NIH Administrative Supplements
NIH recently announced the implementation of a new electronic
submission process for administrative supplement funding
requests. These supplemental funds may be available to meet
increased costs that are within the scope of an approved award,
but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or the
grant progress report for the noncompeting continuation support
was submitted. All applicants must discuss potential requests
with the awarding institute or center (IC) and receive
confirmation of the availability of the funds prior to the
supplement submission. (Refer to either the parent award’s
assigned Grants Management and Program Staff or the contact
persons listed in Section VII of the specific Administrative
Supplement FOA.) Additionally, prior to submission, applicants
must review their awarding IC's web site to ensure they meet the
IC's requirements. Click
here for a list of those web sites.
There are two ways to submit an electronic version of the
administrative supplement request.
- eRA Commons: Look for an “Administrative Supplements” link
in the action column on your funded project’s Status page.
- Grants.gov portal.: Find the “Apply for Grants
Electronically” button in the
FOA PA-12-100. It will lead you to the appropriate
application package.
The eRA Commons streamlined process option is fast and easy.
You will find much of the application pre-populated with
information from the parent grant data, while you are guided
step-by-step through the rest of the process. If you decide to
submit through Grants.gov, you will find the SF424 package
similar to that used for a regular proposal submission. Users
will be able to track the administrative supplement requests
submitted via either of these methods in eRA Commons.
Administrative Supplements will not receive peer review. The
staff of the NIH awarding component will evaluate requests to
determine overall merit.
If you have any questions regarding the submission of an
administrative supplement, please contact your
College Grants Officer. |
New NIH search tool helps principal investigators
determine which study section is best for their grant
submission.
If you are a Principal Investigator focused on the next
R01 submission deadline and are considering which NIH Institute
and study section to list as a preference in your cover letter,
a new eRA search tool called "LikeThis" can help. Click
here to check out LIkeThis. |
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How to calculate effort of students
working on R-series NIH grants for inclusion on the All
Personnel Report of an Annual Progress Report (eSNAP)
Any person who has worked on the project
during the current budget period (the period covered by the
report) for one person month or more needs to be included on the
report, regardless of his/her role on the project.
NIH doesn’t allow payment of stipends from R-series grants.
Any students working on an R-series NIH grant project must be
paid a salary or hourly wage.
Graduate Student Research Assistants (RA's) are employed by
University departments and units and receive compensation via a
salary for their work. This is an allowable expense on R-series
NIH grants. Per UK policy, research assistants who are also
full-time graduate students may be assigned responsibilities
requiring no more than 50 percent of their time.
Responsibilities for RA's will vary with the fraction of time
for which they are employed, but normally a one half-time
appointment should require no more than 20 hours per week of
assignable duties, for a .50 (full) RA, or 10 hours per week for
a .25 (half) RA.
The University’s HR system (SAP) reflects "full-time"
Research Assistant appointments as 50%, or .50 FTE.
Per NIH policy, for any part-time employees or students who
do not have regular academic appointments, if the level of
part-time work is already classified as a percentage, e.g., 50%
for a half-time appointment, you can consider it an appointment
based on a 12-month year – 50% of 12 months would be a 6 month
appointment -- and multiply the percent of effort associated
with the project times the number of months of the appointment.
For example, if someone has a 50% appointment – like a full-time
Graduate Student Research Assistant as noted in the UK policy --
and works 20% of their 50% on the project, you would calculate
that they work 1.2 months (20% x 6 = 1.2) on the project and
should be reported on the All Personnel Report. For example:
50% (half-time appointment) x 12 months = 6-month appointment
20% x 6 months = 1.2 calendar months
For students or other employees who are paid at an hourly
rate, since 1 person month equals approximately 160 hours, you
can use payroll information to determine if a student works on a
project for 1 person month or more.
To comply with UK policy, Graduate Student Research
Assistants work time should be no more than 20 hours per week,
and their effort reported on an NIH All Personnel Report, should
never be greater than 6 calendar months.
UK Graduate School policy on research assistant appointments:
UK | Graduate School | Teaching and Research Assistantships
NIH Frequently Asked Questions on All Personnel Reports, C.
Level of Effort
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/all_personnel_report_faq.htm#556
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Laboratory Staff Strongly Encouraged to Attend a Review
Session on Laboratory Safety
Lack of sufficient training has been blamed for a recent lab
acquired infection at another institution which resulted in a
Salmonella typhimurium outbreak that affected 109
people in 38 states. It is imperative that adequate safety
precautions are taken in the planning, execution, and
termination of research utilizing biohazardous materials.
Biohazarous materials include but are not limited to infectious
agents (viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic, or prion),
recombinant nucleic acids (ex: plasmids with inserts, viral
vectors, etc. or whole animals and plants with introduced
recombinant materials), infected animal blood and/or tissues,
human blood/blood products/fluids, human derived cell lines or
tissues, and live vaccines. This training will focus on
definitions of biohazards, risk groups, biosafety containment
levels, best practices and proper disposal methods, as well as
requirements set forth by the University of Kentucky for
researchers using biohazards.
The training entitled "Laboratory Safety Training
Procedures" will take place on May 21 from 10:30 to 12:00 in
MN263.
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University Deadlines Associated with the Upcoming NIH
RO1 Deadline
The next standard NIH R01 deadline is Tuesday, June 5. OSPA
expects to receive your fully completed proposal ready to submit
3 business days in advance of that date – Friday, June 1. Your
CGO needs sufficient time prior to this 3-day deadline to review
the proposal package and allow time for edits to be made.
Please provide it as soon as possible prior to June 1. Also,
per the new policy as announced by the VPR, your eIAF must be
fully routed 3 business days in advance of the sponsor
deadline. For this R01 deadline of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5,
OSPA must have your fully routed eIAF by 8 a.m. on Friday, June
1. The COM recommends that eIAF routing be initiated at least
10 business days ahead of the University deadline (Friday, May
18). This interval should be extended for complex grant
submissions. Initiation means routing the eIAF and required
attachments to your CGO. Remember – you are not the only one
submitting for this deadline! And, there is a holiday on
Monday, May 28, so that is one less business day for items to be
reviewed and certified.
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Have you checked the access to your shower and eyewash
stations lately?
According to UK EHS policy, monthly inspections of your
shower/eyewash stations are required. Any area which deals with
corrosive, flammable or otherwise hazardous material is required
to have immediate access to eyewash and drench shower
facilities. All showers and eye wash equipment must be in full
operational order and unobstructed. Eye wash bottles are not
adequate equipment. For more detailed information on Emergency
Eyewash and Shower Equipment, please follow the
link to the
information on the Environmental Health and Safety website.
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NIH Announces New Just-in-Time Submission Process
Click on the
link to see the new guidelines announced by NIH.Contact your
CGO
if you have further questions.
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Supreme Court Ruling Throws Doubt Over Countless
Life-Sciences Patents
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on the U.S.
Supreme Court decision related to life-sciences patents in a
March 21, 2012 article. To read the article, click
here. To read the full Supreme Court opinion, click
here. |
Do your grant’s expenses look like this?
