The Ride of My Life

Since July of 2012, I have served UMKC as the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development.  To say that this has been a fulfilling time in my career at UMKC would be a gross understatement!  These past 6-years have been the most privileged of my 28 years at UMKC and of my entire career as a university faculty member/administrator.  As an administrator, there is no greater fulfillment than to see those you serve be successful in their endeavors.  As a Chief Research Officer that means, assisting faculty with their research, grant applications and awards, assisting deans to advance their unit research initiatives, and promoting UMKC within the UM System, the region and at the national level.

Over the course of the last few years there are a number of accomplishments that I can take pride in, but one that stands out for me is the creation of Explore, the UMKC Research magazine.  Until 6 years ago we had no publication that spotlighted research at UMKC.  Perhaps this was emblematic of a past UMKC; we simply didn’t voice our story loud, and often, enough.  When volume 1 of Explore came out in print, I hoped that we would have enough great stories to sustain the expectations created by such an outstanding effort.  Five volumes later, and a 6th in the works, and we are still spotlighting world-class faculty scholars and the pipeline continues to grow.   This fact,along with a rejuvenated effort to invest in research bodes well for the future of research at UMKC.

As for me, I won’t be riding off into the sunset just yet!  My new role as Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Research Support will leverage my years of research experience and administration in promoting faculty research success, primarily for junior and newly hired faculty members. This will include, but not be limited to, assisting faculty members in navigating the extramural application process, developing proposal writing skills, expanding networks for collaborations, and mentoring them in research and career development activities.  In a sense, the totality of my career has prepared me for this position and I look forward to the new challenge that lies ahead.

As I transition into my new role, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work performed by the staff of the Office of Research Services, Research Compliance, and Technology Commercialization.  Those of you who work regularly with the ORS know what I am talking about!

To my Colleagues at the Office of Research Services: It has been my sincere honor and privilege to have worked closely with all of you. Your dedication, professionalism, hard work, and “can do” spirit inspires me to be better at all that I do!  

Sincerely,

Grants 101

When: Wednesday, September 26th, 9am-10:30am
Where: Office of Research Services, 2nd Floor conference room
5211 Rockhill Road

The Office of Research Services provides a Grants 101 training four (4) times a year.  This training introduces the participants to the structure and functions of the Office of Research Services.  Additionally, it discusses key funding sources and the proposal development and submission processes.

This training creates an opportunity for the novice and the experienced researchers to visit the ORS office, meet the pre- and post-award administrators that support their individual departments, and learn all about the ways the office assist them with their proposal submissions through their award close-outs.

If you have not done so, you will want to sign up for the ORS Listserv to make sure that you don’t miss the next scheduled Grants 101 training.  You can do so by clicking the following hyperlink:  http://ors.umkc.edu/about/ors-listserv.

2nd Annual RFP for Neuromuscular/Musculoskeletal Diseases Announced

The Executive Committee for the Kansas City Consortium on Musculoskeletal Diseases (KCMD) is pleased to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Neuromuscular/Musculoskeletal Research Grants to be submitted to the KCMD for funding consideration. Funding for this grant program is provided by the member institutions. Background, Scope, Eligibility, Review Criteria, Application Procedures, the Review Process, and submission instructions are provided here.   Applications are solicited from clinical, translational and basic scientists engaged in research at one of the four member institutions of the Kansas City Consortia on Musculoskeletal Diseases with expertise in neuromuscular/ musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., ALS or osteoarthritis).  Genetic, molecular, cellular and systems approaches aimed at elucidating the development and progression of such diseases are encouraged.  Proposals must clearly identify how the research team intends to generate critical preliminary data needed for future collaborative proposal submissions to external agencies. Proposals must be from collaborative research teams spanning two or more organizations.  Funding of up to $50,000 per team is available.

The ORS Moves to iThenticate

The ORS moves to Protect Against Plagiarism in Grant Application Submissions

Last Spring the UMKC Office of Research joined a number of universities taking steps to avoid unreferenced or copied material in grant application submissions by launching the voluntary use of iThenticate, a cloud-based plagiarism detection utility.   iThenticate, the worldwide leading plagiarism detection technology, is used by a growing list of scholarly publishers, academic institutions, and funding sponsors including the NIH, NSF, DoE, CDC and others.  In the case of grant application submissions, plagiarism can be unintentional, yet the consequences for allowing a submission to go forward with unreferenced or unintentionally plagiarized material can be devastating not only to the investigator but to the institution as well.

In order to protect our faculty, students and the institution itself, the ORS is, at present, offering voluntary iThenticate pre-screening of grant applications prior to submission.  The service should not delay submission since it can be accomplished and analyzed in less than an hour.  However, it is recommended that pre-screening take place a few days before the ORS submission deadline such that any necessary corrective measures can take place prior to final submission.  It is envisioned that mandatory screening will become standard operating procedure within a year or two since this is the direction being taken by all major institutions.

 

For additional information on the iThenticate service see: ORS Plagiarism Prevention

We’re Here to Help: Eric Anderson

Title

Director, Office of Technology Commercialization

My focus

My focus is on providing a service to the faculty and the university in protecting and licensing intellectual property.  We mainly receive in disclosures of inventions, but we can also protect software applications.  Promising technologies are then taken to startup or industry for partnering.  Our goal is to see UMKC technology utilized in products and services.  Continue reading