Research Roundup presentation (September 17, 2020) – Shuk-Mei Ho, Ph.D., UAMS Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation, offers updates on collaborations, research awards, overall FY20 research funding, research support activities, funding opportunities, onboarding, and Vision 2029 strategic planning.

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 600 proposals, including 350 to the NIH (FY2019)
  • Processed over 300 awards totaling $81,079,637 (FY2019)
    • 19% increase in the number of new UAMS grant awards since 2016
  • Processed 160 federal grant subawards; $9 million (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 104 grants and 42 manuscripts (2019)
    • 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

  • 15,000 electronic journal titles in health/biomedical sciences
  • 29,301 book in all formats including 1,382 (electronic), 27,656 (print)
  • 119 databases and electronic resources from various sources (inclu., 28 licensed by UAMS)
  • Arkansas’ premier repository for medical history with 7,000 volumes and 500 linear ft. of archival health science records