Volume 14, Number 11: May 7, 2008
CAMPUS NEWS
Using Laboratory Animals in Research and Teaching
Date: Wednesday, May 14
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Place: Molecular Biology Research Building (MBRB) 2204
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Americans for Medical Progress will host a special presentation given by Tom Holder of Speaking for Research. He will speak about animal rights extremism in the United States and what researchers can do to counter the climate of fear for scientists and defend lifesaving biomedical research. This auditorium holds 500 participants and attendance will be first come, first served. No registration is required.
For more details, see these links:
- Speaking for Research flyer (pdf)
- Americans for Medical Progress Hayre Fellowship in Public Outreach (pdf)
- Protesters Fail to Slow Animal Research (pdf), Chronicle of Higher Education, April 18, 2008
In light of the many animal rights activities in the news lately, we hope that you will be able to join us for this special opportunity. For more information, contact the Office of Animal Care and Use.
If other groups are interested in learning more about animal research advocacy, Holder is available for other campus speaking opportunities on May 14 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. If interested, contact Kristen Janeczek at Americans for Medical Progress at 703-836-9595 ext 101.
UCRF Innovation Awards 2008
The University Cancer Research Fund (UCRF) has set June 12 as the deadline for the first of two rounds of UCRF Innovation Awards for 2008. The deadline for the second round will be in early December.
The 2008 Innovation Awards will operate under revised guidelines, expected to be posted in early May. While there will be relatively few changes to the existing guidelines, do not use the old ones.
The deadline for the Clinical Innovation Awards will be in early or mid-October 2008.
IAH Faculty Fellowships and NEH Summer Stipend
The Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH) has announced IAH Faculty Fellowships competition for 2009 – 2010. Guidelines for both the IAH Faculty Fellowship and the Chapman Family Faculty Fellowship are now available.
IAH also serves as the internal coordinator for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipend.
Celebration of Inventorship Reception
Each spring the Office of Technology Development hosts a reception to honor all university faculty, staff and students who are named as inventors on patents issued in the previous calendar year. This year the Celebration of Inventorship Reception was held on Tuesday, April 22 at the Carolina Club. Speakers and presenters included Tony Waldrop, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development; Mark Crowell, Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Development; and Provost Bernadette Gray-Little.
A list of honored inventors (pdf) and event photos (ppt) are available.
Revised Policy for Collecting Social Security Numbers from Research Participants
When volunteers are paid for participating in research studies, the University may be obligated to collect their Social Security Numbers (SSN) or other tax ID numbers, in order to comply with IRS income reporting requirements. For several years, the thresholds that trigger SSN collection from research participants have been set at $40 per individual payment or $200 per calendar year.
Effective immediately, the lower (per payment) threshold has been eliminated. The annual threshold remains in effect, so that investigators must still collect a participant's SSN if total payments will exceed $200 in one calendar year.
EXAMPLES:
- A participant will be compensated $50 for each of three study visits, for a total of $150 for the entire study. SSN need not be collected.
- A participant will receive $30 for each of ten study visits in 2008, for a total of $300. SSN must be collected and reported with other information to Material and Disbursement Services.
A revised guidance document is available here (pdf).
There are two revisions to this guidance (both on page 2): The $40 per payment threshold has been deleted, and a new section has been added to address "Mechanisms for Processing Payments to Subjects," which may impact SSN collection. For example, SSN must be collected for checks in any amount issued through the University Accounts Payable system, even if that amount is less than $200. Investigators may wish to compensate participants using gift cards or petty cash accounts, rather than issuing checks for lesser amounts that would not otherwise trigger SSN collection.
Investigators are reminded that these are not Institutional Review Board policies that stem from human research regulations. The Institutional Review Boards (IRB) agreed to incorporate the review of SSN collection scenarios primarily as a courtesy to researchers, who would otherwise be referred across campus to initiate a separate review process with a separate office. This means that the IRBs are not in position to modify these University policy requirements on an ad hoc basis. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Research teams are encouraged to contact their IRB with any questions.
