Research Revealed: Searchable Funding Database, Kilachand Fund Award Winners, and More

Spotlight

Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Lung Disease and Brain Development Get Major Boost from Kilachand Fund Awards

Since 2017, the Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering has awarded $14 million to support interdisciplinary projects that promise to advance science and build new, collaborative structures for research. This year’s winners include a team exploring how genes express themselves in the brain and a team developing a “crystal ribcage” to visualize the immune response in the lungs against infectious microbes.

Share Your Expertise at the Highest Levels of Government

Numerous federal agencies offer opportunities for faculty to take a leave from their university and serve in a government position. Serving as a rotator offers a deep, insider understanding of federal operations, collaborative relationships with government officials, and the chance to apply lessons learned back to your own research. On Wednesday, November 15, BU Federal Relations will convene a panel of BU professors who have taken on federal rotations to share insights from their experiences, BU’s approval process, and more.

Research Funding

Federal Funding in Social Science, Arts, and the Humanities

The annual compendium of federal funding opportunities in social and behavioral science, arts, and the humanities written by Lewis-Burke Associates has been newly updated on the BU Federal Relations website (Kerberos log-in required). New this year is the NSF’s Research Infrastructure in the Social Science and Behavioral Sciences program, which supports computational and data tools that enable social science research.

Extensive Database for Funding Across Disciplines

BU offers all faculty and staff a free subscription to Pivot-RP, a database updated on a daily basis with a wide variety of federal, non-federal, foundation, and private funding opportunities in every discipline. With the BU subscription, members can save search criteria and receive weekly updates on new and upcoming funding opportunities.Learn how to set up your account to get started on the Office of Research website.

Health Data Science Projects

Faculty, research staff, and students with a research interest in health data science are invited to apply for a $5K seed funding opportunity designed to catalyze new collaborations between the many scholars working in this area around BU. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, December 13. Applicants are required to attend a health data science-focused Research on Tap on Wednesday, November 29.

Limited Submission: Keck Foundation Research Program

The Office of Research seeks applications for projects in medical research and science and engineering for an upcoming internal limited submission deadline of Friday, November 17. Limited submissions are funding opportunities that limit the number of applications an institution may put forward; a faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review internal proposals and select nominees.

Grant Management

Powerful New Dashboard for Monitoring Expenditures and Forecasting Spending

Department and grant administrators can now access a new dashboard designed to support expense monitoring and projecting: the Financial Research Expenditure Dashboard (FRED). FRED provides an at-a-glance view of grants managed, allowing department administrators to quickly check status, note upcoming financial-related deadlines, and view salary cost distributions, transactions, and commitment details. FRED has a robust system to perform salary and expenditure projections so administrators can forecast grant spending with their PIs to make educated decisions.

Ethics & Compliance

New Dive Safety Officer Takes the Helm

WWe are pleased to welcome Elizabeth (Lizzie) McNamee as BU’s new dive safety program manager and dive safety officer for the BU Scientific Diving Program. Lizzie is responsible for ensuring safety and compliance for all BU-sponsored scientific underwater diving activities. Her duties include approving and facilitating dive and snorkel plans, generating and managing letters of reciprocity for multi-institutional projects, managing the use of scientific research equipment, and ensuring compliance with all rules and regulations regarding service standards and intervals. Her responsibilities also include the instruction of the Scientific Diving course (CAS MR533) for the BU Marine Program.

Changes to Responsible Conduct of Research Requirements for NSF Investigators

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 altered the NSF’s required training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). In addition to students and postdocs, faculty and senior personnel funded on NSF proposals submitted on or after July 31, 2023, must now also complete RCR training. The Office of Research recommends that all NSF faculty and senior personnel complete training at their earliest opportunity. Learn more

Collaboration & Partnership

Nominate the BU Innovator of the Year

The BU Innovator of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding faculty member who has translated world-class research into an invention or innovation that benefits humankind. BU Technology Development invites nominations from faculty and staff by Friday, October 27.

Apply for an Ignition Award

Technology Development is seeking pre-proposals for its Ignition Award program by Wednesday, November 1. The awards support research projects with commercial potential with education, coaching, and funding of up to $75K per project.

Opportunities for Industry Collaboration

Industry Engagement offers dynamic, curated lists of external industry funding opportunities, powered by Pivot-RP. If you have a general question about finding industry funding, or if you need help finding funding for a project that does not match the opportunity criteria here, please contact Industry Engagement at EngageBU@bu.edu.

Notes & News

Professor Lucy Hutyra, Earth & Environment (CAS), has been named a 2023 MacArthur Foundation Fellow for her influential work addressing urbanization’s impact on climate and ecosystems.

The NIH National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases awarded $3.3M per year for five years to a Washington University-led team that includes Professor Robert Davey, Virology, Immunology & Microbiology (Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, BU National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories), to explore the molecular mechanisms by which filoviral-host interactions promote viral growth and disease, offering new therapeutic approaches for the Ebola and Marburg viruses.

Associate Professor Michael Gevelber, Mechanical Engineering (ENG), won the 2023 Sustainability Champion Award from the BU Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS). The annual IGS Sustainability Awards, recognizing significant BU faculty, staff, and student contributions to research or practice in sustainability and climate change, as well as equity and justice, also honored PhD candidate Alina McIntyre, Environmental Health (SPH), with the Peter Fox-Penner Graduate Student Award and Emma Longo (COM) with the Undergraduate Student Award.

A BU team was awarded the first-ever NSF Research Traineeship award dedicated to training the next generation of biological control researchers. Co-directed by Dean ad interim Elise Morgan, Mechanical Engineering (ENG) and Associate Professor Mary Dunlop, Biomedical Engineering (ENG), alongside co-PIs William F. Warren Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering Christopher Chen and Professor Ahmad “Mo” Khalil, Biomedical Engineering (ENG), the program will receive nearly $3M over five years.

A BU research team led by Professors Marshall Van Alstyne, Information Systems (Questrom), Ran Canetti, Computer Science (CAS), and Nina Mazar, Marketing (Questrom), and Associate Professor Mayank Varia, Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, received a $550K grant from the NSF o develop technology-aided interventions to decrease the harmful impact of fake news while preserving free speech.

On Wednesday, October 4, the SPIE/OPTICA Student Chapter at the BU Photonics Center hosted Boston Photonics Day, an event designed to create space for education and community-building among the next generation of photonics professionals.

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