Vice President's Message

Search for Associate Vice President for Research

With Martin Schoonen's appointment as Interim Dean of Southampton I have initiated the search for his replacement and invite nominations and/or applications from deans and chairs. I expect to make the appointment for a three-year term before the end of the semester. The search committee chair is Professor Michael Hadjiargyro, Biomedical Engineering. Applications and nominations for the Associate Vice President for Research should be submitted no later than September 25, 2006, to Christine Davide, VP Coordinator, Office of the Vice President for Research either via e-mail at: cdavide@notes.cc.sunysb.edu or via fax to 632-9520.

Phi Beta Kappa Membership

The campus chapter of Phi Beta Kappa would like to update its membership list and asks that colleagues who are members and are not certain their affiliation is known to the chapter to notify the chapter secretary by emailing clagrega@notes.cc.sunysb.edu Chapter president Richard Gerrig anticipates an enhanced schedule of chapter activities and invites all members to offer their participation and ideas.

Good News and Coming Events

News

Chemistry

The Chemistry department has spent 5 years participating in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, an attempt by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to examine ways to improve doctoral education to better prepare graduates for research and employment. As the Initiative comes to an end it has resulted in real change in the department. For instance, all three members of the doctoral advising committee now have expertise closely related to the student's research. Michael G. White, Chair, thought the Initiative was an opportunity to question basic assumptions, "We often assume that what we do is well tried and, therefore, works. That's not always the case. CID provided the opportunity for a deep self-examination of the graduate program—a health checkup—which was due."

Physics

Professor Gene D. Sprouse is to become the next Editor-in-Chief of the American Physical Society (APS), succeeding Martin Blume, who has been Editor-in-Chief for ten years, in March. Sprouse was chair of the Physics Department from 1990-96 and is the recipient of both Chancellor's and President's excellence in teaching awards. The Editor-in-Chief is one of the three co-equal officers of the APS and is responsible for the Physical Review series of physics journals. The APS is the world's largest body of physicists, representing over 45,000 worldwide.

School of Medicine

In the latest NIH Award rankings for FY 2005, Stony Brook's School of Medicine not only topped all SUNY Medical Schools with $54.5 million, but had more than double the funding of the next highest SUNY campus, Buffalo.

Events

Wine Center Events

Thursday, September 21 
6:30-8:00 p.m.
 Artistry With Authenticity


Pentimento Restaurant—with Chef Chris Gerdes and Manager Kathy Gerdes–pair a tasting menu with wines from a top Long Island winemaker. Zagat’s Guide describes the cuisine at Pentimento Restaurant in Stony Brook Village as "Superb, subtle dishes smartly paired with an award-winning wine list."

Thursday, October 5 
6:30-8:00 p.m. 
Island Journeys


Steve Biscari-Amaral, chef of Black Tie Catering, pairs wines from Palmer Vineyards with choice dishes defined by flavors from his island travels, from Hawaii to Long Island. A professional chef and caterer for over 30 years, Biscari-Amaral has worked, studied, and taught culinary arts in France, Spain, Israel, Hong Kong, and Hawaii, and was nominated "Chef of the Year" Pacific, Northwest, by the James Beard Foundation.

Register now with secure online payment. $55.00 for the first person
 $45.00 for every person in the group after that
 $40.00 for one person, for three or more events at the same location. Location: Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University 

Note: You must be 21 or over to participate in wine-tasting events.

October 3: "The Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium and Workshop: The First Humans"

Convened by Richard Leakey, the 3rd annual Human Evolution Symposium is a full-day event featuring many of the foremost scholars in the field. This year's workshops will examine the origins of the human lineage in Africa. Human-like fossils and archaeological artifacts can be traced back as far as some 2.5 million years ago in East and South Africa. These fossils and the archaeological traces are usually attributed to the earliest members of the human genus, Homo. However, there is good reason to suspect that these remains lack critical features that would describe them as being truly human. If such suspicions are correct, then the earliest evidence for humans is found only substantially later–at about 1.8 million years ago.

