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July 2021
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VPR Update is a monthly email produced by the Office of the Vice President for Research that aims to increase awareness around important research and scholarship items that impact the University of Michigan community. VPR Update is sent to all active researchers and research administrators across the three campuses.
Dear Colleagues,

As we approach midsummer, I am thrilled to see tremendous levels of activity across the university research enterprise as our community gets back to full swing.

With the July installment of VPR Update, we begin in earnest to look ahead to how our research community can continue to flourish as COVID-19 transmission rates decline. With improved research computing services, guidance for research cores impacted by the pandemic and reaccreditation of our human research protection program, there is a lot to be excited about.

As we return to campus, and our laboratories and research groups reach a more normal capacity, I sincerely hope that many of you also find some time to enjoy the Michigan summer and refresh so that together we can solve important research challenges this fall.
Stay safe and healthy, and research onward.

Rebecca Cunningham, M.D.
Vice President for Research
William G. Barsan Collegiate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, recently announced the launch of a new package of supercomputing resources for researchers and Ph.D. students across all three campuses, including Michigan Medicine. The U-M Research Computing Package, provided by ITS, will reduce the current rates for high-performance computing and research storage services by an estimated 35-40 percent.

And beginning September 1, U-M researchers will have access to a base allocation for high-performance computing and research storage services — including high-speed and archival storage — at no cost, thanks to an additional investment from ITS. These base allocations will meet the needs of approximately 75 percent of current high-performance computing users and 90 percent of current research storage users. Learn more
The university’s Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) has been awarded full accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), affirming its commitment to safeguarding human research participants.

Coordinated by OVPR, HRPP is responsible for protecting the rights and welfare of participants in research conducted or reviewed by U-M. The university has maintained AAHRPP accreditation since 2008.

This type of recognition is incredibly important because it signals to our research community, global collaborators and sponsors that U-M is committed to protecting human research participants by continuously improving its ethical and professional conduct of research. 
Learn more
Beginning in March 2020, when COVID-19 began to significantly impact university operations, most core research facilities on campus experienced a sharp drop in user activity. Because core facilities rely overwhelmingly on user fees (i.e., recharge rates) to support operational costs, many are now experiencing significant deficits. In many cases, these deficits are too significant to be handled through the typical reconciliation process that would result in minor rate adjustments. Instituting substantial rate increases to offset these deficits, however, will undoubtedly have a negative impact on research project budgets and outcomes.

In consultation with the Office of Financial Analysis (OFA), OVPR recommends that units operating research cores work to smooth the losses due to COVID-19 over the next 3-5 years. This could be accomplished with any combination of a small increase in recharge rates and/or supplemental funding from other sources. As business services return to normal operations, the expansion of the allowable recovery period to five years will be phased out and return to the standard of a three-year recovery period. Please contact OFA or your unit’s finance office for additional guidance.
Fully vaccinated individuals who self-report their vaccine information to the university are no longer required to wear a mask or social distance indoors or outdoors for most areas on U-M campuses. Those who are not vaccinated or decline to submit vaccination information must continue wearing a face covering indoors and physically distance from others. Learn more All researchers are expected to continue wearing a face covering when interacting with study participants, regardless of whether the in-person activity is health related or occurs in a health care setting. The Research Re-engagement webpage provides further guidance and FAQs specific to the U-M research community.

Faculty and staff also are strongly encouraged to self-report their COVID-19 vaccination information as soon as possible. As of July 6, more than 16,700 employees have submitted their information.
With consistently warm weather and many individuals returning to campus, OVPR encourages the research community to review the basics of proper personal attire in the laboratory with your team. Regardless of outdoor weather conditions, personal attire worn in the laboratory and/or research facility should always provide full coverage of the legs, feet and torso. The Animal Care & Use Program developed a webpage with some notes about proper personal attire in the laboratory and/or research facility, and their guidance extends beyond individuals working with animals.

The U-M Chemical Hygiene Plan includes a complete list of proper laboratory attire.
It is important to note that all cost-share requests must be submitted at least three weeks before the submission deadline (unless the sponsor provides less than three weeks between its solicitation and submission deadline). OVPR cannot guarantee that requests received less than three weeks before the submission deadline will be considered for funding. Learn more
The Department of Environment, Health and Safety, in collaboration with the university’s Laboratory and Research Safety Committee, recently announced some important updates that aim to further improve safety performance and strengthen the culture of safety across the research and academic enterprises.

The updates, which are based on feedback from laboratory directors, unit safety committees and others, include monthly laboratory self-inspections and a new reporting option for facility issues. Learn more
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VPR Update is a monthly email produced by the Office of the Vice President for Research that aims to increase awareness around important research and scholarship items that impact the University of Michigan community. If you have any further questions about VPR Update, please contact ovpr-mail@umich.edu.






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