If so, you may be inviting some attention from audit agencies. Spending out a grant at its end is an audit flag to many sponsor’s audit entities. The second graph below is NSF’s graph showing what activities are items that draw their interest. Even if you don’t have an NSF award, you should consider their information as true for other awards!
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Don’t wear gloves in the hallway
Don’t wear gloves it the hallway per the
EH&S policy! The
need to wear gloves indicates you are being protected from something
that is potentially harmful. Wearing the gloves into general service
areas, like hallways, could be a potential source for exposing other
people to harmful substances.
Occupational Health and
Safety should be contacted with any questions.
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Citations for Noncompliance with NIH Public Access Policy
Recently, investigators have been cited by NIH for
noncompliance with the
NIH Public Access Policy related to the submission of their annual
NIH progress reports. This policy, which also applies to new proposals,
ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH
funded research. Annotations demonstrating compliance with the NIH
Public Access Policy should be placed at the end of each applicable
publication citation in every application, proposal or report. Included
in this policy is a requirement that scientists submit final
peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the
digital archive PubMed
Central upon acceptance for publication. To help advance science
and improve human health, the Policy requires that these papers are
accessible to the public on PubMed Central no later than 12 months after
publication. Potential consequences for non-compliance may be proposal
rejection or funding delays.
Refer to these sites for further information:
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/index.htm and
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm.
One of the three following items must be listed for any publication
citation: 1) PubMed Central (PMC) reference number 2) NIH Manuscript
Submission reference number (e.g., NIHMS97531) 3) PMC Journal – In
Process (if the Journal submits articles directly to PMC)
Also, per NIH policy, for each publication that results from NIH
grant-supported research, grantees must include an acknowledgment of NIH
grant support and a disclaimer stating the following: “This publication
was made possible by Grant Number ________ from _________” or “The
project described was supported by Grant Number ________ from ________”
and “Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do
not necessarily represent the official views of the [name of awarding
office or NIH].”
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Plagiarism Prevention - Access to "iThenticate" software now
available
The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has arranged for
trial access to a software called "iThenticate". This software
compares your literature/publication/abstract content against a massive
database providing in-depth reports on originality. This will
provide you with a tool to determine how similar or original your work
is before publication -
http://www.ithenticate.com/.
In order to access this web-based system, you will need to request login
permission by sending an email to
COM.SADR@uky.edu. Your login ID and password will then be
established and sent to you by email. |
Personal Protective Equipment and Apparel in Laboratories
Appropriate attire and personal protective equipment are required any
time someone is in a laboratory area. Shorts, short skirts, sandals and
open-toed or high-heeled shoes are not allowed while working in a
laboratory. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as lab coats and
protective eyewear are required when in a laboratory area. Other
equipment such as gloves may be required based on the task. To learn
more about appropriate lab apparel and PPE, see the
UK EH&S Fact Sheets on PPE and
Apparel and the UK
Laboratory Safety website. |
Standardized Budget Template Available for Use with eIAF
As the April 2 deadline approaches, when an eIAF must be fully
routed three days in advance of a sponsor’s proposal deadline, we are
looking for ways to facilitate and expedite the review of eIAFs by the
College Grant Officers (CGO). One way we are making the process easier
is to encourage depts./units to use a standard budget template. Click
here to access the template. You can also find one on
the College’s Research Support and Development page: http://www.mc.uky.edu/medicine/research/supportdev.asp
Please
note: the form is an Excel 97-2003 file. Current fringe rates are included,
with recommended escalation formulas included for salaries, fringes, and
other costs. It uses the standard research F&A rate of 48.5%, but this
can be easily changed for other types of submission. There is a tab
for both a detailed and modular submission, if the proposal will be
submitted to NIH.
Contact your
CGO
for assistance.
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Required Effort on NIH Grants During a No-Cost Extension Period
If an NIH grant is in a no-cost extension period, NIH expects
the effort of all key personnel to remain the same. As the extension is
“no-cost,” with this extension effort must be committed absent any
additional funding from the sponsor. Any effort committed and not paid
for by the sponsor is considered cost share, and must be tracked
accordingly.
In general, effort of the PI and any key personnel named in the notice
of grant award may reduce their effort by up to 25% without sponsor
approval. If effort needs to be reduced by 25% or more, advance notice
must be obtained from NIH. The request for this reduction can be made
via email, through the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration as
institutional official. (NIH policy regarding prior approval
requirements is at this
link.)
Contact your
CGO
for assistance.
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DEA-License Related to Research
Per discussions with the regional DEA Diversion Agent,
Pam Bixler, University researchers should be individually applying for
this license using form
DEA-225, and, as an employee of the University of Kentucky, a state
governmental entity, would be exempt from paying the license fee.
As part of the application process, the applicant should
provide his/her department chair’s name as the one who can certify the
exemption status. If a chair is applying for the license, he/she may
provide Alan Daugherty, Sr. Associate Dean for Research, as the person
who can certify the exemption. Be sure the work address provided is a
University of Kentucky address.
If the individual leaves the University, and chooses to keep the license
as an employee in the private sector, then the fee exemption would no
longer apply. There may also be certain circumstances, if a project is
funded by a for-profit entity, where the fee payment may be required. In
those situations, the private company should be covering the cost.
Contact your
CGO
if you have further questions.
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Implementation of University IAF Processing
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON REQUIRED GRANT ROUTING Please read
the
memo from the Vice President for Research. The important message –
Routing of IAFs (Internal Approval Forms) will need to be completed
(submitted to OSPA) for new, competing, and non-competing applications 3
business days before a grant deadline. For IAF routing to be completed
in this time frame, we are making the following recommendations: IAF
routing to be initiated a minimum of 13 business days ahead of the grant
submission deadline (10 business days ahead of the OSPA deadline)
Please note – limited sections of the grant are needed to initiate this
process. The information needed to initiate IAF routing is listed on
the COM Research site -
http://www.mc.uky.edu/medicine/research/supportdev.asp. Please
note – for complex proposals involving multiple Investigators and/or
Multiple Colleges, it is recommended that the process be initiated
earlier that this deadline. College of Medicine College Grant
Officers (http://www.mc.uky.edu/medicine/research/grantsofficers.asp)
are experts on this topic if you have questions or need assistance.
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Office of Inspector General released it work plan for 2012
The
Office of Inspector General released its work plan for 2012 that
includes emphasis on the review of university charging indirect cost
items as a direct cost. Previous audits of universities found this to
be a problem. The review will encompass both labor and non-labor
expenses. The UK guidelines on determining if a cost is normally
considered direct is
here.
If you have any questions about what your grant or contract will allow
as an expense, please contact your
CGO.
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The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act is one of the most significant job
creation bills enacted by Congress this year. The Act implements a
first-inventor-to-file standard for patent approval, creates a
post-grant review system to weed out bad patents and helps the Patent
and Trademark Office (PTO) address the backlog of patent applications.
The enactment of H.R. 1249 is a victory for America’s innovators and job
creators who rely on our patent system to develop new products and grow
their businesses. The America Invents Act brings our patent system into
the 21st century, reducing frivolous litigation while creating a more
efficient process for the approval of patents. These reforms will help
the innovators and job creators of today launch the products and
businesses of tomorrow.
