Building Research Teams.

As faculty members grow their research portfolios over time, there are increasing opportunities (and need) to engage students and research staff. Importantly, the process of ensuring that there is enough “help” to support a growing portfolio starts when the faculty member drafts their project budget. A common pitfall is to insufficiently allocate funds to students and research staff who will conduct the day-to-day activities of a project. This tends to result in an inefficient use of project funds and increases the burden on the principal investigator.

Ideally, efficient research teams are designed so that project tasks and their associated costs are well matched to the skill level required to complete them. For example, the budget will be strained if funds are used to support a faculty member to conduct routine tasks that could instead be completed by a research scientist. Similarly, it will cost more to fund a post-doc to conduct routine tasks that could instead be completed by a masters student. And while sometimes it may be useful to hire a data analyst or data manager, often faculty opt to engage the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC) for data services. The following sections provide an overview of options for building research teams and meeting project needs.

A.    Research Staff

There are two broad categories of research staff: those in the Academic Research Job Family (ARJF) and those in Non-Academic Support Positions.

The ARJF category is characterized by “specialized support,” where an individual is hired because their skills align with specific research needs in a specific research area/project. The job does not need to be posted through the HR website or undergo HR evaluation for compensation, although some hiring managers choose to undergo the HR courtesy posting process. Additionally, the Faculty Resources Office provides a free job posting for SPH faculty hiring for positions in the Academic Research Job Family. Decisions about hiring and compensation are made by the faculty member who serves as the PI/hiring manager, with approval from the department chair and Dean, via an offer letter from SPH, provided that the PI has sufficient funds available (via external sources, development funds, and/or discretionary funds). PIs should consult the Boston University policies on the Academic Research Job Family and Postdoctoral Scholars.

Job titles in the Academic Research Job Family (ARJF)

Non-Academic Support Positions are characterized by “broader/general support” and includes job titles such as Research Assistant, Research Coordinator, Project Manager, Data Analyst, and Data Scientist. For these positions, an individual is hired through BU HR, following the same protocols as administrative support positions. HR posts the job for at least 5 business days and HR Compensation comps the job based on the position description provided by the hiring manager, whereby apportionment of core duties and responsibilities and scope thereof guide the benchmarking process. The hiring decision is made by the faculty member, communicating the selection to HR whose recruiters are ultimately responsible for extending the formal offer. As with research positions in the ARJF category, funding is from research grants, development funds, and/or discretionary funds.

B.    Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC)

BEDAC is a school-wide service center at SPH that offers a menu of state-of-the-art data services including informatics, analytics, clinical trial management, research data storage service, statistical and epidemiological analysis, data management, project management, web application development, and other technology services crucial to conducting translational, clinical, and basic research. Faculty can engage BEDAC to provide support services tailored to their research needs via a service-center model. This can be an attractive alternative to hiring full-time research staff to provide these services, which would include the additional responsibility of training and managing staff, as well as assuming responsibility for adherence to best practices. To explore the possibility of engaging BEDAC in research, faculty are welcome to complete a Proposal Request Form and/or reach out to BEDACprp@bu.edu.

C.    Doctoral Students

At SPH, PhD students are generally funded under one of two mechanisms: as pre-doctoral training fellows funded via NRSA institutional training grants (i.e., T32) or individual fellowships (i.e., F31), or as graduate research assistants (GRAs) funded via faculty research grants. Importantly, regardless of funding mechanism, a PhD student’s time is spent engaging in a combination of research activities and academic training activities (e.g., coursework, dissertation research, seminars, etc.).

For pre-doctoral training fellows, the costs of full-time support should be budgeted to the maximum that is allowed by the grant. Since these mechanisms typically cap the stipend at the NIH pre-doctoral limit and cap the amount of tuition support, SPH provides the additional support necessary for these students to receive the full 12-month SPH stipend and full tuition.

For GRAs, 100% of the 12-month stipend and fringe is supported by external funding. In these cases, SPH provides the additional support necessary to cover full tuition, health insurance, and fees. While the grant covers 100% of the PhD student’s stipend, it is acknowledged that the student should spend a maximum of 20 hours per week strictly on research activities. This allows them to allocate at least 20 hours per week to academic training activities. Ideally, these are not mutually exclusive categories of activity but rather integrated and synergistic to the extent possible. As a PhD student progresses through the program, the research activities and training activities often converge to become one and the same. NIH recognizes the dual role of students as both trainees and employees on research grants (i.e., R/P/U series grants). The rationale is that the research experience will further their training and support the development of skills critical to pursue careers as independent investigators or other related careers (Uniform Guidance 200.400f and the NIH policy memo, NIH-OD-15-008.)

Funding from faculty and/or department discretionary accounts may also be considered as sources of support for PhD students; however, in such cases, the details of the plan for providing full support to the student must be approved by the Associate Dean for Education.

Faculty supervisors should be aware that full-time PhD students are eligible for paid vacation, paid accommodation for childbirth and adoption, and have access to a wide range of offerings through the Boston University Office of Professional Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, including professional development grants to support training outside of Boston University, teaching resources, and wellness and community resources to support living in Boston, wellness programming, and more.

D.    Master’s Students

Master’s students at SPH are often eager to engage in research opportunities during their program. While full-time positions are posted as described in the section on Research Staff above, part-time opportunities can be advertised via the Career and Practicum Office (CPO). The CPO can share examples of part-time job descriptions, help connect you with students interested in your research topic, and post the opportunities on Handshake (our student job board). The CPO can be reached at SPHCareerOffice@bu.edu.

E.    Undergraduate Students

The most common approach for engaging BU undergraduate students is via the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). UROP connects BU undergraduate students with funded, faculty-mentored research projects. The engagement can be on a volunteer basis, for a stipend, or for academic credit. Faculty are encouraged to see bu.edu/urop/mentors/ for information for mentors, including how to post a research opportunity.