Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2020-18

Video Recording Links Open Forum on Research and Graduate Studies (Held on May 1, 2020)

In response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic crisis, NJIT activated a Research Continuity Plan halting non-essential research operations for the safety of faculty, staff, students and our community in compliance with the emergency regulations and stay-at-home order by the State of New Jersey. The open forum provided an update on the current status of the NJIT research enterprise with a potential research restoration plan.

The panel answered questions related to the COVID-19 impact on research operations and productivity, grant management, potential impact on Ph.D. dissertation and MS thesis research, online process for dissertation and thesis defense, and path to student graduation.

The video recording of the Open Forum is available at:

Download recording link
https://njit.webex.com/njit/ldr.php?RCID=1ea85c4576d24f1d9cc3690c8806ded9

Streaming recording link
https://njit.webex.com/njit/lsr.php?RCID=1ea85c4576d24f1d9cc3690c8806ded9

Open Forum Panel:

• Fadi Deek, Provost and Senior Executive VP
• Andrew Christ, Senior VP for Real Estate Development and Capital Operations
• Basil Baltzis, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Student Services
• Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost for Research
• Sotirios Ziavras, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies & Dean of the Graduate Faculty
• Eric Hetherington, Executive Director, Sponsored Research Programs Administration
• Cristiana Kunyczka, Director, Office of Global Initiatives 

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NJIT Pandemic Recovery Plan Research Continuity Plan Update: Phased Recovery Operations

NJIT faculty, staff, and students at research facilities must follow the specific social distancing and safety protocols including the use of personnel protective equipment (PPE) as required by the institutional, state and federal guidelines in the respective phase of the research continuity plan.

State and national information regarding current conditions can be found at:

• New Jersey’s COVID-19 information hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/index.html
• White House Plan for Opening up America Again: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/Guidelines-for-Open...

The following guidelines should be adapted with each respective phase for the recovery of research operations. We are currently in Phase 0. Based on the assessment of federal, state and local regulations, NJIT will announce the periods of subsequent phases for gradual recovery.

Recovery Phase 0: All non-essential research operations halted. Essential research operations follow strictest social distancing and safety protocols with only essential staff.

• Safety within laboratories must be rigorously maintained with adequate access to PPE and other safety-related supplies. Labs will not be authorized for access unless adequate safety supplies are identified as being available. PIs must identify by name the people that will be considered essential personnel (including replacements/backups). During this time all essential research operations (ERO) must be approved by chair, dean, and the senior vice provost for research through the emergency research continuity plan process currently in place.

• Research involving human subjects that requires face-to-face interaction with human subjects is halted.
• Research that can be conducted remotely should be continued to the extent possible.

Recovery Phase 1: Minimal research operations approved through chairs, deans and senior vice provost for research to pursue time-sensitive priority research such as projects related to COVID-19 response; 3 approved Essential Research Operation (ERO) plans in Phase-0; long-term research experiments with cell-lines, animals, and human subjects that were already underway before Phase-0; grants and contracts expiring within six months; submission of proposals in response to special solicitations (Requests for Proposals); and projects involving students with graduation requirements. •

• Requests for projects considered time-sensitive should be directed to departmental chairs. The dean and senior vice provost for research will provide guidance as needed. •
• All research operations at NJIT facilities in this phase must follow the highest possible level of social distancing implemented. 
• Research that can be conducted remotely should be continued to the extent possible.

Recovery Phase 2: Most research operations, whether sponsored through external grants and contracts or internally funded, may be restarted through the approval of department chairs using significant social distancing and safety protocols with restrictions on the number of researchers and staff present in laboratories at one time.

• The Phase 2 restart may require developing flexible work schedules, plan for supply chain issues, and prepare core and fabrication facilities in advance of need. To ensure social distancing requirements and to reduce density of research personnel in university research spaces, the lab directors should consider permitting flexible lab access schedules, work shifts or staggered workdays, and extended facilities support to enable more round-the-clock operation of research facilities. Under no circumstances should safety be sacrificed due to lack of adequate supplies, type, and quality of PPE.
• Research that can be conducted completely remotely or in addition to the on-campus operations should continue to be conducted in that manner.