The UK office of Intellectual property is available to help any UK
employee or student navigate the complex set of rules associated with
patents. If you believe you may have an invention, please contact their
office.
http://www.uky.edu/econdev/econdev/faculty-staff-clinicians/intellectual-property-development
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Including a collaborator on an NIH proposal without committing
any salary support for that person
If you’d like to include an individual who will contribute to
the scientific development or execution of the project but they’re not
committing any measurable effort (in person months) – no direct salary
support in the grant budget and no cost share commitment – they should
be identified in the proposal as “Other Significant Contributors.” NIH
has specific guidance in the
SF424 (R&R) Application guide on the appropriate way to include them
in this role. Your
CGO can also advise you on the appropriate way to do this.
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Summary of Findings from a Recent DHHS OIG Audit of a Large University
A recent DHHS OIG audit of a large university focused on direct reimbursement of
normally indirect administrative costs charged directly to DHHS agreements.
They were found to generally be in compliance. Three hundred thirty-two (322)
expenditures were reviewed and 85% were found to be allowable and compliant.
The remaining 47, however, were found to be unallowable. Thirty of these were
found to be unallowable as they did not “solely benefit” the sponsored agreement
to which they were charged – this included the purchase of information
technology supplies like computers, printers, and digital cameras. Also, nearly
half were purchases that occurred at the end of a project period. In addition
to the institution having to repay the questioned costs, they were directed to
“establish adequate controls to ensure consistent compliance with the costs
principles applicable to charging administrative, clerical, and extra service
compensation expenditures to sponsored agreements.”
A focus of the DHHS OIG for audits in 2012 will be on how universities are
meeting their cost share commitments. The UK cost sharing policy is found
here:
http://www.uky.edu/EVPFA/Controller/files/BPM/E-50-2.pdf
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Children in the Workplace (Memo
from COM Dean's office)
Children should not be brought to the workplace in lieu of
daycare.
Children should not be brought into research labs.
Children should not be brought into clinical environments
(unless the child is a patient or accompanying a parent to a personal
clinical visit).
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NIH Updated Electronic Application Forms - ADOBE-FORMS-B2
The ADOBE-FORMS-B2 packages will be used with new
funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) posted on/after July 22, 2011. In
addition, NIH will reissue R01, R03, and R21 parent announcements with the new
forms on July 22 and expire the current parent R01, R03, and R21 FOAs on January
8, 2012 . Applicants may use either the current parent FOAs with ADOBE-FORMS-B1
or the new parent FOAs with ADOBE-FORMS-B2 packages for deadlines on/before
January 7, 2012, but NIH strongly encourages applicants to use
ADOBE-FORMS-B2 whenever possible. For further
details, the full notice appears at:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-11-096.html.
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Reminder of what constitutes a sponsored activity proposal (grant,
contract, clinical trial agreement) As we work
toward a deadline of when IAFs must be completed prior to a proposal being
submitted, this is to remind you of what constitutes a proposal –
Per University policy a proposal includes: all New, Competing
Renewal, Noncompeting, Continuation, Revised applications, Supplemental (REUs,
Minority, etc.) and Administrative requests, and any Response to an RFP or RFQ.
This includes UKRF’s proposed role as a subcontractor on any of these types of
submissions from another entity (i.e., when another University is submitting an
NIH proposal on which UKRF is a proposed subcontractor, the internal IAF should
be routed prior to obtaining a signed letter of commitment/intent from UKRF and
prior to the lead institution submitting a proposal to the funding agency).
If no formal proposal was submitted (i.e. certain industry or
foundation funding such as pre-proposals that do not include budget details), an
IAF must be completed before an agreement is signed or an account number is
established.
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Only certain R mechanisms are eligible for “continuous submission” per
NIH policy.
Only certain R mechanisms are eligible for “continuous submission” per NIH
policy. This includes R01, R21, and R34. Any proposal submitted under this
policy must include a cover letter that identifies the study section(s),
Council, and/or Board on which the individual served, as well as the period of
his/her service. Check the NIH website on Continuous Submission (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/peer/continuous_submission.htm)
to check your eligibility and to review the additional requirements to comply
with this program. If you are interested in a Multiple PI submission through
this process, be sure to review the FAQs on the NIH Multiple PI site (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi/faq.htm#2969)
as well. |
Guidance on completion of an NIH All Personnel Report.
The All Personnel Report is part of the
Non-competing
Continuation Progress Report (PHS 2590). For awards subject to the
Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process (SNAP), the report may be submitted
through the eRA Commons using
the eSNAP module. If grantees are using the paper PHS 2590 to submit a progress
report, the All Personnel Report is
Form Page 7.
Directions for completing the All Personnel Report appear in the PHS 2590
instructions
at Section 2.2.8.
In addition, FAQs are available at this link:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/all_personnel_report_faq.htm#551
Please work with your business office staff to make sure your report corresponds
to the information in the University’s HR system. Your
CGO
will compare these two items as part of your progress report review before it is
submitted by OSPA. |
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Laboratory Security
Laboratory security measures are necessary to minimize the risk of
theft of hazardous materials (anti-bioterrorism) as well as to protect
University property, intellectual property and personal property. Click on
the link to see the
University's adaption of the CDC/NIH requirements for laboratory security. |
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New On-Line Subagreement Request Form
When a sponsored project award includes a collaborating
entity, the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration prepares and issues a
subaward agreement to the other party. The Principal Investigator (PI) begins
the process by submitting a completed
Subagreement Request Form
to OSPA.
The form includes the necessary information to prepare the subagreement such as
the scope of work, budget and collaborating investigator contact information. In
the past, the form was in pdf format and required a live signature. It has now
been converted to an on-line form with an electronic signature. The PI is
identified by logging into the site with his or her MyUK logon ID and password.
The new format is available for immediate use at the
OSPA website on the Forms page
http://www.research.uky.edu/ospa/forms.html.
Directly below the form is a document with instructions.
If you have questions, please contact Steve Jacoby,
OSPA Subaward Administrator, 257-9420,
hsjaco2@uky.edu.
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How Tuition Appears on Monthly Ledger Reports
When reviewing your monthly ledgers for accuracy,
remember that tuition is included within the Direct Current Expense
category/sponsored class, but is exempt from the base when calculating indirects/F&A
costs. As tuition isn’t budgeted in its own separate line, it may not be readily
apparent that this cost has been excluded from the F&A calculation. If a tuition
expense isn’t charged to the grant after all, but another type of cost is
incurred that is subject to F&A, then this will negatively impact the overall
budget, causing a short fall that would need to be covered by departmental
funds.
Other costs exempt from F&A are equipment, rent, patient care, and
subcontract amounts in excess of $25,000. Each of these costs, however, would
have a separate line item in the budget.
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Communications Converged Fee
As of July 1, communication charges for the following will be assessed
as a lump sum per FTE: Network access, Basic Phone Line charges,
Features – call waiting, call forwarding, auto busy, Voice Mail, and
Domestic Long Distance.
