Research Revealed: New Support for Faculty Grant Writing

January 2023 | Information & Support for the BU Research Community

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RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
New Support for BU Faculty Preparing Research Proposals

BU is rolling out a suite of research development services to support faculty investigators in obtaining and leading extramural funding programs for their research, including workshops, templates, and consulting for large-scale, interdisciplinary grants.

Plus:

• Tips for time management as a researcher (Nature)
• Database of life sciences equipment and infrastructure (Massachusetts Life Sciences Center)

Find Funding

Sustainability Research: The Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) is launching its inaugural Sustainable Research Grant, an annual IGS-led award that is jointly funded with the School of Public Health for 2023-2024 to advance BU’s research at the intersection of climate change, sustainability, public health, and equity, with funding up to $150,000.

An information session will be held on Tuesday, January 24, and proposals are due by Friday, April 7.

Biomedicine and Technology: The BU Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research and the BU Clinical & Translational Science Institute, in collaboration with BU Technology Development, are seeking applications for a Biomedical Innovation and Technology Affinity Research Collaborative by Wednesday, February 1. Physical, chemical, and data science investigators and biomedical researchers are invited to develop a project to address a biomedical and technology need.

Breakthrough Biological Technologies for National Security: The Biological Technologies Office of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency invites researchers to a virtual seminar on Thursday, February 23, highlighting current programs and how to work with the agency. 

Campus Climate Lab: Campus Climate Lab is soliciting ideas for research projects to advance sustainability at BU by Wednesday, February 8.

International Climate Solutions: US researchers working in renewable energy, food systems, global health, and environmental resilience are encouraged to apply for funding as part of Horizon Europe, a multi-year research program with a budget of €95.5 billion and a goal of helping the EU to reach its climate goals and increase energy resilience. 

International Research & Education: BU Federal Relations has shared an updated overview of federal programs that support international research and education (Kerberos password required).

Public Service Fellowship for Graduate Students: The Initiative on Cities is seeking graduate students passionate about local government to apply for a summer fellowship working with the City of Boston, within the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics. Applications are due Monday, January 30.

Science Policy Internship for Graduate Students: The NIH Office of Science Policy is seeking graduate students interested in science policy for a virtual summer internship. Applications are due Tuesday, January 31. 

Manage an Award

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding Acknowledgement: A reminder to all BU researchers that NIH award terms and conditions require proper acknowledgement of NIH support in papers, presentations, posters, and press releases. According to Mike Lauer, deputy director of extramural research with the agency, “NIH relies on proper acknowledgements to link publications to awards, and reviewers rely on it to help assess award productivity.”

Funded researchers must acknowledge NIH awards in publications when the activities that contributed to that publication directly arise from the award and are within the scope of the award being acknowledged. Please review the full guidelines for acknowledging federal funding.

New Proposal Requirements for NIH-funded Research: The NIH has issued a new Data Management and Sharing Policy to promote the sharing of scientific data from NIH-funded research. When the policy goes into effect on Wednesday, January 25, the NIH will expect investigators and institutions to plan and budget for managing and sharing data, submit a formal plan for review when applying for funding, and comply with the approved plan. A University working group is developing materials to help faculty navigate this policy change. Find resources, FAQs, and more on the Research Support site.

Conducting Research

Tools for Making Research Connections: A collaborative and interdisciplinary approach can strengthen research and scholarship, enabling new knowledge and real-world solutions. Join a virtual workshop on Tuesday, March 14, for an overview of available tools for finding potential collaborators at BU. 

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: BU’s SharePoint site for Research Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosures retires this spring and transitions to Huron COI. Researchers should take steps to ensure their data migrates successfully to the new system by Wednesday, February 1, and stay tuned for information about upcoming trainings.

Research Data Training: Learn to measure your research impact at a virtual workshop on Thursday, January 19, about SciVal, a bibliometrics tracking tool that allows researchers to search and analyze publication data, media hits, and patent information.

Safeguarding Science Toolkit: The National Science Foundation joined federal and university partners to announce the Safeguarding Science toolkit, a resource for the scientific, academic, and emerging-technology sectors to help protect research and technology from theft, abuse, misuse or exploitation.

Promote Your Work

Media Training: Join experts from SciLine for a remote, interactive workshop on Thursday, April 13, to learn how scientists and researchers can play an active role in accurate science reporting. The session will offer interview tips—including on how to pivot when faced with questions or topics interviewees don’t want to discuss—and post-interview strategies to prevent or address factual errors in a story.

Policy Workshop: Interested in influencing policy with your research? Attend an April workshop hosted by BU Federal Relations on how scholars can develop effective, collaborative relationships with policymakers.

Writing, Editing, and Pitching Op-eds: Join the Scholars Strategy Network for a remote, interactive workshop on Thursday, February 16, to learn how to write and pitch compelling, research based op-eds. Attendees will learn how to craft a compelling lead, signal their expertise, structure op-eds for maximum impact, and pitch to different media outlets.

Notes & News

Data and Climate: On Tuesday, January 17, the Institute for Global Sustainability will officially launch Visualizing Energy, a website that combines data analysis, interactive visualizations, and storytelling to make trending energy topics and emerging research more broadly accessible, giving them greater impact. The content is free to embed into any website as a resource for media, decision-makers, educators, and others.

Have compelling data to share at the intersection of energy, climate, equity, and health? Contact Professor Cutler Cleveland, Earth & Environment (CAS).

Changes to NIH Peer Review: The NIH is requesting feedback on the proposed simplification of the agency’s peer review criteria. The NIH intends to consolidate its current five-year review criteria into three areas: importance of the research, rigor and feasibility, and expertise and resources. Comments are due Friday, March 10. 

Professor Christopher Chen, Biomedical Engineering (ENG), and director of BU’s Biological Design Center, was named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow.

Professor Alice Cronin-Golomb, Psychological & Brian Sciences (CAS), received the Bernice Grafstein Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Mentoring from the Society for Neuroscience.

Professor Ioannis Paschalidis, Electrical & Computer Engineering (ENG), and director of the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the International Federation of Automatic Control, in recognition of his work on control of network systems, optimization, and robust learning.

Professor Carrie Preston, English and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (CAS), and associate director of BU’s Center on Forced Displacement, received a $225,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures entitled, “US and EU Border Externalization Regimes: Ethics, Identities, and Impacts.”

Assistant Professor Jessica Simes, Sociology (CAS), received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to study mass incarceration’s community-level effects on political participation and health disparities.

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