Office of Research update for July 2025

External Awards Received

Principal Investigator: Joe Lo, Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: Influence of hypoxia on the antiviral functions of human intestinal epithelial cells
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health subaward (via University of Florida)
Amount: $283,010

The low oxygen environment (hypoxia) in the gastro-intestinal tract is fundamental for the preservation of the commensal microbiota and the maintenance of gut homeostasis. How hypoxia impacts the ability of intestinal epithelial cells to respond to enteric viruses is unknown and this constitutes the core question of this project. In collaboration with the University of Florida, Lo's team at UM-Dearborn will develop a radial microfluidic gradient platform for modeling gut villi hypoxia. The device will be verified using a conventional fiberoptic oxygen probe for the initial design. The results of this study will inform the development of novel therapeutics targeting cellular responses to hypoxia to treat enteric pathogens, as well as for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases which is accompanied by oxygen-dysregulation in the gut.

Announcements

New Research Security Training Requirement for Certain Proposals

Effective May 1, 2025, certain sponsors (e.g., Department of Defense, Department of Energy) require research security training to be completed within 12 months prior to submittinga funding proposal (check the terms and conditions of the proposal for any such training requirements.) Follow this link to complete the Research Security Training course requirement (UMICH login and password required.)

Research security training is listed as one of four elements of a Research Security Program required by National Security Presidential Memorandum 33, issued on Jan. 14, 2021, to safeguard our research ecosystem. The "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022," Section 10634, codifies the requirement for research security training for federal research award personnel in public law. See more at the Department of Energy's website: https://www.energy.gov/ia/research-security-training-requirement

Research Events in July

• IRBMED - Waivers, Alterations, and Alternative Forms of Informed Consent
  • Presented by IRBMED, a unit of the Medical School Office of Research, this course offers an overview of some special situations relating to informed consent. Specifically, waivers and alterations of informed consent, waivers of documentation of informed consent, and obtaining consent from non-English speakers
  • Wednesday, July 9, 2025, 2:30-3:30 p.m., virtual
  • Register here
• Community-Engaged Research with the FAST PACE Toolkit: A Three-Part Virtual Training Series
  • The FAST PACE Toolkit is a proven resource for fostering equitable and effective community-academic partnerships, particularly in crisis situations. This three-part virtual training series will equip researchers, community members, and practitioners with the skills and knowledge to:
    • Build strong, trusting relationships with community partners
    • Develop community-driven research protocols
    • Navigate ethical considerations in community-engaged research
    • Translate research findings into actionable solutions
  • Session 3: Wednesday, July 9, 2025, 3-5 p.m., virtual
  • Register here
• MICHR - Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR4K) Summer 2025
  • RCR4K is a seminar that is designed to meet the requirements of the NIH K-23, or any federal or non-federal career development grant. The 5-session (10 hour) seminar is mostly interactive, practice-based, and focused on addressing RCR issues (ethics, integrity, and regulatory matters) that have arisen in the course of your own funded research. It's relevant, interactive, and includes mentoring from experienced faculty.
    • Session 2: Thursday, July 17, 2025, 9-11 a.m. - Research integrity: falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism
    • Session 3: Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, 9-11 a.m. - Authorship & Plagiarism
    • Session 4: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, 9-11 a.m. - Clinical Trial Design: The Support Trial
    • Session 5: Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, 9-11 a.m. - Public Health Research, and Research with data and specimens: Henrietta Lacks and the Common Rule debate
  • UM-Ann Arbor North Campus Research Complex, Bldg. 300, Room 376
  • Register here
• Webinar: Research Impact Metrics and Visualizations Using SciVal Database
  • Looking for an efficient way to analyze a large group of publications? SciVal allows researchers to explore topic analysis, co-authorship networks and citation-based metrics to track trends and learn more about groups of papers that interest you.
  • This introduction to SciVal will demonstrate how to create a group of papers (e.g., by authors, topics, or other characteristics) and help researchers select metrics appropriate for determining impact. SciVal can help answer questions such as: How are researchers collaborating? What attention are my articles receiving as compared to similar articles worldwide? Researchers can also refer to the Library Research Impact Assessment guide, which includes the importance of using both qualitative and quantitative input when considering the impact of research articles.
  • Register here for a SciVal webinar, presented July 21, from noon to 1 p.m.

Research Resource Highlight: iThenticate

Every month, the Office of Research features a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring iThenticate.

To help the U-M research community foster and uphold the highest ethical standards in research and creative practice, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) secured an institutional license for iThenticate. U-M Dearborn researchers can use the plagiarism detection software to help ensure that, in the process of advancing their research and creative practice, they do not inadvertently source others' work without appropriate reference or repurpose their previously published work in a way that violates publication license.

iThenticate compares submissions against a comprehensive database of web and scholarly content, including 190 million subscription sources and 81,000 journal articles. OVPR is pleased to provide free access to this tool to the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses. Information about accessing iThenticate can be found on the research compliance website.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

The Office of Research maintains a list of selected funding opportunities, organized by college on our website under Announcements. In addition, we encourage you to check out the Hanover Research subject area calendars with funding opportunities which we upload on a regular basis to our website.

Please refer to OVPR's Tracking Federal Changes 2025 pagefor more information and updates related to the Trump administration's changes to federal research funding.

Use the updated U-M Research Commonsto look up internal (to U-M) funding opportunities and Limited Submission opportunities open to Dearborn researchers.

Contact the UM-Dearborn Office of Research if you would like more information about submitting a proposal to any of the programs.

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