Previously, these costs were itemized to four different general ledger
expense codes. At that time, some of these could be charged to grants
with sufficient justification. With the implementation of this new
program, it will not be possible to charge this converged fee directly
to grants.
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Senior and Key Personnel as defined by NIH
Senior and Key Personnel are defined by NIH as follows: “The
program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) and other individuals
who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project
in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request salaries
or compensation.” It’s expected they will have measurable effort on the
project.
NIH also allows the option to identify someone as key personnel but
without effort, provided they are designated as an “Other Significant
Contributor.”
For internal approval purposes, all faculty and any staff identified as
a co-Investigator in the proposal or in a leadership role on a project
(like project director or program manager) with measurable effort –
whose salary will be either a direct charge or cost shared – need to
complete and certify the Internal Approval Form (IAF) and provide a
Financial Disclosure Conflict of Interest (COI) form. In addition, if
the PI identifies anyone else working on the project that could impact
the project outcomes, they should complete a COI form. |
Changes to Conflict of Interest Regulations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released the
Final Rule on changes to the conflict of interest regulations regarding
research. UK Administration is reviewing the changes and will provide
more information before the rule takes affect.
(WEBSITE) |
Good Practices for Laboratory Notebooks
Notebooks should err on the side of completeness. Someone from
outside your lab should be able to read what was done without your
verbal interpretation. General guidelines for lab notebooks include:
• Permanently bound book (not spiral), with acid-free paper
• Pages should be consecutively numbered
• Dated entries
• Signed entries
• Record entries chronologically
• Recorded in English
• Each entry should stand on it's own
• Organize material with sections and headings
• If a page is left blank draw a line through it
• Identify material sources (e.g. manufacturer, lot number, expiration
date)
• Identify and describe reagents and specimens
• Include instrument serial numbers and calibration dates
• Explain nonstandard abbreviations
• Use permanent ink – don't remove pages or obliterate original entries
• Use glue to permanently attach graphs computer printouts etc. to the
notebook (sign & date)
• Outline new experiments, include objectives & rationale
• Include periodic factual summaries of findings
• Enter observations immediately
• Summarize discussions from lab meetings and ideas made by others
citing the person's name
For more information on laboratory notebook management, see this
Responsible Conduct of Research site. sponsored by the Office of
Research Integrity. |
Postdoctoral Scholar versus Postdoctoral Fellow. How do you
know which title to choose?
When hiring a person with a PhD for a post-doctoral position, it is very
important to assign the correct title. The information below provides
general guidelines for making the correct choice. If you need more
information, refer to the
Administrative
Regulation (AR II-4.0-1).
Postdoctoral Scholar Definition:
An individual who has earned a doctoral degree and is pursuing an
individualized program of advanced training in research, in teaching or
other important aspects of academic work, or in any combination of these
activities for which the University has assumed a measure of
responsibility. Although participation in the program provides advanced
training, service is required as a condition of appointment with salary.
A postdoctoral scholar has status both as a non-regular academic staff
employee and as a postdoctoral student.
Payroll: Monthly
Benefits: Basic Life, Optional Life, ADB
Insurance, Health Insurance, Health Plan Credit, Voluntary Retirement,
Workers’ Compensation, Long Term Disability, Vacation, Temporary
Disability Leave, Holiday Leave
Payroll Charges: Base+Health Insurance+
Life Insurance+ FICA+ Misc. Benefits
Taxes: Tax withholding depends on the
deductions the individual lists on their tax forms.
Postdoctoral Fellow Definition:
an individual who has earned a doctoral degree and is a recipient of a
fellowship or training award. Through such an award, a postdoctoral
fellow receives a stipend or living allowance (not considered as salary)
from grant funds provided specifically for a particular field of study
or training. No service to the University is required as a condition of
receiving the stipend, although service may be rendered incidentally as
part of the training or fellowship program. A postdoctoral fellow has
status as a postdoctoral student, but not as an employee.
Payroll: Monthly
Benefits: Basic Life, Optional Life,
Health Insurance, Health Plan Credit
Payroll Charges: Base+Health Insurance+
Life Insurance
Tax: Although no taxes are withheld by the
University on the fellowships the individual may be responsible for
federal, state, or local taxes depending on their annual filing status.
It is up to the individual to comply with federal and state laws. |
Office/Workstation Space for Academic, Research and Academic Support
Functions.
New guidelines for office/workstation space for academic, research and academic
support functions became effective July 1, 2011. Click
here
to view the guidelines. |
Mapping Publications to Grants.
A recent article by Dr. Sally Rockey, Deputy Director, NIH, Office of Extramural
Research outlined the SPIRES system for mapping publications to NIH grants. The
SPIRES database uses automated text manipulation methods to find NIH references
in publications and reformat the references into a standard traceable format.
This function is important to NIH because outcomes of NIH support often are
demonstrated through publications. To read more of Dr. Rockey’s comments about
mapping publications to grants, click
here. |
NIH notice reminds investigators of page limits for grants.
The notice was issued to remind investigators that an Appendix or certain
sections of an application can not be used to circumvent page limits. NIH’s
electronic submission system enforces page limits for grant submissions by
rejecting the electronic submission. NIH staff manually validate page limits
for paper application and will withdraw the application from consideration if
certain sections are too long. Not all sections of a grant have page limits.
Therefore, it is important for investigators to be familiar with the appropriate
application guide or instructions in the funding opportunity announcement. For
more information, click
here to see the entire NIH Reminder. |
Be certain the required signage on your laboratory door is current.
The University’s chemical hygiene plan requires that signage information be
updated at least every six months and in the event of any change in the
emergency contacts or special hazard, be updated immediately. Federal law
requires that any lab that uses hazardous chemicals must comply with the
University’s chemical hygiene plan.
This plan provides includes the following signage requirements:
Each laboratory door must be legibly marked with the
following information:
Room number
Department
Laboratory Supervisor's name
Emergency contacts, including names, office location, and office and
emergency telephone numbers
Special hazards/instructions (e.g. location of large quantities of
flammables or the presence of a "local alarm" system)
They also provide a form that can be used for this purpose at this
link
Additional University environmental health and safety resources can be found at
this
link |
Does ORI regularly pursue cases of sabotage?
The Curious Case of Vipul Bhrigu (more information:
ORI website)
The recent research misconduct finding on Vipul Bhrigu is one of the more
interesting cases ORI has handled. Bhrigu, a former postdoctoral fellow at the
University of Michigan, was caught on video engaging in the sabotage of a
graduate student’s research.
This leads to a question that some people may raise–Does ORI regularly pursue
cases of sabotage? The answer is “It depends.” ORI pursues cases involving
plagiarism, falsification, and fabrication in PHS-funded research. The sabotage,
itself, was not the reason that ORI made findings of research misconduct in the
case against Bhrigu. In this case, ORI’s jurisdiction stemmed from false results
that were recorded in the research record and were caused by Bhrigu’s
intentional tampering with the graduate student’s PHS-funded research. |
Advertising Employment
A position doesn’t have to be vacant in order to be posted on the Online
Employment System (OES).
In fact, if an employee is retiring or has given ample notice, the incumbent and
the new hire can be employed in the same position number for up to six weeks.
