Education

This session will teach attendees how to review an NIH funding opportunity announcement. We will review the standard format of an NIH FOA, sections of particular importance to research administrators, how to review and interpret budget limitations, and where to find additional resources.

Content Level: Basic

Session Track: Research Administration Fundamentals

Speaker(s):
Theresa Couch, Research Administration Manager, Health Colleges Research Services, Michigan State University
Lu Liu, Research Administrator III, Health Colleges Research Services, Michigan State University

Partnership between compliance and the grants and contracts office is key in order to ensure grants applications have the appropriate information, and to be certain that investigators have all of the tools they need in order to be successful. This session will discuss key questions and communication needed between these two offices to be successful.

Content Level: Intermediate

Session Track: Professional Development

Speaker(s):
Frank Conte, Advarra

NIH Training Grants are some of the most challenging award mechanisms that a Research Administrator may encounter from both a pre- and post-award perspective. In this presentation, I will share some insights gained from my experience of having to pick up the management of an NIH T32 Training grant with very minimal lead-up/training. The aim of the presentation is to provide attendees with insights, tips, and tricks that may hopefully make managing Training Grants less stressful. This will not be a 'how to' presentation, and the discussion assumes that audience members will have some familiarity with NIH Training Grants and/or other NIH mechanisms that provide research training, such as F or K awards. 

Content Level: Advanced

Session Track: General Research Administration

Speaker(s): 
Patrick Lagua, Director of Research Administration, The School of Dentistry, University of Michigan

Embark on the AARC with your colleagues to study matters of infinity. Tap into your roots, flourish in your role, and strengthen your intuition. This session will include a collaborative exercise, so be ready for action!

Content Level: Basic

Session Track: Research Administration Fundamentals

Speaker(s): 
Brianna Galli, Research Administrator, Grant Services & Analysis Medical School, University of Michigan

During this session, we will present why projections are valuable to help guide decision-making and identify when there are issues. We will also review when projections will most likely be needed during a project's lifecycle. Finally, we will complete a detailed demo on how to develop projections.

Content Level: Intermediate

Session Track: Research Administration Fundamentals

Speaker(s): 
Ruth Halsey, Department Administrator, Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan

The Principal Investigator has primary responsibility for budget planning for a new proposal. Not only should the budget translate the science into numbers, but it should also be reasonable, allocable, allowable, and consistently applied. In this highly interactive session, you will learn how to determine calendar months for effort needed, complete other budget components, calculate indirect costs, and write a budget justification.

Content Level: All Levels

Session Track: Research Administration Fundamentals

Speaker(s):
Rula Karapatsakis, Financial Senior Manager, Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research, University of Michigan
Brian Zahs, Financial Specialist Senior, Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research, University of Michigan

Research misconduct is unfortunately common in the university setting. Universities receive most of awarded research grants, making them a vulnerable environment for fraud, plagiarism, and fabrication. This presentation will cover why research misconduct is committed, what measures are in place to prevent and detect it and cover some real-life cases. Participants will learn the pressures placed on faculty, why some commit research fraud, and the impact research misconduct has on the community.

Content Level: Basic

Session Track: Compliance

Speaker(s): 
Elaine Meizner, MSA, CRA, Assistant Director of Research Development, Michigan Engineering, University of Michigan

This highly interactive session will go through real post-award life situations and try to solve them . Get tips and tricks on post-award handling techniques for research grants. Learn how to adjust the budget to match what you are awarded, what to look for when you reconcile monthly expenses, prepare financial reports, utilize available data warehouse queries to answer questions, all about cost sharing, and ways to be ready for a successful closeout. 

Content Level: Intermediate

Session Track: Research Administration Fundamentals

Speaker(s):
Rula Karapatsakis, Financial Senior Manager, Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research, University of Michigan
Brian Zahs, Financial Specialist Senior, Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research, University of Michigan

This session will be a round-table discussion for supervisors and managers to discuss best practices and helpful tips to provide their teams with a meaningful and balanced life/work experience.

Content Level: Advanced

Session Track: Leadership & Management

Speaker(s): 
Heather Hazzard, Chief of Staff, Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University

No matter if you are a manager or just starting your first job, there is always an opportunity to be a leader. This session will offer suggestions on how to develop and improve your leadership skills, how to support others with their journey, and maintain professional connections. There will be a presentation along with a brainstorming session, allowing you to walk away with specific goals that you can implement. 

Content Level: Basic

Session Track: Leadership & Management

Speaker(s):
Rebekah Johnson, Pre-Award Research Administrator, University of California-Merced
Lisa Pettit, LSA Finance, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan

The Monthly Account Review Process is required and important, even when our workload chafes at its monthly insistence. To make its relevance more apparent, we developed a process that is comprehensive without being overly burdensome AND (we believe) user-friendly so that principal investigators are more apt to engage in the process. SharePoint’s Power BI provides views and download options that allow administrators and faculty to quickly scan for noteworthy items. 

Content Level: Intermediate

Session Track: General Research Administration

Speaker(s):
Lisa Parker, Research Administrator, Michigan State University
Jonathan Wakeman, Research Administrator, Michigan State University

This session will review the collaboration between Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University. Specific topics will focus on creating a combined entity, processes for developing and building collaborative proposals, and lessons learned. 

Content Level: All Levels

Session Track: General Research Administration

Speaker(s):
Theresa Couch, Research Administration Manager, Health Colleges Research Services, Michigan State University
Amanda Blank, CRA, Manager, Office of Sponsored Programs, Michigan State University
Olyvia O'Donnell, Senior Research Grant & Contract Analyst, Henry Ford Health System