Volume 14, Number 8: February 6, 2008
CAMPUS NEWS
University Creates Research Compliance Partner
Carolina's new Research Compliance Office provides guidance on regulatory laws for university researchers who are navigating the path from research concept to clinical trial. The office is led by director and institutional research compliance officer Juliann Tenney, and by assistant director and conflict of interest officer Sherri Settle. Tenney and Settle work with researchers who run clinical trials, with the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) for human subjects, and with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to ensure that all partners are aware of regulatory guidelines and laws governing how the research should be conducted.
The University has developed many resources to help researchers and administrators. For example, the Office of Clinical Trials offers a comprehensive training series for clinical research coordinators and the administrators who run clinical trials. Also, a new automated process for individual conflict of interest certification has been added to RAMSeS to address federal requirements for investigators to declare their financial interests by the time an application is submitted.
Individuals can express anonymous, confidential concerns about financial, privacy or environment, health, and safety aspects of campus research by calling 866-924-8688 or filing an online report at EthicsPoint.
Call the Research Compliance Office at 843-9953 if you have questions.
Courtesy of the University Gazette.
Training Program: Major Challenges in Clinical Medicine
Date: June 23 through July 18
The UNC Roadmap Office has announced the fourth iteration of its training program, "Major Challenges in Clinical Medicine: An Overview for Basic Scientists," funded by the National Institutes of Health. Click here for more information and an application. Please contact Karen Stone (966-9431) with any questions.
Open Access Publication Assistance from the Health Sciences Library
As of April 7, 2008, all articles arising from research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication.
The Health Sciences Library (HSL) provides resources and assistance to help faculty authors comply with the new NIH Public Access legislation. HSL's Open Access and Scholarly Communications webpage has been updated to include links to important information about the legislation. HSL's webpage also links to an NIH list of journals that will submit articles for authors, and an NIH example of wording that might be useful in copyright agreement negotiations. Send questions about the new policy to HSL's Ask a Librarian service.
NCBI Field Guide Course at UNC in March
Lecture
Date: Wednesday, March 12
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Place: Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building Auditorium
Hands-on Workshops
Date: March 12 and 13
Time: varies
Place: varies
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) will offer their Field Guide to GenBank and NCBI Molecular Biology Resources course at UNC-Chapel Hill on March 12 and 13. Peter Cooper and Rana Morris, biologists on the NCBI User Services staff, are the course instructors. This lecture and hands-on computer workshop on GenBank and related databases will cover effective use of the Entrez databases and search service, the BLAST similarity search engine, genome data, and related resources. Additional course content details are provided on the NCBI website.
This course is sponsored by the UNC Health Sciences Library as part of the library's ongoing Basic Bioinformatics Tools Forum series. To register and for more information, click here.
Identifying Funding Sources: Workshop for School of Public Health Faculty
Date: Thursday, March 6
Time: 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Place: 307 Health Sciences Library (computer lab)
The Grantsource Library and the Office of Research of the School of Public Health invite faculty to a hands-on workshop on identifying funding sources for research, programs, and other scholarly endeavors. GrantSource Librarian Susan Gramling will provide time-saving tips for conducting a funding search and an overview of resources and services available to investigators through the library. Each participant will have access to a computer for searching.
Seating is limited to 20 participants, and advance registration is requested. Your registration will be confirmed by email. For more information, contact gs@unc.edu or 962-3463.
Office of Clinical Trials Lunch and Learn Session
Date: Tuesday, February 12
Time: 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Place: 2127 Bioinformatics Building (new location)
The Office of Clinical Trials (OCT) will hold a brown bag Lunch and Learn session entitled "Ask OCT: The Perceived Black Hole." The entire OCT staff will be present to answer any questions you might have about the office and its processes.
Have you ever wondered the following?
- Why do contract negotiations (CDA or CTA) seem to take so long?
- Why does the OCT require Informed Consent Forms be submitted with Review Request Forms?
- What happens if the eIPF is not authorized in RAMSeS by the PI?