This allows the incumbent time to potentially train the new hire before leaving
the position, making for a smoother transition. You will want to work with your
budget officer to ensure your department can financially support paying both
individuals simultaneously. |
REMINDER: There is a
Three-Day Internal Deadline for submission of proposals and the associated
Internal Approval Form.
The Vice President for Research has established a deadline to receive final
proposals THREE BUSINESS DAYS in advance of the sponsor deadline. This deadline
applies to both electronic and paper submissions. You should contact your
CGO well in advance of the three day deadline
so that he/she can assist you. Submission by the sponsor’s deadline may not
occur if this three-day deadline is not met.
UK Policy requires the completion of the Internal Approval Form (IAF)
and financial conflict of interest form (COI)
for all key personnel prior to proposal submission. Please see the IAF
instructions
here. |
Warm Weather Lab Attire
EH&S would like to remind everyone in the coming warm weather season
that shorts, dresses, sandals are not appropriate attire in the lab. Long pants
and fully covered feet are acceptable. Complete personal protective equipment is
a federally required best practice for your own safety. Please refer to the
Chemical Hygiene Plan on the
EH&S
website for further information. |
Volunteers in the workplace
As summer approaches, please be sure to review the UK HealthCare Volunteer
Services policy regarding volunteers in the workplace (this applies to research
areas in the College of Medicine). More information at UK HealthCare
website. |
Incomplete labeling of hazardous waste
Hazardous Waste must always be labeled as “Hazardous Waste” and the contents
listed. UK’s office of Environmental Health and Safety provides training
materials
here due to the enforcement of federal policy from the US EPA. |
Chemical Hygiene Plan Annual Update
The Chemical Hygiene Plan manual needs to be updated annually. The ID page
(pages ii-iii), chemical inventory and lab specific training all need to be
updated. The UK policy on this requirement is due to Federal Law. The hygiene
plan, related documents and help on this can be directed to Environmental Health
and Safety (EH&S). |
Storage of Flammables in refrigerators/freezers
Flammables are not to be stored in refrigerator or freezers unless it is an
explosion proof or flammable safe. Explosion proof items are designed for use
in an area where flammable vapors or gases may be present. Typical lab
operations would not warrant an explosion proof frigerator.
If you need to cool/chill flammable products, please consult with EH&S for
advice. (Website) (PDF)
|
Is overtime allowed on Grants?
Because UK has so many types of grants, it depends.
First and foremost, if a non-exempt (hourly) employee works the hours, they do
have to be paid.
Second, Employees are not authorized to work overtime without supervisor prior
approval.
Overtime pay is earned for total hours worked in excess of 40 (for hourly
employees) in the regular 7 day work week and compensated at one and one-half
times the hourly wage rate.
Overtime is only allowed on federal grants (or federal flow through) if
preapproved through OSPA. A Prior Approval Request for Action/Revision
form
must be completed with the appropriate approvals provided. Your
CGO can provide assistance with this process
and offer advice on the justification.
Non-federally funded projects do not require a specific budget for overtime, but
if a sponsor does not allow it, the department will be responsible for those
costs.
Departments may have to process journal vouchers after the payroll posts to make
sure the overtime costs are assigned to the project where the overtime hours
were worked.
|
How to respond to a request for recommendation
and employment verification.
Any and all requests for verification of past University employment shall be
directed to the Lexington Campus Employee Records Office. That office releases
information including the fact of past or present employment, verification of
dates of employment and position or title. See Human resources
policy 6.1.3.1
Nothing in this policy shall be construed as a prohibition against a letter of
recommendation. Warning: Statements within a
letter of recommendation could be determined as a defamation of character or
slander. Because of the potential legal risk associated with these letters, the
Human Resources department highly recommends that all employment verifications
be sent to
Human Resources Records.
Do not provide references over the phone whenever possible, as they tend to be
less formal. There is much more potential to make false claims about the
comments made when providing a reference when there is no official record of the
conversation. |
Potential consequences for PMCID omission –
including proposal rejection or funding delays.
NIH Literature Citation Requirements for New Applications, Renewals, Progress
Reports and Biosketches. (Click
here for notice.)
One of the three following items
must be listed for any publication citation:
1) PubMed Central (PMC) reference number
2) NIH Manuscript Submission reference number (e.g., NIHMS97531)
3) PMC Journal – In Process (if the Journal submits articles directly to PMC)
|
Loaner and donated equipment. What you need to
know.
If any department receives a donated piece of equipment that will not be entered
into the UK Equipment Inventory and that the University is required to provide
insurance then they need to contact Risk Management (257-3708) to have the
piece(s) covered. Information required by Risk Management includes: Name of the
vendor, description of the equipment, building the equipment will be kept, value
and the dates equipment will be kept.
UK risk
management |
Do individuals certifying effort in your
department have suitable means of verification?
Per federal guidance (OMB Circular A-21): “Reports will reasonably reflect the
activities for which employees are compensated by the institution. To confirm
that the distribution of activity represents a reasonable estimate of the work
performed by the employee during the period, the reports
will be signed by the employee, principal investigator, or responsible
official(s) using suitable means of verification that the work was
performed.”
Further, “…the signature of the employee or of a person
having direct knowledge of the work, confirming that the record of activities
allocable as direct costs of each sponsored agreement is appropriate.”
(for more information click
here.) |
Legal Implications of NIH Applications
When a grant proposal is submitted to NIH, the applicant is actually the
University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF), not the Principal
Investigator. As part of the electronic submission process, all applications
are “signed” by UKRF’s Authorized Organizational Official (AOR), Deborah Davis.
Per NIH Policy, “The signature of an AOR on the application certifies that the
organization will comply with all applicable assurances and certifications
referenced in the application. The applicant organization is responsible for
verifying conformity with the most current guidelines for all administrative,
fiscal, and scientific information in the application, including the F&A cost
(indirect cost) rate. The AOR’s signature further certifies that the applicant
organization has the ability to provide appropriate administrative and
scientific oversight of the project and agrees to be fully accountable for the
appropriate use of any funds awarded and for the performance of the
grant-supported project or activities resulting from the application.”
For further details, refer to this
link. |
|
Good Laboratory Practice for Nonclinical
Laboratory Studies
Good Laboratory Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies
prescribes good laboratory practices for conducting nonclinical laboratory
studies that support or are intended to support applications for research or
marketing permits for products regulated by the Food and Drug
Administration, including food and color additives, animal food additives,
human and animal drugs, medical devices for human use, biological products,
and electronic products. (PDF)
|
Are you following the HIPAA requirements
for your research subjects?
If your research is subject to the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) and your approved protocol includes a HIPAA
Authorization Form to describe use and disclosure of subject’s protected
health information (PHI), you must utilize this form as indicated in the
IRB approved protocol.
HIPAA Authorization Forms need to be signed by research subjects and the
IRB form itself cannot be altered without IRB approval.
A research authorization form should be signed by each subject upon
enrollment in a research study.
Standard clinical HIPPA authorizations do not cover use and
disclosures associated with research.