Recovery Phase 3: Most research operations on funded and unfunded projects along with research required for future proposal submissions are restored with minimal social distancing and personnel safety protocols.

• Group meetings and research presentations with faculty, staff and students should be restricted and kept to a minimal size protecting any vulnerable participants. If possible, these meetings should continue to be held online until we reach a state of full recovery.
• Other laboratory safety protocols must be strictly followed.
• Research that can be conducted completely remotely or in addition to the on-campus operations should continue to be conducted in that manner.

Full Recovery: All research operations are restored fully with no specific social distancing requirements. However, all laboratory and personnel safety protocols must be strictly followed.

This document refers to research conducted on the NJIT campus in Newark, NJ, including the physical campus and activities that have direct contact with individuals (human subjects) anywhere. Satellite locations, such as the Big Bear Solar Observatory in California, must follow a similar phased approach informed by local conditions.

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Guidance on Financial Management of Grants and Contracts

The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum on 19 March 2020 (OMB 20-17) providing guidance on 4 issues related to grant management during the COVID-19 disruption. This memorandum provides short term relief for administrative, financial management, and audit requirements under 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, for the management of grants and contracts from all federal and non-federal sources under the COVID-19 public health emergency without compromising federal financial assistance accountability requirements.

Funding agencies such as NSF and NIH are following the OMB guidance with respect to grant management during this disruption to university business and research. The OMB Memorandum M-20- 17 with the important information on the financial management of the research grants and contracts is posted on the research website. Links to current notifications from federal agencies are provided below. Principal investigators should check with the websites of their specific funding agencies for more information.

COVID-19 Information for NSF applicants and award recipients FAQ is regularly updated on the website. COVID-19 Information for NIH applicants and recipients of NIH funding is regularly updated on the website. A multiple Funding Agencies Research Impact Guidance Matrix by the Council of Government Relationships is posted on the website COGR's Federal Agency Guidance Matrix (XLS).

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Office of Research Administration Operations

All Office of Research processes continues during this period of remote operation. Our hours of usual operation remain 8:30-4:30 Monday through Friday. All staff are available by email and most have their office phone numbers forwarded to them through Cisco Jabber. You should receive a reply to an inquiry within 24 hours. You may always reach out to your college’s research administration support person for assistance.

Principal investigators who have sub-award activity with other institutions or contracts with industry partners are asked to discuss the current situation with their counterparts to determine if the COVID-19 disruption will require a modification to our existing agreements. If it is determined that a modification is required, please contact Justin Samolewicz at justin.m.samolewicz@njit.edu to discuss the next steps.

Budget transfers or other actions needed to comply with this guidance should follow the standard procedures. Questions or concerns regarding post-award financial activity on grants may be directed to your grant accountant or Mariel Diaz at mariel.diaz@njit.edu.

Questions related to OMB guidance, research compliance or general concerns about the administration and financial management of grants and contracts may be directed to Eric Hetherington, Executive Director, Sponsored Research Programs Administration at erich@njit.edu.

Please also use the following group email addresses for your specific questions in the respective areas:

• Pre-Award inquiries: srard@njit.edu
• Post-Award financial management: gca@njit.edu
• Institutional Review Board: irb@njit.edu
• Institutional Biosafety Committee: ibc@njit.edu

All other research-related inquiries during the emergency should be submitted to https://research.njit.edu/inquiry.

 

Keywords and Areas Included in the Grant Opportunity Alert Section Below

NSF: Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers Program (IUCRC); Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES); Antarctic Research; Coastlines and People (CoPe); NSF Program on Fairness in Artificial Intelligence in Collaboration with Amazon (FAI)

NIH: NIH Small Research Grant Program (R03); NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (R21); NIH Research Project Grant (R01); Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Data Driven Research on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (R21); Emergency Awards: Rapid Investigation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (R21); Superfund Research Program Occupational Health and Safety Education Programs on Emerging Technologies (R25); Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Networks for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) (U54)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: DoD Hearing Restoration Focused Research Award; DoN Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), Education and Workforce Program; DoD, Breast Cancer, Innovator Award; DoD Multiple Sclerosis, Investigator-Initiated Research Award; Biological Technologies; PRMRP Investigator-Initiated Research Award for Emerging Viral Diseases and Respiratory Health; UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY Broad Agency Announcement

