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

  • 37 invention disclosures (FY20)
  • 20 new patent applications, and 5 U.S. patents granted (FY20)
  • Currently 26 BioVentures spinoff companies 0f 42 total are in operation today

Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee

  • 200+ active protocols from ~100 principal investigators and 25 depts/divisions
  • IACUC reviews an average of 8 new protocols/month or 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

  • Reviewed a total of 363 new human subject research projects in FY20 (full board, expedited, and exempt statuses)
  • 1,318 human subject protocols were open during FY20.
  • Mean days for PIs to receive full Board approval decreased by 20% since 2016 (CLARA submission through IRB approval, including pre-review of budget, etc.)
  • 17% increase in the number of modifications submitted since 2016

Office of Research Regulatory Affairs

  • Currently has :
    • 30 Active IND/IDE studies
    • Additional 9 studies in process of FDA submission or study start-up
    • Onboarding additional sites statewide for the Arkansas COVID-19 CCP program
  • Receives 150-200 requests annually to review protocols for IND/IDE determination
  • Conducts 75-100 Monitoring visits annually at UAMS, ACH, UALR and various sites across the state (Conway, Fayetteville, Pine Bluff, Russellville, Clarksville, Jonesboro)
  • Oversight of average of 70 records/year on ct.gov

Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

  • Processed over 500 proposals, with 272 to NIH (FY2020)
    • Submitted proposals included requests for $519 million.
  • Processed over 358 awards totaling $125.5 million (FY2020)
    • 16% increase in the number of new UAMS grant awards since FY2019
    • $44.5 million increase in grant funding since FY2019
  • Processed 197 federal subawards (FY2020)
    • 19% increase in federal subawards since FY2019

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 Communications (SciCom) group
    • SciCom – a free Research and Innovation scientific editing resource for UAMS researchers
    • Edited 213 projects (2020) – 96 grants, 85 manuscripts
    • Experienced staff of editors with research experience (Certified by the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences)
    • Manages the submission of large, multi-component applications: COBREs, INBRE, PO1s
    • Certified research administrators coordinate large submissions/mentor junior investigators

UAMS Library

  • Access to 53,000 electronic journals with 10,168 focused titles in health/biomedical sciences
  • 43,200 books in all formats including 19,200 (electronic), 24,00 (print)
  • 115 databases and electronic resources from various sources
  • Arkansas’ premier repository for medical history with 7,000 volumes and 500 linear ft. of archival health science records