Failing to comply with HIPAA Authorization regulations is considered
non-compliance. As a federal regulation, non-compliance with HIPAA could
result in associated penalties from the federal government, depending on
the nature of the infraction.
For additional information see the Office of Research Integrity
website
or contact Joe Brown at 859-257-9428, or
e-mail.
|
Are your images altered or manipulated?
Be very careful!
Taken from the
Journal of
Clinical Investigation, we advise the following Best Practice.
No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved,
removed, or introduced. The groupings of images from different parts of
the same gel, or from different gels, fields or exposures must be made
explicit by the arrangement of the figure (e.g. using dividing lines)
and in the text of the figure legend. Adjustments of brightness,
contrast, or color balance are acceptable if and as long as they do not
obscure or eliminate any information present in the original.
Nonlinear adjustments (e.g. changes to gamma
settings) must be disclosed in the figure legend.
The Editors reserve the right to consult the Office of
Research Integrity or the appointed official at the authors' home
institution if the figures appear to have been manipulated.
|
Are diagnostic analysis tests
patentable? The US Court of Appeals thinks so.
Click
here for more. |
NIH Error Correction Window for Grant Submission has been
ELIMINATED!
Beginning with due dates on or after January 25, 2011, NIH, AHRQ and
NIOSH will eliminate the error correction window from the application
submission process. This change was announced in August, via notice #
NOT-OD-10-123.
Accommodations will still be made related to Federal system issues,
provided they are appropriately
documented and
verified by NIH support staff.
Per NIH, a “system issue” is defined as follows: Systems issues are
technical problems with federal systems used for electronic submission
of grant applications (Grants.gov or eRA Commons) that keep an applicant
from successfully submitting their grant application on time. Please
note: Problems with computer systems at the applicant organization are
not considered system issues nor is a failure to complete any required
registration by the submission deadline. System issues must be reported
to the eRA Helpdesk on or before the deadline and will be investigated
on a case by case basis.
To be appropriate documented, through your Research Administrator in
OSPA,
You MUST follow the steps below to document your
issues on or before the submission deadline:
1. Contact the Grants.gov Contact Center to document and help resolve
any Grants.gov related submission issues.
2. Document issue preventing submission with the eRA Commons Help Desk
and be sure to include your Grants.gov support ticket number(s). |
Plagiarism- guidance from DHHS.
Plagiarism "...taking over the ideas, methods, or written words of
another, without acknowledgment and with the intention that they be
taken as the work of the deceiver." American Association of University
Professors (September/October, 1989).
As the above quotation states, plagiarism has been traditionally defined
as the taking of words, images, ideas, etc. from an author and
presenting them as one’s own. It is often associated with phrases, such
as kidnapping of words, kidnapping of ideas, fraud, and literary theft.
Plagiarism can manifest itself in a variety of ways and it is not just
confined to student papers or published articles or books. For example,
consider a scientist who makes a presentation at a conference and
discusses at length an idea or concept that had already been proposed by
someone else and that is not considered common knowledge. During his
presentation, he fails to fully acknowledge the specific source of the
idea and, consequently, misleads the audience into thinking that he was
the originator of that idea. This, too, may constitute a case of
plagiarism.
In sum, plagiarism can be a very serious form of ethical misconduct. For
this reason, the concept of plagiarism is universally addressed in all
scholarly, artistic, and scientific disciplines. In the humanities and
the sciences, for example, there are a plethora of writing guides for
students and professionals whose purpose, in part, is to provide
guidance to authors on discipline-specific procedures for acknowledging
the contributions of others. Curiously, when it comes to the topic of
plagiarism, many professional writing guides appear to assume that the
user is already familiar with the concept. In fact, while instruction on
attribution, a key concept in avoiding plagiarism, is almost always
provided, some of the most widely used writing guides do not appear to
offer specific sections on plagiarism. Moreover, those that provide
coverage often fail to go beyond the most basic generalities about this
type of transgression.
Although plagiarism can take many forms there are two major types in
scholarly writing: plagiarism of ideas and plagiarism of text.
For more information:
http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/plagiarism/3.shtml Avoiding
plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A
guide to ethical writing. |
Reminder- xTRAIN Required as of January 1, 2011 (relevant to T
programs (T32) and F programs).
Beginning January 1, 2011, the use of xTrain, NIH’s electronic
appointment system, will be required for nearly all NIH institutional
research training grants, fellowships, education and career development
awards. A notice was first released in March 2010 with this
information.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-10-072.html
xTrain provides program directors, university administrators and
trainees the ability to electronically process and submit appointment
forms and termination notices associated with institutional research
training grants and career development awards. The xTrain system speeds
up the NIH approval process and reduces the chance of data entry errors
associated with paper appointment forms. In addition, once a training
appointment has been initiated in xTrain, the system provides
institutional and NIH users with an ongoing record of its status.
Further information is available in the article from the April 2010
OER/Extramural Nexus (http://nexus.od.nih.gov/nexus/nexus.aspx?ID=425&Month=04&Year=2010)
. NIH offers some excellent instructional materials at this site:
http://era.nih.gov/ and there is also
a demonstration site available on eRA Commons to help familiarize PI
with how to use this system. Certain tasks can be delegated by the PI
to an assistant. If you have any questions, contact your CGO for
assistance.
|
|
NIH list of Reviewers Eligible for Continuous Submission.
As part of our continuing commitment to recognize outstanding service in
the NIH peer review process and on NIH Advisory Groups, and to minimize
disincentives to such service, the NIH has implemented policy and
procedures to allow appointed members of NIH review and Advisory Groups,
and peer reviewers with recent substantial service (six times in 18
months), to submit their research grant applications (R01, R21, or R34)
on a continuous basis and to have those applications undergo initial
peer review in a timely manner. ·
Lists of Reviewers Eligible for Continuous
Submission:
Individuals may determine their eligibility for the continuous
submission option, by accessing the list below. Because of the potential
for multiple reviewers to have the same name, please check your Commons
profile to confirm your individual eligibility. The term of eligibility
is shown after the name.
(Website)
(PDF)
|
Important Reminder Regarding Upcoming Change in NIH Proposal
Packages.
NIH (as well as ARHQ, CDC, FDA, and NIOSH) is transitioning to updated
electronic application form packages, known as ADOBE-FORMS-B1. All
applicants submitting for the following programs must use the B1 package
on or after January 25, 2011: Individual Research Career Development
Award Programs (Ks), Institutional Training and Career Development
Programs (Ts and Ds), or Individual National Research Service Awards
(Fs). On or after May 7, 2011, the B1 package will be required for all
programs using electronic submission. Be sure you are accessing the
correct application package from the most current program announcement.
Refer to this notice
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-11-007.html
for details. Your CGO is also available to answer questions. |
Protecting Sensitive Data and Information Used in Research.
Recipients of NIH funds are reminded of their vital responsibility to
protect sensitive and confidential data as part of proper stewardship of
federally funded research, and take all reasonable and appropriate
actions to prevent the inadvertent disclosure, release or loss of
sensitive personal information. NIH advises that personally
identifiable, sensitive, and confidential information about
NIH-supported research or research participants not be housed on
portable electronic devices. If portable electronic devices must be
used, they should be encrypted to safeguard data and information. These
devices include laptops, CDs, disc drives, flash drives, etc.
