August 2014

Message from the Vice President

I would like to encourage our Georgia State University investigators, whose research has the potential to result in a marketable product or process, to consider a valuable opportunity available through I-Corps South that can help you learn to take the first steps to launch your business.

I-Corps South is a commercialization program dedicated to life sciences researchers. It is managed by Georgia Tech and open to Georgia State investigators. It is modeled after the NSF Innovation Corps program, the nation's premier commercialization program for university research. Over 300 teams from dozens of research universities have completed the national program, resulting in over 150 new startup companies.

The six-week program provides investigators step-by-step guidance through the commercialization process for developing technology and business ideas. After completing this intensive program, you will know if there is a market opportunity sufficient for you to launch a business.

Click here for more information about the program. Contact Dr. Kelly Stout in URSA if you are interested in applying. Application deadline is Aug. 29, 2014.

To help our researchers get the word out about their innovative research, representatives from the Office of Technology Commercialization and Industry Relations recently shared Georgia State University news with more than 15,000 attendees and 2,500 biotech companies from around the world during the BIO International Convention in San Diego, CA.

The Georgia State University exhibit booth gave us the opportunity to partner with the Georgia Department of Economic Development to showcase our innovations alongside Emory University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia and Georgia Regents University.

Georgia State returned from the convention with a long list of industry contacts interested in receiving further information about our available technologies and future research endeavors.

If you are interested in networking opportunities such as BIO, I encourage you to attend the 13th Annual Georgia Bio Innovation Summit, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta.

The summit provides a forum for professionals from industry, academia and government to discuss major trends and issues, including topics related to scientific research, product development, financing, business development and public policy.

If you have any questions regarding the summit or technology commercialization support located at Georgia State, please contact Dr. Chet Bisbee, Associate Vice President and Director of the university's Office of Technology Commercialization and Industry Relations. Be on the lookout for an announcement later this month regarding the office's new website which will host a wealth of support materials to help you get started protecting and marketing your research innovations.

Regards,

James A. Weyhenmeyer, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research and Economic Development

Georgia Senator Brandon Beach, chair of the state's Science and Technology Committee, stops by the Georgia State University BIO Convention booth for a visit with Cheryl Hibbler, Senior Administrative Specialist, Office of Technology Commercialization and Industry Relations; Arpana Sagwal Chaudhary, Ph.D., Georgia State IP Consultant; Senator Beach; and Martha Koontz, URSA Public Relations Coordinator.

Let's Hear from You

We invite you to contact us any time you have questions, concerns or ideas you would like to share: [log in to unmask]

News Briefs

FY15 Fringe Rates Now Available
Georgia State University has concluded its Fiscal Year 2015 fringe rate negotiations with the Department of Health and Human Services. The university's full-time faculty and staff fringe rate increased by 1.6 percent due to rising health care and retirement costs. The part-time employee and graduate assistant rate also increased. Please refer to the chart below and use these new rates immediately on all sponsored proposals.

FY15 Fringe Rates:

Full-Time	31.5%
Part-Time	1.1%
Graduate Assistants	1.9%

Additional information is available on URSA's Fringe Benefits page.

Review Updated GSURF Fact Sheet
The Georgia State University Research Foundation online Fact Sheet has updated information to include in your sponsored proposals. Be sure to note the following:

Darryl Mayes is the new contact person for the Department of Health and Human Services.
The new FY15 fringe rates are posted.
Ken Packman is listed as the Authorized Institutional Official.

URSA Welcomes New Staff
University Veterinarian Dr. Michael Hart is pleased to announce that Amelia Jones, DVM, joined the Division of Animal Resources (DAR) July 28. Dr. Jones is DAR's new Clinical Laboratory Animal Veterinarian in the Petit Science Center. Dr. Jones received her veterinary degree from the University of Tennessee in 2010 and completed her laboratory animal residency program at Emory University.

Christina Dobrovolny is URSA's new Assistant Director of the Human Research Protection Program. Prior to joining URSA, Christina worked in the IRB department at the University of Minnesota. Christina is currently working on a Master's degree in Gerontology at Bethel University in Minnesota. Contact Christina at 3-3638.

Kay Gilstrap Elected to NCURA Board
URSA congratulates Kay Gilstrap, Business Manager in the College of Education's Department of Educational Psychology, Special Education and Communications Disorders who was recently elected as NCURA's 2015 Region III Chair. The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) is a professional organization that advances the field of research administration through education and professional development programs.

Important Research Policy Reminders
Georgia State University is committed to providing a safe working environment for faculty, staff, students and visitors. It is important to comply with the following university policies regarding visitors to Georgia State's campus:

Foreign Visitors
If you are hosting visitors from a foreign country on our campus, please be sure to register each visitor using the university's Foreign Visitor Export Control Screening Form. Submit this form as instructed prior to hosting any visitor from a foreign country whether the visit is for one day or several months.

Volunteer Research Workers
Do you have volunteers working in your lab or on your research project? If so, please be aware that all volunteers working on campus or on Georgia State-funded projects need to be officially registered, whether the person is affiliated with Georgia State University or not. Georgia State affiliated persons must complete the registration form as instructed in the Georgia State Structured Volunteer Program Policy.

Minors in Labs and Vivariums
Individuals under the age of 18 who are not Georgia State students or part of a Georgia State approved academic program are not allowed in university laboratories. For more information, review the university's Individuals Under 18 Years Policy. This policy sets forth the primary requirements for allowing persons age 17 years and under to be present in laboratories, vivarium facilities and other hazardous areas at the university.

Apply for a CDC-GSU Seed Grant
URSA is pleased to announce the FY15 call for proposals for our CDC and Georgia State Seed Award Program for research in the social and behavioral sciences. Georgia State investigators must propose research that has the potential to yield results that will have high impact and these must be based on a clearly defined collaboration between CDC and Georgia State scientists. The deadline for applications is Aug. 22, 2014. Visit URSA's Internal Grant Program page for application information.

NIH Grant Funding and Administration Updates
The latest NIH grant funding and administration news shared at the organization's recent regional seminar can be found here. A few items that might be of interest:

Requests for just-in-time information are manually created by the institute. It is the responsibility of the person requesting the information to determine who they will send it to and copy them on the request.
No-cost extensions cannot be submitted earlier than 90 days before the end of the project period and no later than the project end date.
Information about eRA account roles can be found here.
New information about the inclusion of women and minorities as participants in research involving human subjects is located here.

Upcoming Events

Research Safety Training
All training takes place 10 a.m. - noon on a Wednesday in G88 Dahlberg Hall.

Hazardous Waste Disposal and Chematix Training
Aug. 13

Introduction to Biosafety
Aug. 20

Register for one of the classes listed above. Not sure what training to complete? Complete the interactive training questionnaire.

Science Visualization Workshop
Offered by IS&T
Register for the Science Visualization Workshop and learn how to build interactive and three-dimensional visualizations to analyze large sets of data quickly. This two-day workshop, Aug. 25-26, will guide you through the steps of creating visualizations that animate through time and that can be manipulated with a variety of operators and mathematical expressions on systems ranging from laptops to high-performance computers, using freely-available, open-source tools. View workshop agenda.