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The OORHS Mission
To foster both the emerging and the established research enterprises within and across the six schools of the Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh: the Graduate School of Public Health, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the School of Pharmacy
Essential to the success of this mission is a productive dialogue between the OORHS and Health Sciences investigators. As the primary liaison on research matters between the Health Sciences faculty and the Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences, the OORHS is continually seeking input from both new and established investigators so that it may meet the changing needs of the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences community. Please contact our office if you require any of the services listed below or have suggestions as to how we can better serve the biomedical and translational research enterprises.
The Office of Research, Health Sciences (OORHS) serves the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences community by:
Funding & Policy Announcements
One of the primary goals of the OORHS is to provide the University of Pittsburgh's Health Sciences research community with up-to-date information about a wide range of funding opportunities across the full breadth of the health sciences. To this end, the OORHS maintains a comprehensive database of governmental and foundation funding opportunities for Health Sciences researchers. This database is accessible through the OORHS website (Search Funding), and may be searched by opportunity category, opportunity title and / or opportunity text. Included in this database are all types of research initiatives sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) including Requests for Applications (RFA), Program Announcements (PA), Program Announcements with Set-aside Funds (PAS), and Requests for Proposals (RFP). Also included are nomination announcements for prestigious awards and honors, foundation funding opportunities, and policy change notices. If an extramural funding opportunity or announcement relates to the area of expertise of particular Health Sciences investigators, the OORHS will disseminate the opportunity directly to these persons. In addition, the OORHS provides
- links to federal and foundation funding resources,
- information on seminars and symposia,
- updates on University and federal policies,
- the latest University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, and international medical science news, updated daily.
Competitive Medical Research Fund
The CMRF was established in the mid-1980s by the UPMC Health System with the intent of providing modest research support across the broad range of the biomedical sciences. The OORHS administers this intramural, peer-reviewed funding program, which awards grants in New Investigator, Bridge, and Collaborative Research categories.
New Investigator The aim of the new investigator awards is to provide funds for relatively junior, independent scientists to develop preliminary data and refine procedures and hypotheses that will enable submission of highly competitive applications to national funding sources.
Bridge Funding The purpose of bridge funding is to provide support for investigators who have experienced lapses in funding; i.e., to provide funds to investigators who have applied for renewals of previously awarded grants, but whose renewal applications, while receiving highly favorable reviews, were not funded. These CMRF funds are intended to allow investigators to address the concerns expressed through peer review.
Collaborative Research application The intent of collaborative research awards is to fund interdisciplinary, translational research that represents a true collaboration between a clinical scientist and a basic research scientist. The application must demonstrate how the combined efforts in basic and clinical research will result in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary project that will facilitate the translation of a research project from the laboratory to the clinic. This translation need not necessarily be an immediate consequence of the research performed with CMRF support; if this translation will not be imminent; one goal of the research should be to identify the additional gaps of knowledge that must be closed before such a transition could be made.
CMRF grants are awarded on a competitive basis. A review committee, composed of scientists from within the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, and the local Veterans Administration medical science community, has responsibility for reviewing each application, for providing written critiques of each application, and for making recommendations for awards to OORHS and to the UPMC Board of Directors.
Further information about CMRF, including application instructions, is available through the OORHS website at http://www.oorhs.pitt.edu/funding/CMRF.CFM.
Multi-Investigator / Multi-Disciplinary Research (back to top)
In recent years, especially with release of the NIH Roadmap, the organizational model for conducting biomedical research has been shifting increasingly from an individual / single department-based paradigm toward a team / interdisciplinary approach. In addition, translational or bench-to-bedside research initiatives are now an important focus of many research funding organizations. This approach to the biomedical research enterprise requires that multiple investigators, basic and clinical, from various disciplines and departments unite to create collaborative efforts in tackling specific scientific problems. The OORHS recognizes the need for assistance in assembling such research teams, and it plays an active role in developing multi-investigator and multi-disciplinary (complex center or similar) grant applications and research programs. The OORHS staff includes several doctoral level scientists who will facilitate initial discussions among health sciences faculty members or help identify faculty colleagues with needed expertise for a given project. In addition, if requested by the investigators, OORHS staff members will manage multi-investigator / multi-disciplinary application development, provide writing and/or editing assistance, and critically review applications and documents. To request such assistance, contact Dr. Somers. The OORHS also maintains departmental faculty listings and encourages use of the Faculty Research Interests Project (FRIP).