Researchers and institutions also should limit access to personally
identifiable information through proper access controls such as password
protection and other means. Research data should be transmitted only
when the security of the recipient’s systems is known and is
satisfactory to the transmitter.
For detailed information on this topic, click
here.
If you need assistance with encrypting your devices, contact MCIS
3-8586. |
Reminder of Clinical Trials.gov mandatory registration.
Notes about ClincalTrials.gov
http://prsinfo.clinicaltrials.gov/
ClinicalTrials.gov facilitates registration of trials in accordance with
the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
initiative requiring prior entry of clinical trials in a public registry
as a condition for publication.
Trials can be registered at any time, but
many policies require registration prior to the enrollment of the first
participant.
Multi-site trials and multi-sponsor trials are susceptible to duplicate
registration, thus care must be taken in how the trials are registered.
For multi-sponsor trials it is the lead sponsor who should take
responsibility for registration. It is critical that investigators and
sponsors work together to ensure that a trial is registered once and
only once.
A registration and reporting FAQ document is available here:
http://prsinfo.clinicaltrials.gov/registering.pdf
To obtain an access code to the UK Organizational Account on
ClinicalTrials.gov, send a request with Name, Department and Email
address to:
Laura Ashe laura.ashe@uky.edu
Clinical Research Associate II room C300 UKMC, Lexington, KY 40536-0293
(859) 323-2782 |
How will the vertebrate animal section of your NIH grant
application be evaluated?
There is a NIH notice to clarify how the Vertebrate Animal Section (VAS)
of applications for grants, fellowships, and cooperative agreements is
evaluated as part of the NIH peer review process and is considered as
part of the overall scoring.
Reviewers rate the application as Acceptable or Unacceptable with
respect to the proposed use of vertebrate animals and include specific
comments assessing the information provided in the application. (Click
here to see full notice.) |
Is there a difference between “Research Support” on my NIH
biosketch and “Other Support?”
Yes, there is a difference.
The “Research Support” section of an NIH-formatted biosketch should
include selected on-going and completed (in the last three years)
research projects (Federal or non-federal support). Think of this
section as highlighting your accomplishments as a scientist. List those
projects first that are relevant to the current proposal. Briefly state
the overall goals of the projects and your responsibilities on the
project. Do not include effort information or direct costs.
In contrast, “Other Support” information is required for all
applications that are selected to receive grant awards. NIH staff will
request complete and up-to-date “other support” information from you
after peer review. This information will be used to check that the
proposed research has not already been Federally-funded. Information on
active and pending grants should be provided – details should include a
project number, funding source (agency, foundation, institute, etc.), a
brief statement of the overall objectives of the project, the dates of
the approved/proposed project (for NIH projects, provide dates of the
approved/proposed competitive segment), the annual direct costs, the
level of actual effort in person months for the current or proposal
initial budget period, and a summary of any potential overlap with the
active or pending projects and this application in terms of the science,
budget, or your committed effort.
|
Top 10 Laboratory Facility Safety Watch List (PDF
version)
-
Shorts, sandals, tank tops, and clogs are not
appropriate lab attire.
-
Improper use of lab coats, gloves, and respirators.
-
Improper disposal of lab waste—pipettes, broken glass,
biohazards, chemicals, dry ice, radiation.
-
Fire hazards—covered lab doors, extension cords, worn
out wiring, rotted tubing, poor housekeeping, personal
work area clutter, too much storage at ceiling level.
-
Use/consumption of food and drinks and chewing gum, and
applying lip gloss or hand lotion in lab spaces.
-
Improper transportation of lab research animals— far too
many people carry animals in their cages, uncovered,
through the Kentucky Clinic.
-
Use of MP3 players and other electronic
distractions—interferes with the ability to hear alarms,
chemical or experimental mistakes.
-
Improper use of biosafety/tissue culture rooms and
hoods.
-
Lab doors continue to be left open—it is not permitted.
It affects the negative air flow into the lab, runs the
risk of biohazards or radiation backwashing into
corridors, or contamination to tissue culture.
Closed doors help contain spills or potentially
dangerous situations. If a lab is unoccupied, the door
needs to be locked.
-
Improper disposal of broken or outdated equipment. Do
not defrost freezers in corridors, especially if they
have contained biohazards or radiation. They must be
cleared first, taken to the dock to defrost by MCPPD and
then brought back when defrosted.
For further assistance
related to general University lab safety, refer to this link:
http://ehs.uky.edu/ehs/ohs/labsafe.html.
|
Do you know when you can use the work of others? When Fair Use
permits you to use a work, and when you must get permission.
See this COPYRIGHT BASICS document developed by University of Kentucky
legal counsel (PDF) |
Fly America Act
Fly America Act: a federal regulation that requires the use of U.S.
carriers for travel that will be reimbursed by federal grants and
contracts.
http://www.uky.edu/EVPFA/Controller/files/BPM/E-5-1.pdf -- section
VI. 3. a. (PDF)
- Airtran Airways (FL)
- Alaska Airlines (AS)
- America West Airlines (HP)
- American Airlines (AA)
- American Trans Air (TZ)
- Continental Airlines (CO)
- Delta Airlines (DL)
- Frontier Airlines (F9)
|
- Hawaiian Airlines (HA)
- Midwest Express (YX)
- Northwest Airlines (NW)
- Southwest Airlines (WN)
- Spirit Airlines (NK)
- United Airlines (UA)
- US Airways (US)
|
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Hiring Enhancement Program - The Dos, Don'ts and Whys of
Interview Questions. (PDF)
Even the most experienced interviewer can find themselves asking
potentially inappropriate questions in an interview. Click on the above
PDF for more information regarding information for the interview and
hiring process.
Courtesy of the
Hiring Enhancement Program at UK. UK
HR website. |
NIH New Investigator vs. Early Stage Investigator - which one
are you?
In general, a Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is
considered a New Investigator if he/she has not previously competed
successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.
NIH provides a useful link,
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/, with specific
details on eligibility for New Investigator status.
Note regarding grants with Multiple PD/PIs: In the case of a grant
application that involves more than one PI, all PD/PIs must meet the
definition of New Investigator in order for the application to have the
New Investigator designation.
An Early Stage investigator is a New Investigator who has completed his
or her terminal research degree or medical residency—whichever date is
later—within the past 10 years and has not yet been awarded a
substantial, competing NIH research grant. The dates that start the
period of classification as an Early Stage investigator are entered in
the investigators eRA Commons Profile (https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/).
There are several programs and initiatives for scientists just beginning
their independent careers. Refer to the link provided above for more
information on these programs and initiatives.
Please note the importance of keeping your NIH Commons profile current
to ensure any proposal submission accurately reflects your new
investigator or early investigator status.
|
Overtime.
Overtime pay is earned for hours worked in excess of 40 (for hourly
employees) in the regular work week and compensated at a wage rate of
one and one-half times the hourly wage rate.
Departments may have to process journal vouchers after the payroll posts
to make sure the overtime costs are assigned to the project where the
overtime hours were worked.
