April 5, 2022 Research Bulletin

Dear Research Colleagues,   

As we indicated last week, we have seen a significant turnover of staff specifically in the clinical trial contracting team. Unfortunately, this will impact the turnaround time for CTAs, CDAs and MTAs in the near term.  We are working hard to minimize the disruption to research activity and wanted to update you with the following information:   

New Approach to Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs)

• Presently, we have developed a working relationship nationally with WCG and an external legal firm to negotiate CTAs using the university’s established contracting guidance documents.
• We have identified several qualified applicants and are expeditiously working through the HR process of onboarding these individuals.
• We have also developed an assessment tool to help evaluate an individual study. We will be using this information in the short term, to help us prioritize studies.
• We are in the process of re-structuring the workflow process to be more efficient and reevaluating the support model to optimize this process long term in a sustainable way.   

New Process for Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDAs)

We encourage all research teams to use the new partially executed CDA template that is now available on our Research Agreements page. The research team must complete the CDA template to include details of the sponsor and project and then send it to the sponsor.

• Once the sponsor has signed, it is fully executed, and the research team should maintain a copy for their records. It does not need to be submitted to central administration. 
• The Clinical Research Administration team will continue to process more complex CDAs but there will be some delays due to volume and current staffing.

Temporary Support for Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs)

• Currently, MTAs are being reviewed with the support of OGC staff and CU Innovation staff, but as there is a large volume, there are likely to be some delays for the next 1-2 months as we train new staff. 

Overall, we are currently slower than normal but thanks to everyone pulling together, we have been able to keep the workflow moving. Staffing shortages are currently affecting research institutions nationwide, and we are committed to doing everything we can to keep your important work moving forward with minimal disruptions. 

Thank you for your patience as we work through this temporary slowdown. 

Thomas Flaig, MD
Vice Chancellor of Research
and
Alison Lakin RN, LLB, LLM, PhD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Regulatory Compliance
And Research Integrity Officer

Featured Funding Opportunities

• 05/25/22 – NIAID Research Education Program (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 05/31/22 – Short-Term Research Education Experiences to Attract Talented Students to Biomedical Informatics/Data Science Careers and Enhance Diversity (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 06/05/22 – Accelerating the Pace of Child Health Research Using Existing Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (R01-Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 06/05/22 – Systematic Testing of Radionuclides in Preclinical Experiments (STRIPE) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 06/16/22 – NEI Research Grant for Vision-Related Secondary Data Analysis (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 06/21/22 – NIDDK Partnerships with Professional Societies to Enhance Scientific Workforce Diversity and Promote Scientific Leadership (R25 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 07/28/22 – National Centers for Translational Research in Reproduction and Infertility (NCTRI) (P50) (Clinical Trial Optional)
• 08/15/22 – Enhancing Social Connectedness and Ameliorating Loneliness to Prevent and Treat SUD and Support Recovery (R21 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• 09/27/22 – NIDA Research Center of Excellence Grant Program (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)

NIH Funding Announcements

Limited Funding Opportunities

To submit a proposal for these opportunities:

Interested candidates must send a one-page summary of their research proposal and their biosketch in pdf format via the Limited Submission Portal.

PEW Biomedical Scholars

• Materials due to Internal Review Committee: April 26, 2022
• Nomination due to sponsors: May 18, 2022
• Sponsor Deadline: September 8, 2022

NIGMS National Institute of General Medical Sciences Predoctoral Institutional Research Training Grant

• Materials due to Internal Review Committee: April 26, 2022
  
• Sponsor Deadline: May 25, 2022

NIAID Immune Drivers of Autoimmune Disease (IDAD)

• Materials due to Internal Review Committee: April 29, 2022
  
• Sponsor Deadline: July 1, 2022

NSF Research Traineeship

• Materials due to Internal Review Committee: July 6, 2022
  
• Sponsor Deadline: September 6, 2022

Just Released

Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) funding opportunities and pre-announcements for the Department of Defense (DoD) programs managed by the office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) are below. 

CDMRP understands that applicants continue to be impacted by COVID-19. Submission deadlines for pre-applications and full applications will incorporate the maximum time that is feasible for each FY22 program.   

FY22 Program Announcements released: Autism Research Program (ARP) 

• Career Development Award
• Clinical Trial Award
• Idea Development Award

Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP)

• Clinical Research Award
• Clinical Trial Award

Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP)

• Clinical Trial Award (NEW for FY22)

Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP)

• Clinical Trial Award
• Investigator-Initiated Research Award
• Translational Research Award 

FY22 Pre-announcements released:
Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP)

• Idea Development Award
• Therapeutic/Diagnostic Idea Award

Special Announcements

The Strategic Infrastructure for Research Committee (SIRC) Call for Applications

SIRC Application Instructions

Letter of Intent (LOI) is due April 12, 2022. If your (LOI) has been approved by the committee chair, your full application is due by 5pm on Tuesday May 3, 2022 

For questions or concerns please contact Peter Buttrick, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Andrew Fontenot, MD, SIRC Committee Chair; or Madison Avalos, Business Services Professional.

Center for Mucosal Immunology and Rheumatic Disease Pathogenesis (CMIR) Microgrant Funding Opportunity

CMIR is currently accepting applications for Microgrant funding.   

All CMIR members and trainee investigators from the CU-AMC or affiliated institutions are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to early career investigators (e.g., graduate students, postdoctoral research fellows and faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor or below who have not yet been awarded an R01 or equivalent grant). 

Awards of up to $5,000 will be given per awarded Microgrant. Funds must be spent on CMIR services such as Research Core expertise and resources, sample access fees and data management/ statistical support. Microgrant projects should be structured to be completed in 12 months or less. 

For questions on the application or review process, visit the website or contact Alyssa Haberle.

RFA for K to R and Pre-K
Mock Study Section Review Programs

The CCTSI K to R (KTR) Transition and Pre-K programs are now accepting applications for review.   

Both, Pre-K and K to R programs offer a unique opportunity for a Mock Study Section Review for those submitting NIH K and R grant applications.   

Participants will receive specific written and verbal critique of their proposals prior to submission to the funding agency. 

• KTR Letter of Intent - Deadline: April 7, 2022
• Pre K Letter of Intent - Deadline: April 18, 2022

This bulletin is distributed on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of the month for the CU Anschutz Research Community.   

Past Research Bulletins can be found here.

Please click here if you wish to be added to this distribution.