Grant Application Development Resources (back to top)
Writing a successful grant application can be an especially daunting task and may require detailed descriptions of various University of Pittsburgh research facilities and / or accomplishments. The OORHS has assembled a variety of resources to assist faculty in developing new proposals, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the success in securing extramural funding. On the OORHS ‘ Application Development Resources ' webpage, investigators will find links to grant writing and grantsmanship resources, as well as useful facts and core facility descriptions. Among these resources is the newly developed ‘ Application Repository To Help University Researchers (ARTHUR) '. This repository contains examples of successful grant applications, federally funded through various mechanisms (R, T & K awards), and written by University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences investigators. These applications are meant to serve as examples to foster best practices in grant application development by University of Pittsburgh investigators.
Editorial Assistance (back to top)
The OORHS will provide editorial assistance on grant applications to faculty members for whom English is not their native language. However, this service is only available 1) when the request for assistance is made well in advance of the application submission deadline and 2) if the schedules and workloads of OORHS scientific staff members permit. To request such assistance, contact Dr. Somers.
New Investigator Guidance (back to top)
Successfully establishing a new and productive biomedical research program involves a multitude of tasks, from physically setting up research space and equipment to obtaining funds for conducting experiments. Several University resources are available to assist investigators in these tasks and an awareness of these and who to contact for assistance or with questions can greatly accelerate the process of beginning a productive research program. The OORHS has made educating newly employed Health Sciences investigators about the resources and services available at the University one of its primary objectives. To this end, members of the OORHS scientific staff meet with newly employed Health Sciences investigators on an individual basis, and it conducts various workshops aimed at providing some of the information needed to allow the investigator to get started properly and safely. If you are a new investigator who would like to meet with an OORHS staff member or if you have identified a common need for a workshop on a particular research topic, please contact Dr. Somers to arrange an appointment.
Research Space & Infrastructure (back to top)
In any research enterprise, laboratory space is a critical element. In order for the University of Pittsburgh biomedical research enterprise to continue to grow, research space must be matched with the changing needs of the Health Sciences faculty. To this end, the OORHS is continually reviewing and coordinating the assignment, renovation, and construction of Health Sciences research space and infrastructure. Construction of BST-3 is one example of our commitment to meet the expanding needs of our research enterprise. BST3, the design of which involved extensive discussion with researchers, comprises 330,000 square feet of “next generation” research space; and the facility's open laboratories features mobile and modular workstations to maximize research space and flexibility.
Research Resources & Core Facilities (back to top)
With the advent of ‘high through-put' research endeavors and the development of multi-investigator and multi-disciplinary research programs, the need for common-use / core research instrumentation and services has expanded. The OORHS advances the development and use of state-of-the-art, shared research facilities based on the needs of investigators in a broad spectrum of disciplines. The genomics and proteomics core facility is one example. This facility provides researchers with a number of services, including but not limited to micro-array analysis, real-time PCR, high throughput sequencing, genotyping, differential gel electrophoresis, and protein identification. A complete list of University core facilities is provided on the OORHS research resources webpage.
To promote the awareness and use of these facilities, the OORHS maintains a comprehensive list of research resources and University Centers / Institutes on its website. Included among these resources is a Guide for Investigators , compiled by the OORHS in conjunction with the Office of Clinical Research, that contains a listing of offices and departments within the University, including those related to research compliance .
Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (back to top)
The OORHS fosters the animal-based research enterprise at the University of Pittsburgh through administrative oversight of the Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR). The Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) encompasses several facilities and supports research across the six schools of the Health Sciences. The mission of the DLAR is to provide quality, humane animal care and services in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and to support existing and future animal research programs at the University. This mission is accomplished through quality animal husbandry and veterinary care, facility maintenance, and education and training of the University biomedical community and the public about laboratory animal science. OORHS staff members work closely with the DLAR director and personnel to carry out these activities by obtaining funds for DLAR infrastructure upgrades and by conducting educational workshops for investigators and the public.
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