Overtime is only allowed on federal grants (or federal flow through) if
preapproved through OSPA. A Prior Approval Request for Action/Revision
form must be completed (http://www.uky.edu/eForms/forms/action.pdf),
with the appropriate approvals provided. Your
CGO can provide assistance with this
process and offer advice on the justification.
Non-federally funded projects do not require a specific budget for
overtime, but if a sponsor does not allow it, the department will be
responsible for those costs.
|
The Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) provides
help with Research Waste Disposal
EH&S has a flow chart available to assist with determining how to
dispose of laboratory research waste
here. |
NIH Nonhuman Primate Enrichment and Social Housing Resources
The Office of Extramural Research has recommendations for use by the
wider grantee community in enhancing the care and well-being of
chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates. Resources to enable a better
understanding of various aspects of social housing and positive
reinforcement training for these animals are now available including:
· a prerecorded online seminar with slides and transcripts by
NIH OLAW and United States Department of Agriculture staff (see
OLAW Special Seminars);
· new OLAW Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) –
FAQ F14 and
FAQ F15;
· a new Web site focused on
Nonhuman Primate Enrichment and Social Housing. |
Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
of 2009 - Stimulus Funds. Important reminders for University faculty
and staff.
On July 29, 2010, a meeting was sponsored by the Office of Sponsored
Projects Administration (OSPA) to provide important guidance and
reminders related to funding received via ARRA. A copy of the handout
can be found
here. |
How do you hire a Post Doc or Grad Student on my NIH R01 grant?
It’s important to discuss your plans with your Dept.
Administrator and/or the HR contact in your department about what sort
of compensation and work/service responsibilities this individual will
undertake. The offer letter needs to be accurate (a template offer
letter is available on the COM website
here). When you intend to use research award funds (R01, R21, etc),
it’s important to understand that NIH has clear guidelines that the
individual must be compensated for services provided – and must receive
a salary/wage rather than a stipend per the NIH definition. The NIH
policy states, “Stipends are not allowable under research grants even
when they appear to benefit the research project.” (for more NIH policy
information, click
here) To follow UK policy (for more UK policy information, click
here), this means a Graduate Student would have to be hired as a
Research Assistant and a Post Doc as a Scholar (not a Fellow). There
are significant financial implications if the appointment is not
established correctly. Please consult your
CGO if you have questions.
|
Responsible Authorship Quick Guide
Did you know the DHHS provides a quick guide to help detect common
mistakes when preparing manuscripts for submission?
This source provides examples with a brief introductory scenario
followed by a sample paper excerpt.
(Click here for
more information)
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Supreme Court Opinion on research documentation...did you know?
"A ruling...by the United States Supreme Court (Melendez-Diaz v.
Massachusetts, 129 S.Ct. 2527(2009) requires forensic lab analysts
providing evidence in criminal matters to be available to appear in
court to be cross-examined about their test results. A written report of
results, without the lab technician’s availability to provide
testimonial support, is no longer sufficient evidence of the results.
The opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, allowing criminal
defendants to confront forensic lab analysts at trial pursuant to the
confrontation clause in the sixth amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
should remind research scientists that the
techniques and operational decision-making of everyone in their
laboratory, not just their test results and conclusions, can be subject
to scrutiny and lab analysts may need to be at-the-ready to defend them.
If required by peer reviewers, journal editors, and publishers, would
you or your technicians be able to communicate and document the quality
of the work performed?
Should peer reviewers of grants and publications, journal editors and
publishers, and the public at large continue to assume the reliability
of research results without evidence of the quality of the techniques
and procedures used?
If you or a member of your lab was accused of research misconduct, would
you have sufficient documentation to support your claimed results?"
John Galland, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Education & Integrity, Office of Research
Integrity, US DHHS
(Click here for
more information)
|
EH&S DOD safety plan and cert of environ compliance related to
Department of Defense Grants
The Occupational Health and Safety department issues the Certificate of
Environmental Compliance for the DOD Just in Time process. For OH&S to
do this in a timely manner please contact Jan Hamon within two (2) weeks
before deadline. (more
information) |
Are you shipping dangerous goods?
Anyone who ships dangerous materials must comply with federal and, in
some cases, international, regulations. (more
information) |
NIH Office of Extramural Research conversation: Postdocs
Thinking About Independence
The Office of Extramural Research (OER) presents conversations with NIH
staff members. Designed for investigators, fellows, students, research
administrators, and others, we provide insights on grant topics from
those who live and breathe the information. Information on the June 4
topic is available
here. |
Required information on statements and press releases related to
federal funding.
Acknowledgment of Federal Funding (Section 506) "When issuing
statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations
and other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or
in part with Federal money, all grantees receiving Federal funds
included in this Act, including but not limited to State and local
governments and recipients of Federal research grants, shall clearly
state: (1) the percentage of the total costs of the program or project
which will be financed with Federal money; (2) the dollar amount of
Federal funds for the project or program; and (3) percentage and dollar
amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be
financed by non-governmental sources." Additional information available
here. |
NIH Public Access Policy and Publications
NIH Grantees are reminded to demonstrate compliance with the
Public Access Policy when submitting an application, proposal, or
progress report to the NIH. Grantees should include the PubMed Central
(PMC) reference number (e.g., PMC234567) for each paper that was
authored or co-authored by the applicant or arose from their NIH award,
and that falls under the Policy.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-119.html |
Data Ownership. Who's data is it?
·UK owns data resulting from scholarly activities in certain university
units whose specific mission includes the production of works for
instructional, public service administrative use (see UK ORI website for
overview of “Data Retention & Ownership”
here)
.
UK Administrative regulations AR 7:6 defines traditional products of
scholarly activity. The full university administrative regulation
regarding intellectual property ownership and disposition is available
here. |
|
Where can I find information about Research & Human Subjects?
Any activity that meets the federal definition of both "Research" and
"Human Subjects" or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition of
"Clinical Investigation" requires review and approval by the University
of Kentucky (UK) IRB. Additional information is available on the ORI
website:
http://www.research.uky.edu/ori/index.htm
Any questions or concerns should be addressed to the ORI staff.
|
Effort reporting - why is it required?
Federal regulations issued by the Office of Management & Budget (OMB)
require employees performing work on sponsored agreements to certify
university work efforts as a distribution of 100% of total compensated
time worked. UK has chosen the After-the-Fact effort reporting method
described in Section J.8 of OMB Circular A-21 to meet the requirement
for certifying effort on sponsored project agreements.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/rewrite/circulars/a021/a021.html
Federal regulations for "after the fact activity records"
requires that confirmation of the effort on Effort Reports be signed by
the employee, principal investigator, or responsible official(s) using
suitable means of verification that the work was performed. Having
first-hand knowledge of the work performed and the ability to make a
reasonable estimate of the effort expended on each sponsored project is
key to fulfilling this requirement.
|
Would your lab
documentation and data withstand an audit?
NIH Office of
Research Integrity has educational material available on the important
aspects of laboratory management. Additional information available
here. |
| Biological Safety
Registration
and Usage of Infectious Agents and Toxins
(additional info) |
|
