August/September 2022
CAHS Spotlights!
Congratulations to Dr. Surkar!
Dr. Swati Surkar, assistant professor, Department of Physical Therapy recently received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Early Career R03 grant. This 2-year research grant will investigate the effects of a novel intervention, remote ischemic conditioning, when combined with intensive hand therapy on enhancing upper extremity function and brain plasticity of children with cerebral palsy (CP). The findings of this innovative research may bring new perspective in the field of rehabilitation by developing novel treatment strategies and better functional outcomes for children with CP. Dr. Surkar will conduct this research in collaboration with researchers Drs. John Willson (ECU); Jessica Cassidy (UNC-CH), Shailesh Kantak (Moss Rehabilitation), and Charity Patterson (University of Pittsburgh). Due to an intensive therapy involved in this research, it will not only benefit the children with CP in eastern North Carolina but also from the neighboring states. It will also provide an excellent training opportunity for ECU’s DPT, MOST, and PhD students.
Congratulations to Dr. Rothermich !
Dr. Kathrin Rothermich, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders was recently awarded an NSF grant. In an increasingly global world, people in healthcare, education, and business progressively need to communicate with people whose primary language is not their own. Breakdowns in communication and trust can harm patient care, limit educational outcomes, and can be costly to businesses. In conversations where English is used as the common language, dominant English speakers often change their way of communicating to facilitate comprehension, a phenomenon described as communication accommodation. While research has documented these changes, very little is known about the mechanisms by which accommodation facilitates rather than hinders communication. This research project explores the dynamics of communication accommodation to advance basic knowledge on accommodation between dominant and non-dominant English speakers and to promote successful intercultural communication.
Congratulations to Dr. Sastre!
Dr. Lauren Sastre, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Science, received a Diversity and Inclusion Research and Scholarship Award (DIRS). This work will examine the knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors around food and diabetes management for uninsured, rural Latinx/Hispanic patients with type 2 diabetes through focus groups to develop a culturally tailored version of the Fresh Start. Fresh Start is an extramurally existing program (The Duke Endowment) including culinary/lifestyle medicine program for uninsured, rural patients with type 2 diabetes. The new culturally adapted version will be examined for clinical effectiveness in spring of 2023. Title of DIRS grant: Culinary Medicine and Diabetes Management- Where are the tortillas?
Congratulations Dr. Szatmari !
Dr. Erzsebet Szatmari, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy with Dr. Alessandro Didonna, assistant professor in Brody School of Medicine received a 2022 Wooten Family Initiative for Brain Health Research Award. "MS is an autoimmune disease of the nervous system characterized by an acute inflammatory phase which is followed by progressive neurodegeneration. While we have an arsenal of treatments to control the initial inflammatory bursts, our current ability to tackle the neurodegenerative stages of MS is very limited. This is mainly due to our still limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying disease conversion. To fill this gap, we will test the novel hypothesis that a protein known as centaurin A1 regulates the vulnerability of neurons against neuroinflammation. Centaurin A1 was previously known to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), another chronic neurodegenerative disorder. The present research has the potential to unveil possible common mechanisms shared by multiple diseases of the nervous system."
Dr. Szatmari is also co- investigator on recently awarded NIH R15. Dr. Robert Hughes, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry serves as Principal Investigator on this award. And Dr. Alex Murashov, professor in BSOM is co-investigators. This cross-campus collaboration is very productive; it started in 2019 and already resulted in 3 publications.
LET'S HAVE A SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
PI COI SUBMISSION PROCESS
UPCOMING CHANGES, REQUIREMENTS TO THE PROJECT SPECIFIC CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE PROCESS (PSD-COI)
Federal agencies require project specific disclosures (PSD) at time of proposal submission. Currently, ORA has been sending messages manually regarding PSDs upon proposal submission. We are now planning to use the COI Risk Manager system and eTRACS to automate the PSD process. This change to our process should help investigators, Hub, and ORA staff. We also have new requirements for who is required to disclose, and which proposals require disclosure.
Beginning July 1, 2022, the PI and all project personnel who will receive compensation from the grant/contract on proposals for externally sponsored projects will be required to submit a Project Specific COI Disclosure (PSD-COI) at time of proposal submission. There will be a two-week grace period after submission for personnel to submit the disclosure. Those proposals that were submitted before July 1, 2022 and awarded after July 1, 2022 will be required to comply with the new requirements upon award notification and before awards are set up.
Who at ECU is covered by this policy? The PI and all named project personnel who are compensated, regardless of position classification or role on the project, to include externally contracted personnel but excluding undergraduate students.
What sponsors are covered by this policy? All external sponsors, all agreement types.
What categories of projects are covered by this policy? All categories of projects, including but not limited to research, education, public service, clinical trials.
Awards and requests for pre-award spending will not be processed or approved until all required, applicable compliance requirements have been completed, including the PSD-COI. The Project Specific COI Disclosure form is available for completion through COI Risk Manager. Once you log into the system, you should see a link for it on your home page. Select the “Fill Out” button beside the form and answer all questions. Hover text and hyperlinks are embedded in the form to provide definitions, examples, and links to regulations. Beginning July 1, the form will request your eTRACS proposal number.
For any questions regarding the updated PSD-COI policy, please contact Dr. Mary Farwell, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Development at farwellm@ecu.edu. For questions and issues regarding completion of the Project Specific COI Disclosure, contact the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance.
Foreign Influence
Investigators pursuing federal funding are now required to disclose a broader range of collaboration involving foreign entities beyond what has previously been required in Biosketch and Current and Pending Support. See Undue Foreign Influence for details on these new regulations. Please note that the regulations are changing and that updates will be communicated to the campus as requirements are clarified.
Training in Foreign Influence is required for all PIs, coPIs and Key Personnel submitting proposals to NSF, NIH and DOD on or after June 1. REDE has made available a new training program on this topic through CITI. Unless it changes substantively, training needs to be completed once.
Please reach out to Mary Farwell at farwellm@ecu.edu, if you have questions.
Planning to submit a grant proposal in the next month or two?
Contact Jessica Miller at millerjes@ecu.edu
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