New Staff in the Office of Technology Development
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) is pleased to introduce two new members of our professional team, both of whom have joined us recently as Technology Development Associates.
Kelly Sivertson received her undergraduate degree in biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and her PhD in microbiology and immunology from Wake Forest University. Prior to joining us, Kelly was a postdoctoral research associate at UNC-Chapel Hill in the Cystic Fibrosis/Pulmonary Research and Treatment Center. She also interned with OTD and participated in Kenan-Flagler Business School's Launch the Venture program, gaining additional skills and insights that will be invaluable in her new role at OTD.
Peter Liao received his Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School. Peter comes to us after more than a decade with RTI International, serving as a technology commercialization manager with the Center for Technology Applications. In that role, he assessed over 250 technologies for clients as diverse as NASA, Sony, Whirlpool, and the U.S. Army. His years of practical experience make him a valuable asset to our office.
We are delighted to welcome Kelly and Peter to the OTD team and look forward to working with them to forward the research and technology development goals of UNC-Chapel Hill.
OSR Training for Research Administrators
The Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) offers the following classes for employees who want to learn more about functions related to the administration of sponsored awards.
Completing Grants.gov Electronic Forms
- Wednesday, July 16, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Register)
- Thursday, July 17, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Register)
- Wednesday, October 15, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Register)
- Tuesday, June 10th 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. (Register)
- Wednesday, June 18, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Register)
- Wednesday, September 24, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Register)
- Tuesday, November 4, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Register)
RAMSeS: Proposal and Award Dashboards
- Thursday, September 4, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Register)
- Thursday, August 21, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (Register)
- Wednesday, August 20, 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. (Register)
- Thursday, November 20, 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. (Register)
Utilizing the eRA Commons to Manage NIH Grants
- Wednesday, November 12, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (Register)
The OSR Training and Development web site has information about the entire range of classes offered.
New Patents and License Agreements
The Office of Technology Development reports that UNC-Chapel Hill received two U.S. patents and executed twelve license agreements in April.
A non-exclusive tangible property license was executed with Bayer HealthCare for use of a UNC-Chapel Hill mouse model of Hemophilia. Darrell Stafford in the Department of Biology created mice that have mutant Factor IX, a key protein in the coagulation cascade. These mice display functional hemophilia, and are useful to study and/or screen potential hemophilia therapeutics.
OTD completed a non-exclusive license agreement with Microsoft Corporation for an interactive 3D architectural modeling system developed by Sudipta Sinha and Marc Pollefeys in Computer Science. The program uses unordered collections of photographs and computer vision techniques to accelerate the modeling process and generate a detailed textured 3D model of a scene. This technology enhances software developed at Microsoft and has applications in the development of virtual worlds.
In 1993 Professor Maurice Brookhart in the Department of Chemistry began to investigate catalysts based upon nickel and palladium in an effort to copolymerize polar comonomers. DuPont became interested in Professor Brookhart's catalyst technology and through the years has supported research in the Brookhart lab . DuPont's Versipol (R) catalysts, which are used to polymerize ethylene and alpha-olefins, are the result of the DuPont-UNC-Chapel Hill collaboration. The intellectual property resulting from the collaboration is both solely owned by UNC-Chapel Hill and jointly owned by UNC-Chapel Hill and DuPont. In March 2008 DuPont exclusively licensed the university's s in the patent rights and is actively commercializing the Versipol (R) technology through out-licensing to major polymer manufacturers.
To learn more about these new patents and license agreements, please email otd@unc.edu or call 966-3929. For more information on licenses and agreements, click here.
Botany, Zoology, and Chemistry Libraries Closed May 19 through June 1
The Botany, Zoology, and Chemistry libraries will close for two weeks beginning May 19 as the Botany Library relocates from Coker Hall to join the Zoology and Chemistry libraries in Wilson Library. The merged Biology/Chemistry Library will re-open June 2 at the south entrance of Wilson Library, directly across South Road from the Bell Tower.