For more info and to register please go to :
www.stonybrook.edu/sb/humanevolution/

Opportunities and Sponsor Information

L'Oréal USA

L'Oréal USA invites applications for its 2007 Fellowships for Women in Science program. This program provides grants to postdoctoral researchers who are pursuing studies and research in the life and physical/material sciences, mathematics, engineering and computer science. Following selection of 20-25 finalists, five $40,000 fellowship grants will be offered for a one-year term. Applicants who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents or naturalized citizens must be affiliated with a U.S.-based academic or research institution. Applicants must be planning to do their postdoctoral studies and research in the U.S. Applications are due Oct. 31, 2006. More information is available by clicking on "For Women in Science" (top of the page) at: http://www.lorealusa.com/_en/_us/

Diabetes Related Research Opportunities

Grant funds are available to support diabetes and endocrinology related pilot research and to solicit proposals from interested investigators. This opportunity has arisen as a component of a larger grant application that Stony Brook University will be submitting in December to the NIDDK to establish a Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center (DERC). The intent of a DERC is to support multidisciplinary research in diabetes and endocrinology by providing shared access to specialized resources and expertise. For more information, you can access the NIH DERC grant information site at (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-06-014.html).

As part of this application, we anticipate funding 3-5 pilot and feasibility grants directed at basic biomedical, clinical and translational research questions relevant to diabetes and its complications. The budget requests for these applications cannot exceed $50,000/year in direct costs for a maximum of two years ($100,000 total). To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 10/15/06. For more information including eligibility and related guidelines, please go to this link:

http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/derc.html

--Contributed by Lucy Kenny, Department of Planning, SBUH

NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

The National Science Foundation (NSF) aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in this competition. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master's or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the NSF.

The affiliated institution receives a $40,500 award for the costs described below. Fellows abroad receive direct NSF grant awards up to the same amount. The Graduate Research Fellowship stipend is currently $30,000 for a 12-month tenure period, prorated monthly at $2,500 for shorter periods. All awards will be for a maximum of three years usable over a five-year period. Deadlines are as follows:

• November 1, 2006, for Interdisciplinary Fields of Study
• November 3, 2006, for Mathematical Sciences and Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering
• November 6, 2006, for Social, Behavioral, Economic Sciences and Geosciences
• November 8, 2006, for Life Sciences
• November 9, 2006, for Engineering
• November 13, 2006, for Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy

URL for more information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06592/nsf06592.htm

 

NSF Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS):
Supplemental Funding to Current BIO Awards to Broaden Participation in the Biological Sciences

The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) will fund supplements to current BIO awards that: Foster interest in the pursuit of studies in the Biological Sciences; and
Broaden participation of high school students, particularly those who are women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities. The establishment of Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS): Supplemental Funding to Current BIO Awards to Broaden Participation in the Biological Sciences reflects the continuing effort by BIO to promote increased participation of women, underrepresented minority students, and those students who are persons with disabilities. The Principal Investigator must be the PI of an active BIO award. There are no deadlines for RAHSS supplemental requests, but requests should be made as early as possible in the fiscal year.

The complete text of the "Dear Colleague" letter can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06027/nsf06027.jsp

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is now accepting online applications for its five Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs)

The five LRPs offered by the NIH include the Clinical Research LRP, Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, Contraception and Infertility Research LRP, Health Disparities LRP, and Pediatric Research LRP.

Through these programs, the NIH offers to repay up to $35,000 annually of the qualified educational debt of health professionals pursuing careers in biomedical and behavioral research. The programs also provide coverage for Federal and state tax liabilities.

To qualify, applicants must possess a doctoral-level degree, devote 50% or more of their time (20 hours per week based on a 40-hour work week) to research funded by a domestic non-profit organization or government entity (Federal, state, or local), and have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20% of their institutional base salary. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or U.S. nationals to be eligible.

All applications for 2007 awards must be submitted online by 8:00 p.m. EST, December 1, 2006. For an online application, program information, or other assistance, visit the LRP Web site at www.lrp.nih.gov, telephone the Help desk at
866-849-4047, or send email inquiries to lrp@nih.gov

Funding Opportunities and COS

The University subscribes to Community of Science (COS), home to at least two data-bases that will be of interest to faculty members.