Department of Transportation: UTC PROGRAM TIER 1 COMPETITION 2020

Department of Agriculture: Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants; Biotechnology Risk Assessment Grants Program; REAP-Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements

Department of Labor: Youth Apprenticeship Readiness Grant Program EPA: Assessment Tools for Biotechnology Products; National Environmental Education and Training Program

Department of Energy: Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DEFOA-0002252; Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support for Complex Systems; Novel Research and Development for the Direct Capture of Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere

NASA: ROSES 2020: The New (Early Career) Investigator Program in Earth Science; Early Stage Innovations (ESI); National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program: Program-Level Independent Evaluation Opportunity; Advanced Component Technology; Living With a Star Science; ROSES 2020: Space Weather Science Application Operations-to-Research; Heliophysics Supporting Research; HELIOPHYSICS - Early Career Investigator Program; Astrophysics Research and Analysis

National Endowment of Humanities: Research and Development; Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities; Fellowships

Special COVID-19 Research and SBIR/STTR Funding Programs: NIBIB RADx and DoD SBIR/STTR Programs

Private Foundations: Brain Health Foundation: 2021 Scientific Innovations Award Facebook: Facebook Research

(National and Federal News Related to Research Funding and Grant Opportunities)

Phase Four COVID-19 Relief and Stimulus Legislative Recommendations to Sustain Research Universities and the Government-University Partnership

America’s leading research universities are at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. They are developing and administering new diagnostic tests, researching potential treatments and vaccines, and developing new, affordable, and easily mass-produced ventilators and personal protective equipment.

The Association of American Universities is calling on Congress to provide $26 billion more to the major research agencies--National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Defense Science & Technology programs, NASA, USDA, NOAA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Institute for Education Sciences, and others. The money would cover: requests for research grant and contract supplements (i.e., cost extensions) arising from COVID-19 related impact; emergency relief to sustain research support personnel and base operating costs for core research facilities and user-funded research services until the facilities can reopen and research activities can return to pre-pandemic activity levels; and additional graduate student and postdoc fellowships, traineeships, and research assistantships for up to two years.

The group also seeks regulatory and audit flexibility for researchers during the pandemic period and for a year afterwards. The letter dated May 4, 2020 is posted on the website.

NIH Initiates New COVID-19 Research Funding Program

So predicts Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, of the shark-tank-style competition underway to develop rapid, inexpensive tests for COVID-19.

Recent stimulus legislation provided $1.5 billion for the effort. Of that amount, $500 million went to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering "to accelerate research, development, and implementation of point of care and other rapid testing related to coronavirus" and $1 billion to Collins's office "to develop, validate, improve, and implement testing and associated technologies; to accelerate research, development, and implementation of point of care and other rapid testing; and for partnerships with governmental and non-governmental entities."

Testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Collins said an expert review team has identified 20 "applications that are ready to move into that first phase of intense scrutiny." Roll Call reports: "Finalists will be matched with business and manufacturing partners, with a goal of distributing millions of new rapid tests by the end of summer or early fall." Read more in Roll Call; and STAT and on the agency website. Also, information about NIBIB’s RADx funding program is provided in the Newsletter below and also posted on https://www.poctrn.org/radx.

NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs)

National Science Foundation says in a new solicitation. " Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs) help industry partners and government agencies connect directly and efficiently with university researchers to achieve three primary objectives: 1) Conduct high-impact research to meet shared and critical industrial needs in companies of all sizes; 2) Enhance U.S. global leadership in driving innovative technology development, and 3) Identify, mentor and develop a diverse, highly skilled science and engineering workforce." Learn more.
See FAQs; Join a webinar.

DOD Basic Research

Prepared testimony submitted by the Coalition for National Security Research says the Pentagon's FY 2021 budget "harms DoD’s ability to build capacity in its research programs and workforce by proposing to eliminate funding for efforts such as Defense Established Programs to 8 Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR)." The CNSR document also says "University Research Initiatives (URIs) would be absolutely devastated from funding levels proposed in the FY 2021 budget." Within the URI programs, the budget "proposes to fund the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program and Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) below FY 2010 levels in real dollars."

How can I add another investigator or my research ambassador to my proposal in order to help on budget preparation and edit proposal details?