Blogs

LevelUP, a New Horizon in Professional Development Brought to You by SRAI

By SRAI News
Authored by Evan Roberts on behalf of the Micro-credentialing Task Force CEO SRA International Identifying, developing and maintaining the foundational skills to be a successful research administrator can be challenging. Early in our careers, we are reminded daily of the things we had yet to learn. There are transactions questioned, grants and IRB submissions returned in a sea of red ink, and plenty of deadline reminders from what seemed like every employee in the organization spelling out our impending doom if we did not act immediately. Although lessons learned through our mistakes are a valuable teacher, there are certainly less painful ways to find ...
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Note from the Editor | Vote! The future of the Society is in your hands

By SRAI News
Authored by Katie Watkin s,  M.Ed. Assistant Vice President, Research Admin University of Akron Shape the future of our profession by casting your vote for the Board of Directors. Voting is open for all Full members of SRAI for the positions of President Elect, Treasurer and (2) two At-Large Board Members for the Board of Directors. You should have received an email to cast your voice.  If you are a Full Member of SRA International and did not receive a ballot, please contact  elections@srainternational.org . Voting will run through 11:59 PM PDT on Friday, August 23, 2019. As a longterm member of SRAI, I want to introduce ...
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View from the Top | 2019 Summer Board Meeting

By SRAI News
Authored by Bruce W. Steinert , PhD Clinical Research Regulatory Manager Medical College of Wisconsin The SRA Board of Directors met at the Executive Office headquarters in Rosslyn, VA on July 21& 22. The meeting was quite productive in spite of triple-digit temperatures and air conditioning not quite up to the task. President Kim C. Carter began the meeting with her plan to use disruptive organization tactics to stimulate innovative brainstorming during three breakout sessions throughout the weekend. Initial resistance was overtaken by successful outcomes. She briefly introduced the action items that would be decided, but more on those later. ...
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The Role of a Research Development Professional in Team Science

By SRAI News
Authored by Courtney Hunt , PhD Research Manager University of Houston It is a tough time to be an academic researcher. The number of new doctoral degrees awarded annually continues to increase; federal funding for research projects has gotten tighter and more competitive, and research questions are getting more complicated. All of these factors have driven the push for a collaborative team science approach. As more sponsors seek integrated solutions that require multi-disciplinary expertise, the traditional “research team” definition has evolved. As challenging as research can be, collaborative grant submissions can be just as complicated. Researchers ...
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The Secret Life of a Research Administrator

By SRAI News
Authored by  Paul A. Brouillette  Grant Administrator McLean Hospital This month, we are launching a new column called “The Secret Life of a Research Administrator” to facilitate more personal connections between SRAI members through the Catalyst newsletter.  Since I was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea on our last committee call, I gladly agreed to go first! In my professional life, I am a Grant Administrator at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, where I’ve worked since November 2014. Prior to McLean Hospital, I worked for a small non-profit agency that provided workforce development training for homeless mothers, so I was very familiar with government ...
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Top 5 Reasons to Attend the 2019 SRAI Annual Meeting in SF

By SRAI News
Authored by Devin Kreuger Director University of Toronto Mississauga The 2019 SRAI Annual Meeting in San Francisco, October 19-23 is just around the corner. The co-chairs and SRAI is in full preparation mode for the upcoming conference. Explore the educational program and join us in SF to Lead Change. Inspire Excellence.
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Responsible Conduct of Research in Bahrain

By SRAI News
Authored by  Daniel R. Vasgird ,  Ph.D Director, Office of Research Integrity & Compliance West Virginia University Responsible Conduct of Research conference in Bahrain and co-sponsored by the Royal University for Women, Bahrain; West Virginia University (WVU); and the Society of Research Administrators International (SRA). Recently SRA, WVU, and the Royal University for Women, Bahrain co-sponsored a two-day workshop in Manama, Bahrain entitled, "The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)." This workshop reviewed the nine core areas of an effective RCR program and outlined procedures for their successful implementation. The program which took place ...
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Meet SRAI Leadership: Awards Committee

By SRAI News
Authored by Annedorte Vad Head of CBS Research Support Office Copenhagen Business School In each monthly issue of the Catalyst, the “Meet SRAI Leadership” column introduces you to the SRAI leadership, committee members and volunteers. This virtual platform serves as a good starting base for meeting the members of the SRAI community. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other and we at the Catalyst want to hear from you! Share your story! Contact us to be featured in a future column, or nominate a co-worker or colleague to share their story. Per SRAI Bylaws, the committees of the Society organize and utilize the expertise of members to ...
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The SubCommons: The Subrecipient System We Need

By SRAI News
Authored by Jason Guilbeaul t, CRA Director of Post Award Services Augusta University How many systems and resources do you use when you are performing tasks relating to subawards? Do you notice a disconnect? The tasks that Pass-Through Entities (PTEs) must perform for the various compliance requirements can be frustrating; from risk assessments, invoicing and payments, subrecipient monitoring, all the way through to close out. There are many fragmented processes, involving various individuals and offices, making managing subrecipients an area where efficiencies may be hard to come by, which can result in it being a high-risk compliance area during an audit.  ...
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The JRA turned 50

By SRAI News
Authored by Nathan L. Vanderford,  PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology University of Kentucky The Journal of Research Administration (JRA) is celebrating its golden anniversary this month; in July 1969, the first issue of the Journal of the Society of Research Administration was published. The journal changed its name to simply the Journal of Research Administration in 2000. To celebrate this major anniversary and publishing milestone, in this special issue, we are republishing the inaugural issue of the journal. In doing this, it is important to reflect on the past, present, and future of JRA. In reading the first issue ...
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Development of a Pilot Grants Program in Social Determinants of Health in American Indian Health: A Program for Increasing the Representation of Underrepresented Groups in Funded Research

