(Press-News.org) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Chris Brown, Ph.D., is a former researcher who now heads research administration at a university with more than $780 million in research expenditures. Yet Brown — like other research administrators across the nation — had to learn his profession on the job because there is no complete, formal, recognized career training for the thousands of people who have a version of “research administrator” in their titles.
To fill this critical gap, Brown, vice president for Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will lead a three-year, $2.8 million National Science Foundation grant to create a for-credit curriculum in research administration and management for undergraduate students at over 40 universities the United States and three in South Africa and Namibia.
“This will provide a viable professional career option for future research administrators and managers,” Brown said. “Their service provides the backbone that supports research, scholarship and service at universities, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations. These individuals are critical to achieve successful outcomes, including technical innovation and improvement in the quality of life.”
Brown is principal investigator for the grant, “Filling the Gap: Establishing an Undergraduate Program in Research Administration and Management,” in collaboration with a team of senior research leaders across the country that will help manage the project.
The current lack of a research administration curriculum in colleges means:
Few undergraduates aspire to become research administrators because they are unaware it is a career option.
Individuals enter the profession with little or no foundation for managing highly complex legal and regulatory issues.
Entering research administrators must be trained on the job in the full complex of issues, rules, processes and procedures, and expectations that require many years of experience to master.
Under the grant, credit-bearing modular courses will be created for adoption by two- and four-year institutions as standalone micro-credentials, as a for-credit credential, or incorporated into a curriculum as part of a research administration concentration or minor. Online classes can be supplemented by existing university courses like technical writing, accounting and communication. At UAB, Brown has begun meetings with faculty and college leaders to create a path to implement this new curriculum.
Brown credits Lynne Chronister, the project lead for the grant and former vice president for Research and Economic Development at the University of South Alabama, for spearheading the grant application process when they both served in the Council on Research at the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, Washington, D.C. “Lynne’s vision and leadership for ‘Filling the Gap’ cannot be overstated,” Brown said.
The curriculum modules are being developed by Evan Roberts, executive director of the Society of Research Administrators International, Arlington, Virginia, with support from an advisory group of senior research officers, SRAi members, and the Innovation and Learning Center at the University of South Alabama. SRAi has been developing training modules since 2021, and the first set of modules will be available in fall 2025. Other significant contributors to “Filling the Gap” are the University of Miami, Miami, Ohio; the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Alabama A&M University; the University of California, San Diego; and New Mexico State University.
Victor McCrary, Ph.D., vice president for Research at the University of the District of Columbia, or UDC, and the vice chair of the National Science Board, is a participant and is enthusiastic about the potential of “Filling the Gap.” “This partnership helps increase research administrative capacity as the NSF and the National Science Board seek to expand research and research capacity at all of our institutions across the nation,” McCrary said. “UDC looks forward to this exciting endeavor in creating this curriculum in research administration, especially for community colleges and emerging research institutions like UDC.”
Topics in the curriculum will include an overview of research administration and management, legal issues in sponsored projects, principles of grant, and contract budgeting. Also included will be managing human subjects and animal research, promotion and compliance with international grants and contracts, basics of intellectual property protection, managing external audits for grants and contracts, and preparing and reviewing requests for proposals.
Up to 40 universities and community colleges have sent letters of interest about offering the “Filling the Gap” curriculum as a degree program or concentration.
Two other goals of the grant are creating a marketing toolkit and social media campaign for university and college participants, and providing a guidebook on work-based learning best practices for recruitment and retention of students, including mentoring, experiential learning opportunities and other support.
END
Brown to lead $2.8 million NSF grant to create an undergrad research administration curriculum
The grant will develop a credentialed curriculum for a career path in research administration and grants management
2024-09-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Traditional infrastructure design often makes extreme flooding events worse
2024-09-04
Images
Much of the nation's stormwater infrastructure, designed decades to a century ago to prevent floods, can exacerbate flooding during the severe weather events that are increasing around the globe, new research led by the University of Michigan demonstrates.
The problem lies in traditional planning's failure to recognize flood connectivity: how surface runoff from driveways, lawns and streets—and the flows in river channels and pipes—are all interlinked. The result ...
A new role for intelligent tutors powered by AI in brain surgery?
