The Division of Research & Innovation is divided into research support specialties, summarized below. You can obtain additional information/contact details via the associated website links.
BioVentures
- 46 invention disclosures as of 1/31/2023
- 36 new patent applications, and 15 U.S. patents granted in FY22
- Of 46 spinoff companies, 33 remain in operation in FY22
Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
- 220+ active protocols from ~100 principal investigators and 25 depts/divisions
- IACUC reviews an average of 9 new protocols/month, over 100/year
- Approximately 12 annual protocol reviews conducted monthly or 150/year
- 25 addendum requests reviewed/month or 300/year
- IACUC visits the ACHRI/UAMS campuses (i.e., 4 vivariums in 3 buildings (Barton renovations 2020 – 2022); 83 labs in 8 buildings) to discuss research projects, ensure housing/husbandry/procedure areas are maintained, check required documentation is up-to-date, and check for personnel safety compliance
Institutional Review Board
- Had 1,453 human subject research studies open in FY22, an increase of about 10 percent from FY20.
- Approved 302 new human subject research projects in FY22.
- Reviewed and approved 908 modification forms for open research studies in FY22.
Office of Research Regulatory Affairs
- Twenty-one studies in ‘Active’ phase (current)
- Additional 12 studies in process of FDA submission or study start-up (current)
- Onboarding additional sites nationwide (NYU, Boston, Fayetteville, AR) for the Multi-Site HPV Head and Neck vaccine study (current)
- Reviewed 74 studies for IND/IDE Determinations (over the past year)
- Annual monitoring visits at UAMS, ACH, UAL total 60-80
- Oversight of 80-100 records in ClinicalTrials.gov (current)
- Reviewed 121 studies for ClinicalTrials.gov determination (over the past year)
Office of Research & Sponsored Programs
- Processed over 600 proposals, with 288 to NIH (FY2022)
- Submitted proposals included requests for over $585 million.
- Processed over 400 awards totaling $157.9 million (FY2022)
- 25% increase in the number of new UAMS grant awards since FY 2021
- $15.1 million increase in grant funding since FY2021
- Processed 350 outgoing subawards (FY2022)
- 39% increase in federal subawards since FY2021
Office of Sponsored Programs Administrative Network
OSPAN is a Research & Innovation PI support team. This group of 27 research administrators and scientific editors (including SciCom) provides support for grant submissions and award administration. OSPAN has 5 team leads (of 3-7 members each) for all UAMS’ colleges/divisions.
- OSPAN has supported annual submission increases of 5-6%/year since inception.
- In FY20, OSPAN saw a 27% increase in annual UAMS submissions (over 2016 when the group began).
- OSPAN assisted 34 investigators with their first UAMS grant submission (FY20).
- OSPAN staff provided administrative support to over 900 sponsored project accounts (FY20).
Science Communication Group (SciCom)
SciCom is a scientific editing resource available to UAMS researchers at no cost. Editors help researchers produce clear and concise writing to increase their chances of obtaining extramural research funding or publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
- Edited 65 grants and 71 manuscripts in FY22
- Experienced editors with research experience (certified by the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences)
- Certified research administrator coordinates large, multi-component grant applications (e.g., COBREs, INBRE, P01s) and mentors junior investigators