By SRAI News
Authored by Alyson E. Becker , MPH Sanford Research, Population Health; Jessica Heinzmann , BA Sanford Research, Population Health; & DenYelle Baete Kenyon , PhD Sanford Research, Population Health, University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics In a series of articles, we will present the newest in research administration from the Journal of Research Administration. Read the full JRA here. Funding and grants are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. NIH funding for studies and projects have evolved over the years to promote and encourage different types of researchers to apply. The NIH alone has 240 ...
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Utilization of a Paired Comparison Analysis Framework to Inform Decision-Making and the Prioritization of Projects and Initiatives in a Highly Matrixed Clinical Research Program

By SRAI News
Authored by Marcus R. Johnson , MPH, MBA, MHA, Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System – Medical Center; Melissa Middleton , MSW, LCSW, Cooperative Studies Program Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center, New Mexico VA Health Care System; Mackenzie Brown , BS, Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System – Medical Center; Tara Burke , Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center-Perry Point, VA Maryland Health Care System; Tammy Barnett, MA, ACRP-CP, Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center-Hines, Edward Hines Jr. VA Medical ...
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Conducting Research in Hospitals Intensive

By SRAI News
Authored by Phil Cola , PhD, Case Western Reserve University & Amy Sikalis , MPA, University of Utah The Conducting Research in Hospitals two-day intensive was held in New York City, July 15-16, 2019. Attendees from Hospitals, Academic Medical Centers and University Hospitals were able to participate in a deep dive about how research is organized and managed in hospital environments. This was the third time this intensive has been offered. Each time we have held the workshop in large regional metropolitan locations (i.e., Atlanta, San Francisco, and New York City). The attendance for this event has been strong for each of these offerings and we hope ...
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The Importance of Sitting for the CRA Exam

By SRAI News
Authored by  Kristen Lemma , MPA, CRA Grant Specialist, Department of Radiology NYU Langone Health In May of 2019, I sat for the CRA exam for the fifth time. Yes, you read that correctly for the fifth time. My journey to conquer this obstacle began in 2016. Each time missing the mark by 10, 5, 3 or 2 points, and finally passing it by 1 point this year. The importance of sitting for the CRA Exam begins with why. Each research administrator has their own tale about how they ended up in this field. We did not wake up one day at five years old and say, “Hey mom I’m going to be a research administrator when I grow up!” You would have likely received the same ...
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Volume L, Special Edition, From the Editor's Desk

By SRAI JRA
Explore the full original edition here. The Journal of Research Administration (JRA) is celebrating its golden anniversary this month; in July 1969, the first issue of the Journal of the Society of Research Administration was published. The journal changed its name to simply the Journal of Research Administration in 2000. To celebrate this major anniversary and publishing milestone, in this special issue, we are republishing the inaugural issue of the journal. In doing this, it is important to reflect on the past, present, and future of JRA. In reading the first issue of the Journal, two major takeaways come to my mind. First, the articles ...
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Note from the Editor | So how is your summer going so far?

By SRAI News
Authored by Seema Dhindaw Assistant Director of Radiology Research Operations New York University Langone Medical Center American kids and even college students if they choose to take the summer off have one of the longest summer vacations in the Western world. We are fortunate! So how is your summer going so far? Any planned vacations or interesting activities going on in your organization? We would love to hear from you! With the Catalyst’s new blog format, we encourage you to post any questions and comments that you have under each article. You can also invite your friends and colleagues to share their opinions by directing them to the article ...
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View from the Top | SRAI partnership with the Danish sister society DARMA

By SRAI News
Authored by Annedorte Vad Head of CBS Research Support Office Copenhagen Business School SRAI is truly international. From the sheer number of international members in our community to the annual meeting, where a significant number of speaking proposals are delivered by the international section members, delegates from all over the world are attending to learn from, and network with, peers. Even in our Board of Directors, the international representation is strong. SRAI encourages international engagement and is very inclusive. Another way that SRAI shows its international engagement is in the support of, and collaboration with, sister societies around ...
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AmazonSmile: Do you use it?

By SRAI News
Authored by Rene Hearns Treasurer SRAI In this day and age, I would presume that a lot of our members shop through Amazon. I know I do! But, do you shop through AmazonSmile?   AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support our Society every time you shop with Amazon at no cost to you. Shopping at smile.amazon.com , you will find the exact same items, low prices, and selection as with Amazon, but with an added bonus. Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. Setting up an AmazonSmile profile is easy, you just go to smile.amazon.com. Login with your existing Amazon.com account and select ...
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Leave your heart in this City by the Bay for the 2019 Annual Meeting

By SRAI News
The 2019 SRAI Annual Meeting Committee chairs look forward to welcoming you to San Francisco, where, as Tony Bennet once sang, you will leave your heart in this City by the Bay . Aside from a great meeting, there is so much to do that if you can, plan on spending extra time.  San Francisco stretches across 231.89 sq mi  and is jam-packed with an assortment of activities that are sure to please everyone; the outdoor types, foodies and curious wanderers of all ages. The transportation system helps make it easy, but of course, there are always some “must do” places on every tourist list. Many of the sites are an easy walk. There are many ways to ...
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Meet SRAI Leadership: Journal of Research Administration

By SRAI News
Authored by Nathan L. Vanderford, Jennifer Taylor & Holy Zink In each monthly issue of the Catalyst, the “Meet SRAI Leadership” column introduces you to the SRAI leadership, committee members and volunteers. This virtual platform serves as a good starting base for meeting the members of the SRAI community. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other and we at the Catalyst want to hear from you! Share your story! Contact us to be featured in a future column, or nominate a co-worker or colleague to share their story. Per SRAI Bylaws, the committees of the Society organize and utilize the expertise of members to carry out the mission and ...
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