The COS Expertise database can assist in identifying experts and collaborators for your research. You can search among 500,000 profiles of researchers from 1,600 institutions throughout the world. Discover who's doing what -- current research activity, funding received, publications, patents, new positions and more.

You can also promote your research with a COS Profile that will showcase your research and expertise among researchers and scholars from universities, corporations and nonprofits in more than 170 countries.

The information that you input about your research interests will generate e-mail alerts when the COS Funding Opportunities database is updated with new grant opportunities.

Faculty can also search the Funding Opportunities database directly. The Main Search interface may be a little intimidating, so why not try the Search Wizard option. Search Wizard will allow you to do searches that are more detailed than those allowed by the Simple Search.

With its step-by-step guidance, it's ideal for helping you become familiar with the process of building a targeted funding search.

Visit the COS homepage at: http://www.cos.com/

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

For a complete list of upcoming deadlines, please go to -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/fndopp/deadlcal.html

Interdisciplinary Seminars

Please remember that, in an effort to encourage interdisciplinary research on campus, this office will supply $100 toward a speaker's luncheon when your department invites a Stony Brook colleague from an unrelated discipline to give a seminar. Please contact Ann-Marie Scheidt amscheidt@notes.cc.sunysb.edu to determine eligibility. You will be asked to provide a copy of the seminar notice annotated with the number of attendees and a brief description of any anticipated collaborations with the speaker's department.

Music for Meetings

Please remember that the OVPR would like to assist those of you who are planning a research meeting on campus by providing musical interludes. If you would like to have Stony Brook student musicians play at the reception for your meeting it can be arranged by contacting Ann-Marie Scheidt amscheidt@notes.cc.sunysb.edu. Arrangements must be made with this office in advance of the meeting. OVPR will make a payment to the Department of Music and the Department in turn pays the students. You get to listen to some nice music.

NSF Target Dates Reminder

When submitting proposals to NSF in response to program announcements that have a Target Date, if you feel your proposal will not be submitted via Fastlane to NSF by the Target Date, you need to contact your Program Official prior to this date to discuss and agree on an extended deadline date. The window of time allowed for requested extensions, which has gotten smaller over the past couple of years, varies from Program and Division and is dependent on when the panel is scheduled for review. NSF can still accept proposals submitted after the Target Date, however, they are under no obligation to accept the proposal unless prior approval from the Program Official has been received for the late submission.

--Contributed by Ivar Strand, Assistant Vice President for Sponsored Programs

Essential Policies, Procedures and Resources

COEUS To Provide Grants.gov Submission Module and Sponsored Programs Institutes a New 5 Business Day Deadline for Submissions

As many of you are aware, the National Institutes of Health has been transitioning to mandatory electronic proposal submission through Grants.gov. A major NIH milestone that is approaching is the mandatory submission of all RO1 grants on February 1, 2007. Some federal agencies (i.e., US Dept of Energy, NOAA, US Dept of Ed) have already instituted this mandatory electronic submission requirement and it is anticipated that other federal agencies will follow suit shortly thereafter. Currently, Grants.gov submissions at this campus are accomplished through the utilization of the Pure Edge software, which is quite cumbersome and involves substantial cutting and pasting. Alternatives to this include building an in-house "system-to-system" computer program that would communicate directly with Grants.gov and avoid Pure Edge, or purchase one of these systems from a vendor or educational institution that has built one. The Office of Sponsored Programs on behalf of Stony Brook University in conjunction with the University at Buffalo, the University at Albany, and Binghamton University have entered into a consortium arrangement to license Massachusetts Institute of Technology's COEUS software product. Currently, this product is licensed to over 90 institutions including Johns Hopkins University, the largest US recipient of NIH funding. In addition to the proposal preparation and submission module, COEUS provides internal proposal routing and approval, and modules for proposal and award tracking, research compliance and conflict of interest approvals.