- How does the department's expectation of contract finalization correlate with the OCT reality?
- What happens in the OCT once a Review Request Form is submitted?
- Why can't the PI sign the CDA or CTA instead of the university?
- A sponsor tells you the contract must be completed by a certain date in order to receive funding. How can the OCT help make that happen?
If you would like to submit a question to the OCT prior to the Lunch-n-Learn, please send them to oct@unc.edu.
To register for this session, click here.
Duke Hosts Conference on Markets for Technology
Date: Wednesday, February 20
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Place: Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Duke University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Fuqua School of Business is hosting a one-day symposium, "Markets for Technology: Challenges and Opportunities." World-class experts on the operation of technology markets will review the changes that have occurred in contracting, licensing and related practices over the past two decades, and anticipate what best practice will look like in the coming years. The symposium will also consider the impediments to the growth and diffusion of well-functioning technology markets, and what management and government might do to address these impediments.
The symposium is free, but registration is required before February 13.
GrantSource Library Workshops for Postdoctoral Scholars
The GrantSource Library and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs invite postdoctoral scholars to the following hands-on workshops on searching for funding sources for research, fellowships, and other scholarly endeavors. Elizabeth Allen, GrantSource Librarian in the Office of Information and Communications, will provide tips for conducting a funding search and an overview of resources available to researchers through the library.
Identifying Funding Sources for Postdoctoral Scholars
Date: Monday, February 25
Time: 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Place: 307 Health Sciences Library
For more information and to register, click here.
Identifying Funding Sources for International Postdoctoral Scholars
Date: Wednesday, February 27
Time: 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Place: 307 Health Sciences Library
For more information and to register, click here.
Seating is limited and advance registration is required. Your registration will be confirmed by email.
For additional information or to schedule a workshop for your research team or department, please contact the GrantSource Library at gs@unc.edu or 962-3463.
Professional Skills Development for Public Service and Engagement
EPA non-faculty members of the Carolina community are invited to join a growing network of professional staff, students, post-docs, and non-faculty researchers who are interested in skills training for university engagement. Funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Service and Engagement, this group has organized a monthly lunch series at which attendees will build new competencies and network with other members of the Carolina community who are interested in engagement and public service.
Initial goals for the group include:
- enhancing the participation of professional staff, students, and non-faculty researchers in Carolina's engagement mission
- improving networking and communication among departments, centers, offices, etc. that affect engagement and public service at Carolina
- providing opportunities for professional development and career advancement for staff, students, and researchers who are interested in engagement and public service
The group will meet over lunch on the first Friday of every month (boxed lunch will be provided). Meetings are open to all members of the Carolina community who are interested in developing skills for public service and engagement. For more information, please contact Ben Mauk at mauk@email.unc.edu.
Carolina Digital Library and Archives Open House
Join the Carolina Digital Library and Archives for an open house and program, Wednesday, February 13, in Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
From online collections of unique and rare research materials, to the mass digitization of enormous library and manuscript collections, to the development and integration of specialized technologies into the work of the humanities and social sciences. Digital technologies have the power to enhance, even transform, scholarship, teaching, and learning.
The Carolina Digital Library and Archives (CDLA) brings these activities to Carolina as a new partner with scholars, researchers, students, and departments.
For program information, contact Liza Terll (962-4207).
For additional information about the CDLA, to explore project proposals, or to receive a brochure, contact Kirill Fesenko (843-5910), head of the Carolina Digital Library.
New Patents and License Agreements
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) reports that the university received one U.S. patent and executed seven license agreements in December.
Epizyme, a startup company located in Boston, Massachusetts, has licensed screening technologies developed by Yi Zhang's group in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. The company will use these technologies to study the mechanisms that initiate and maintain patterns of gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence, with the purpose of identifying and developing drugs for the treatment of cancer.
To learn more about these new patents and license agreements, please contact otd@unc.edu or call 966-3929. For other information on licenses and agreements, click here.