2024-09-04
Neurosurgery is perhaps one of the most demanding professions in healthcare. Surgeons spend long hours performing operations where expert performance means the difference between a good and bad patient outcome. While operative injuries are rare, when they occur, they can have serious, and lifelong consequences.
Researchers at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University are striving to improve brain surgery training by designing real-time, intelligent tutors powered by AI. These systems are designed ...
MD Anderson research highlights for September 4, 2024
2024-09-04
HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.
Protein expression atlas covers almost all cancer hallmarks
The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) provide DNA and RNA data from approximately 11,000 patient samples across 33 cancer types and 1,000 cancer cell lines, but limited protein information is available. Researchers led by Han Liang, Ph.D., Rehan Akbani, ...
At-risk butterflies more likely to survive with human help
2024-09-04
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Some of the butterflies most in danger of fluttering out of existence fare better when their habitats are actively managed by humans, a recent study found.
A team led by Washington State University researchers Cheryl Schultz and Collin Edwards analyzed data on 114 populations of 31 butterfly species in 10 U.S. states. Scientists have long warned that insect populations worldwide are falling rapidly due to the combined effects of climate change, habitat loss and pesticides. Overall, the research team found that these at-risk butterflies ...
National Cleveland Clinic survey examines generational divide in men's health
2024-09-04
Embargoed until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, September 4, 2024, CLEVELAND: A new national survey by Cleveland Clinic revealed similarities and differences across generations when it comes to men’s health. The survey highlights health priorities and concerns among men; however, there were generational differences in health habits, mental health and the use of social media as a source of health information.
While 95% of men surveyed said living a healthy lifestyle is their top priority, findings show that different health behaviors exist among ...
Sex and size disparities in access to liver transplant for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
2024-09-04
About The Study: In this study, women with hepatocellular carcinoma were less likely to receive a deceased-donor liver transplant and more likely to die while wait-listed than men with hepatocellular carcinoma; these differences were largely (but not entirely) explained by sex-based differences in candidate size. For candidates listed with exception scores, additional changes to allocation policy are needed to resolve the sex disparity, including solutions to improve access to size-matched donor livers for smaller candidates.
Corresponding Author: To ...
The world's first nuclear clock
2024-09-04
For many years, scientists all around the world have been working towards this goal, now suddenly things are happening very fast: it was only in April that a team led by Prof Thorsten Schumm (TU Wien, Vienna) announced a major success. For the first time, an atomic nucleus had been switched from one state to another using a laser – an effect that can be used for high-precision measurements. Now, just a few weeks later, this thorium transition was successfully applied in practice: TU Wien and JILA/NIST (USA) succeeded in combining a high-precision optical atomic clock with ...
H5 influenza vaccines: what needs to be done to reduce the risk of a pandemic
2024-09-04
WASHINGTON — As the global threat of H5N1 influenza looms with outbreaks across species and continents including the U.S., three international vaccine and public health experts say it is time to fully resource and support a robust strategy to address this and future potential pandemic influenza threats, including to consider voluntary vaccination for those now at exposure risk.
“At this critical juncture, decisions about vaccine development, stockpiling, and deployment will shape our ability to respond to immediate and future pandemic risks,” write Jesse Goodman, MD, PhD; Rick A. Bright, PhD; and Nicole Lurie, MD, ...
Epigenetic changes reprogram astrocytes into brain stem cells
2024-09-04
Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the methylation of their genetic material, which endowes these special astrocytes with stem cell properties. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University have published their findings in the journal Nature. In mice, the researchers showed that experimentally induced lack of blood ...
Sex hormones modulate the immune system to influence disease risk differently
2024-09-04
Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently.
Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London have shown for the first time which aspects of our immune systems are regulated by sex hormones, and the impacts this has on disease risk and health outcomes in males and females.
It is well established that diseases can affect men and women differently, due to subtle differences ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work
Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain
Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows
Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois
Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas
Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning
New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability
#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all
Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands
São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems
New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function
USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery
Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance
3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts
Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study
In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon
Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals
Caste differentiation in ants
Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds
New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA
Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer
Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews
Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches
Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection
Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system
A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity
A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain
ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions
New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement
Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies
[Press-News.org] Brown to lead $2.8 million NSF grant to create an undergrad research administration curriculumThe grant will develop a credentialed curriculum for a career path in research administration and grants management