Hello From the Office of Research Affairs - This Is Our Monthly Update

First and most important, way to GO, DUSON! We have broken into the top 10 in NIH funding!
This is an amazing accomplishment, and is a statement about the high quality of the DUSON faculty science. This includes grant amounts both large and small, and all are needed in a vibrant, growing place such as DUSON. Here is the top 20. I would be remiss if I did not thank the incredible staff of the Office of Research Affairs: Robbin Thomas, Phyllis Kennel, Jane Halpin, Megan Tirpak, Sam Morgan, and Leslie Fife. Our great statistical team is the best: Susan Silva, Janet Levy, Wei Pan, John Boling, and Rick Sloane. And of course, we would not have made it to this point without our fearless leader, Diane Holditch-Davis! Way to go, team!

Minute Clinic is open for business!
We know that many of the faculty have taken advantage of ORA’s Minute Clinic, which is being held in the DUSON atrium every Tuesday morning from 8-9 AM. Robbin Thomas, Jane Halpin, and Phyllis Kennel are rotating this duty amongst themselves, and are available for a quick consult during this time. Stop by on your way to get some coffee!

Proposal Development meetings have started!
We are implementing a new step in the grant application process, which we are calling a Proposal Development meeting. At this meeting, you will meet with Julie Barroso, Robbin Thomas, Phyllis Kennel, Jane Halpin, and one of the statisticians. This will help us all get on the same page regarding the grant much earlier in the process, and it will allow the stats folks to get up and running more quickly. Most importantly, we think it will help us develop a more accurate estimate – both time and money -- with regard to data analysis; we believe that this will help the PI think through some of the issues much earlier in the process, heading off any surprises as the submission date draws near. So expect to hear from Leslie Fife soon after you file an “Intent to Submit” so we can get this important meeting scheduled.

Limited Access folder vs. the P drive – Huh?
We have been asked lately about where people can keep de-identified research electronic data. Data that has PHI must, of course, be in an SED folder. But some folks are keeping other de-identified research data in their personal P drive folder. The preferred option for storage is to keep these research data sets in a Limited Access folder. The Limited Access folders have annual security audits and the data sets are cataloged and secure for long-term storage. In P drives there is no audit trail and if someone leaves the university, the P drive will be destroyed along with anything in it and data sets could be lost. This is important because all research data is required to be stored for at least 6 years after the close of the IRB protocol, and it is important for the School of Nursing to know where the data is housed and that it is secure.

Who is helping Phyllis Kennel?
As you all know, Phyllis Kennel is our IRB/compliance/quality improvement “go to” person. It is an enormous job, what with all of our successful studies going on! So she will be having a part-time assistant, none other than our own Donna Harris! Most of you know Donna from her work on Diane Holditch-Davis’ studies. We are so happy to have Donna on board! Donna will be housed over at the NC Mutual building along with the other ORA staff.

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That is it for this month! Be sure to read the Monday Update for funding opportunities, grants submitted, and grants awarded. As always, let us know how we can help!