The consortium is planning on having the proposal preparation and submission module up and running by January 1, 2007, in anticipation of the NIH implementation, with the other modules being phased in at a later date. Therefore, it is vital for the Office of Sponsored Programs to know which principal investigators are planning to submit for the 2/1/06 deadline. My office will work with these investigators to get trained on COEUS so they will be in a position to successfully submit these proposals. Further, OSP will continue to utilize the Pure Edge software between now and 2/1/07, so if there is anyone that requires training on Pure Edge immediately please contact me at your earliest convenience.

And finally, since electronic proposal submission can be a complex and system dependent endeavor, the Office of Sponsored Programs is instituting a five business day internal deadline for the receipt of the complete and final proposal accompanied by a signed SB299 form for both paper and electronic submissions effective 10/1/06. Please note the proposal should include the final scope of work and administrative components of the proposal including all required documentation from proposed subrecipients and collaborators. This deadline is irrespective of the SOM deadline. Should an individual faculty member fail to comply with OSP's deadline, we can make no guarantee that these proposals will be successfully submitted. Should anyone have any questions, please call me at 2-4402, or e-mail me at IStrand@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

--Contributed by Ivar Strand, Assistant Vice President for Sponsored Programs

OLAW Guidance on PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals Provided in Frequently Asked Questions

Notice Number: NOT-OD-06-101

Issued by: Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), Office of Extramural Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/olaw.htm )

This Notice announces the availability of a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/faqs.htm about the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy)
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/phspol.htm).

The FAQs provide guidance on topics not previously addressed, including the Freedom of Information Act, post approval monitoring, HVAC malfunctions/failures, and rodent cage density. Institutions are encouraged to review the FAQs and make use of this new resource. As necessary, OLAW will update the site with new FAQs.

For questions or further information, contact:

e-mail: olaw@od.nih.gov

Office of Clinical Trials

The goals of this office are to streamline the process of industry sponsored clinical trials by utilizing the office as a single point of contact between industry sponsors and Stony Brook University Hospital. The Office of Clinical Trials will review and track all paperwork submissions, match sponsors with investigators that have the resources (staff, experience, and subject population) for the best overall study outcome. The office will provide assistance as needed with mentoring new investigators, coordinators and regulatory submissions.

As of September 1, 2006 all potential industry sponsored studies must go through the Office of Clinical Trials for review. The paperwork to be sent to the office includes:

Site Questionnaire
Confidentiality Agreement
Protocol
Draft Contract
Budget
Site Implementation Plan (SIP) (form attached)

The fee for the office to review, negotiate and track these studies is $250.00. If IRB submission is needed through this office a separate fee of $300.00 will be charged. This fee includes one year renewal. These fees will be factored into the budget as part of the non-refundable start up fees prior to execution of the contract.

In addition to reviewing the studies, negotiating the budget, and submitting the applications to the IRB, a study coordinator services will be available, if necessary. The study coordinator fee will be determined based on need and % of effort.

For more information feel free to contact
Silvia Muniz, Regulatory Specialist (P) 444-9016 (F) 444-7292
silvia.muniz@stonybrook.edu
Teresa Hunt-Goncalves NP, CCRC (P) 444-8302
teresa@osa.sunysb.edu
Sharon Nachman, MD, Director (P) 444-7692
sharon.nachman@stonybrook.edu

--Contributed by Sharon Nachman, Director, Office of Clinical Trials

For More Information

Gail S. Habicht is Vice President for Research. She can be reached at (631) 632-7932. An abundance of specific information for the research community is available on our Website, where past issues of this bulletin can also be found.

Office of the Vice President for Research -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/

Monday Memo archive - http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/monmemo/mmarchive.html

All Past issue of Monday Memo are keyword searchable.

And if you are challenged by the embarrassment of riches in the over 2,000 individual Web pages that comprise the Website, you may find the alphabetical site index helpful. The index can be accessed at - http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/index2.html.

If you have information you would like to contribute to Monday Memo please email it to the editor, Adnan Rangwala, at marc.dempsey@stonybrook.edu