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Research Office Newsletter

May 2007

Links

News

Dates

 

Research Office

-     Office of Sponsored Research

-     Office of Research Integrity

-     Office of Commercialisation

From the Director of the RO

More info >>

 

For more information on upcoming dates see the RO Calendar.

 

8th June 2007
 Nominations for appointments to positions on the ARC College of Experts close

 

From the Office of Sponsored Research

More info >>

From the Office of Research Integrity

More info >>

From the Office of Commercialisation

More info >>

From the Director of the RO

 

The College Research Managers met on 22 May.  This group is focused on the broad range of research Management activities including Commercialisation; Research Integrity; Research Management Data and Sponsored Research.  It provides the opportunity for the College's senior research management staff to meet with myself and the Research Office section heads.  The next meeting is scheduled for 26 June.

 

The Research Office has received many comments over the last few weeks about the utility of its website.  We are about to embark on a process of reviewing our site based on the needs of our users, including new OoC pages, revamping the OSR and ORI pages as well as establishing pages specifically for ORMD.  In the coming weeks you will be asked to provide your views on how the RO website can be changed to make it more useful for you and to fit in with College RO websites.

 

From the Office of Sponsored Research

New Travel Grants

The Vice-Chancellor has agreed to make available $500,000 per year in 2007, 2008 and 2009 to support visits to the University by academics with exceptional records and the capacity to add value to ANU. All members of ANU academic staff are eligible to submit applications to sponsor visitors. Visitors to ANU under this program must normally reside outside Australia with preference given to visitors from partner institutions, especially International Alliance of Research University (IARU) partners. Typically the visit will be for at least one month.

Funding is provided under this program on the basis that it is in addition to existing funding programs. Any academic area reducing its current support for visiting academics will be ineligible to seek funding under this program for a period of 12 months.

 

The sponsoring academic must submit a brief report (150 words maximum) on the activities undertaken by the visitor during the visit and confirm that at least one public lecture, community lecture and master class have been given. The grants can also be used to support research collaborations and to enable new/junior staff to establish research partnerships.

Applications will be accepted at any time during the year.

See ANU website for more information

http://info.anu.edu.au/OVC/Policy_and_Planning/Travel_Grants/index.asp

 

ARC College of Experts – Appointments for 2008

Nominations for appointments to positions on the ARC College of Experts that will become vacant at the end of 2007 close with the ARC on 13 June 2007.

The College of Experts comprises the key advisers in selecting proposals for funding, and also contributes to ARC strategic planning. Senior researchers with scholarly generosity and good committee skills would find the position rewarding and influential. A term on the College would provide insights into the working of the ARC that would be valuable for local areas and the ANU. All nominations must have the endorsement and approval of the Deputy Vice Chancellor. As in past years, the Research Office will coordinate the University's submission of nominations, with an internal closing date of Friday, 8th June 2007.

 

Researchers who are considering nominating for the position must read the documentation thoroughly and are strongly encouraged to talk with relevant ARC Executive Director.

 

All relevant information can also be found on the ARC web site at http://www.arc.gov.au/about_arc/expert.htm

 

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards for Medical Sciences

The Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards for Medical Sciences were established in 1999 by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance & Industry, United Arab Emirates. The awards are to honour researchers all over the world who tirelessly pursue distinctive medical research that serves the larger interests of humanity. Details of the 2008 International Awards are as follows:

Grand Hamdan International Award

For research in the area of Stem Cell Research.
US $68,000
Due: November 30th 2007

Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence

For research in the areas of

-          Therapy in Malignancy

-          Molecular Therapy in Drug Targeting (Pharmacogenomics)

-          Organ Tissue Transplantation

3 winners each receiving US 27,000 each

Due: November 30th 2007

From the Office of Research Integrity

Changes to the NH&MRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct

 

NH&MRC have recently released the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, replacing the 1999 National Statement.  Whilst the framework for ethical consideration remains essentially unchanged in the new version there are many changes in relation to particular issues and emphases.  The new National Statement also allows a more flexible approach to ethical review.

 

Within the terms of the National Statement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people studies and clinical trials must undergo full ethical review by the HREC.  The following fields of research are subject to full HREC review, except where the research uses collection of non-identifiable data and involves negligible risk and may be exempted from review: Human genetics, human stem cells, woman who are pregnant and the human foetus, people highly dependent on medical care who may be unable to give consent, people with cognitive impairment, an intellectual disability, or a mental illness, and people who may be involved in illegal activities.

 

Negligible risk is where there is no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort; and any foreseeable risk is no more than inconvenience.  By contrast research is low risk where the only foreseeable risk is one of discomfort.  It has been determined that research exempted from review will need to be recorded through the E1 processes in the new ANU system.

 

The new National Statement calls for the minimisation of duplication of ethical review.  Within the new system for human research ethics at ANU a protocol previously approved by a HREC outside ANU will be processed through the E1 (Low-risk protocols) process outlined in the last RO Newsletter. A low-risk protocol will normally be approved within 5 working days of submission.

 

From the Office of Commercialisation

The Attorney-General's Department released information recently about a new Statement of IP Principles which all government agencies will be required to comply with by July 1, 2008. Although there currently exists National Principles of IP Management for Publicly Funded Research, the new statement of principles will sit alongside this and is intended bring some consistency to the way government agencies deal with IP in general contracts. This should make research consultancies, in particular, less erratic to deal with.

 

Agencies will be encouraged to develop individual IP management frameworks based on the statement, but the key message is that they will need to align their use of IP with their objectives and activities. Other messages are that agencies need to consider the benefit to the Australian community as a whole in managing IP; their valuations of IP should not be used as the sole or principal justification for commercialisation decisions; they should provide training to staff so that they can more effectively handle the IP rights of others ethically; and agencies should recognise that the expertise to commercialise IP does not necessarily lie within.

 

A guidebook to implement the statement, the IP Better Practice Manual, will be published later this year. More information, including the full Statement of IP Principles can be found at

http://www.ag.gov.au/cca

The Office of Commercialisation website is now live! Visit us at http://www.anu.edu.au/commercialisation/

 

PLEASE CONTACT MELODY ELLIS IN THE OFFICE OF SPONSORED RESEARCH
 (X58464 or
melody.ellis@anu.edu.au) FOR ANYTHING FURTHER