantena, Prabhakar R
Mullen, Christopher L
Clancy, T. National Center for Justice and Rule of Law
Harper, Maxine Center for Educational Research and Evaluation
Holmes, Erin Pharmacy Administration
Khan, Ikhlas National Center for Natural Products ResearchPasco, David S
Smillie, Troy
Parker, Jackie Office of the Dean of Education
Rutherford, David (2 awards) Public Policy Research Center
Sabatier, James Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics
Shelton-Richey, E. Division of Outreach and Continuing Education
Spain, Syd Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Surbeck, Cristiane Civil Engineering
Vaughan, James G Mechanical EngineeringLackey, Ellen
Wang, Sam National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
Wu, Weiming National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
  • November 2008 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi in the previous month.
  • November Proposals Submitted: 21 from 17 Principal Investigators
  • November Awards Received: 17 totaling $5,097,026
  • FY09 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 423
  • FY09 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 212