Are you a new investigator? Please see the following resources and contact Dental Research Administration to assist with transfer of data, materials, and/or equipment and obtaining pertinent institutional and regulatory approvals for your research.  

• Research Onboarding Checklist 
• The PI’s Role and Responsibilities  
• Funding Application Flowsheet
• Submitting Your Study to the IRB

Research Mentoring Guide

This canvas course will introduce you to (or remind you of) all facets of the mentoring process for our dental students doing research projects. This course has been designed so that you can start at the beginning and work your way through each of the modules, or if you prefer, jump directly to the topics that most interest you.

You can join the course directly here: https://canvas.tufts.edu/courses/34187

Funding

Are you interested in applying for funding? See our Funding Application Flowsheet for an overview of the grant submission process and helpful links to application resources and institutional policies. Please send inquiries to Pam Corrado and she will assign a Research Administrator who can assist with the submission process through the University Research Administration System (RAS). All funding proposals must be entered into RAS and submitted through DRA, including but not limited to:

Federal Funding

All U.S. government-funding opportunities are posted on Grants.gov. Please see Grants.gov for guides, tips, and samples for the NIH grant application process. Opportunities are available from many U.S. government agencies, including:

• NIH National Institute of Health: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
• NSF National Science Foundation
• NEH National Endowment for the Humanities
• NEA National Endowment for the ARTS
• DOD Department of Defense
• DOE Department of Education
• USDA United States Department of Agriculture

Tufts Office of Research Development (ORD), located at 75 Kneeland on the Boston campus, has a protocol development team that will help you write your NIH or NSF grant proposal. Learn more on their website.

Non-Federal Funding

Internal Funding:

There are several sources of research funding within Tufts. Additional sources and special opportunities arise from time to time and announcements are made accordingly.

• Tufts Collaborates!
• Tufts Innovates!
• Tufts CTSI Pilot Studies Program
• Faculty Research Awards Committee (FRAC)
• Dean Huw Thomas Small Grants
• Implant Committee

Foundation Funding

Examples of Foundations:

• ADA Foundation
• DentaQuest
• ITI Foundation
• Mass Dental Society
• National Children’s Oral Health Foundation
• Oral Health America

Search Engine to look up Corporate & Foundation funding:

Pivot (formerly Community of Science) is one of the major searchable funding databases available to all investigators at Tufts University. Investigators may search for funding opportunities directly or request assistance from the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.

If you need funding or materials for a research project, or are working with an entity that has expressed the interest in donating material and/or funds, please contact Maggie Norcross Devin in Corporate & Foundation Relations. She will assist you in identifying potential donors, and will assist you in processing and tracking donated resources according to the University’s procedures.

Learn more on the Tufts Office of Research Administration’s website.

Corporate Funding

Corporation investments benefit both the school and corporations wishing to market products to future users, or gain access to important intellectual talent engaged in basic or clinical research. Tufts recognizes the value of true partnerships and exchange of ideas to determine where financial investment can benefit both corporations and the dental school.

Corporate research investment may be targeted to the following options:

• Practice Based Network (PBRN)
• Research Clinic
• Pre-Doctoral Research Travel Program
• Dr. J Murray Gavel Center – Materials Laboratory
• Tufts Dental Facilities – Vulnerable Population
  • Tufts Dental Facilities (TDF) provides comprehensive dental care for adults and children with developmental disabilities living in Massachusetts. The TDF program began in 1976, as a result of a court order mandating that the commonwealth expand access to medical and dental care for individuals with special needs.

Administrative Resources Available to Corporate Investors:

• IRB Team
• Clinical Trial Specialist/GCP and CITI Certified
• Protocol Development
• Biostatistics
• Grant Management
• Contracts – Contact Pamela.Corrado@tufts.edu

Contact Dental Research Administration to initiate discussions on potential corporate research projects.

Looking to Submit a Grant?

If you are a TUSDM faculty member thinking about submitting a grant, please contact your LRA or DentalResearchAdministration@tufts.edu at the beginning of the process.

See the Funding Application Flowsheet for details on the steps for submitting a new funding application at TUSDM.  When you identify a funding opportunity you would like to apply for, complete the DRA Research Proposal Intake Form to initiate the grant application process.

A minimum of 6 weeks’ notice is needed in order to prepare the grant package in order to properly submit it to the funding agency.

“5 day rule”: TUSDM is required to submit all grant proposals via the new electronic Research Administration grant submission system (RAS) 5 business days before the sponsor deadline. The proposal will be routed to the Vice Provost’s Office of Research Administration (ORA) for final review and approval.

In addition, two days prior to the sponsor deadline the final research strategy document must be uploaded if it was not already included at the time of routing. If a proposal is not 100% complete two days before the submission deadline, the PI will be required to complete an addendum acknowledging they are submitting an application for review and submission less than 48 hours prior to the due date. This addendum will be sent to TUSDM Dean and ORA.

Work with DRA to Complete Submission Package

Contact Local RA to set up a meeting to discuss your proposal. We will assist you in determining:

• Project feasibility, staffing, space issues, approvals, and other necessary resources.
• Grant Specific requirements (Page limits, budget limits, budget restrictions)
• Budget and Budget Justification
• Key Personnel Biosketches 
• Specific Aims, Project summary, Research Strategy, Bibliography, Resource Sharing Plans, Multi PI Plan, Vertebrate Animals, Human Subjects

Standard Due Dates – NIH Grants

Learn more on the NIH website.

New Submissions

Research Grants – R01 new 

• February 5
• June 5
• October 5

Research Career Development – K series new

• February 12
• June 12
• October 12

Other Research Grants and Cooperate Agreements – R03, R21, R33, R21/R33, R34, R36, UH2, UH3, UH2/UH3 new

• February 16
• June 16
• October 16

Resubmission / Revision Submissions

Research Grants – R01 renewal, resubmission, revision

• March 5
• July 5
• November 5

Research Career Development – K series renewal, resubmission, revision

• March 12
• July 12
• November 12

Other Research Grants and Cooperative Agreements – R03, R21, R33, R21/R33, R34, R36, UH2, UH3, UH2/UH3 renewal, resubmission, revision

• March 16
• July 16
• November 16

Important Resources/Polices:

• NIH Biosketch Format
• New Faculty Resources
• 5 Day Rule: Institutional Review Process for Proposal Submission
• Application of Off-campus and On-Campus F&A Rates
• Charging Graduate Tuition to Sponsored Awards
• Collaborative Projects
• Cost Sharing on Sponsored Awards
• Institutional Base Salary
• Purchase or Development of Equipment with Additional Infrastructure Needs
• Pre-Proposals for Sponsored Projects
• Prior Approval on Sponsored Awards
• Checklists
• Survey Study Checklist

Supporting the Research Process

Ideas for supporting your mentees throughout the research process from “Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring University of Minnesota”, 2012.

Planning Research

• Directing to relevant literature
• Discussing merits and weaknesses of published studies (individually or in groups)
• Identifying important knowledge gaps in the field
• Framing relevant research questions
• Formulating hypotheses
• Articulating specific aims to address a central hypothesis
• Assessing the innovation and impact of research aims
• Defining the research timeline
• Identifying (and planning for) potential pitfalls
• Offering input on study design, sample size, recruitment of research subjects, inclusion an exclusion criteria, control arms
• Identifying funding sources for research
• Critiquing drafts of research protocols, grant proposals

Executing the Research  

• Providing resources
• Navigating regulatory requirements
• Trouble shooting (e.g., when experiments don’t work, recruitment is slow)
• Offering feedback on data analysis and interpretation
• Exploring new directions

Disseminating New Knowledge

• Identifying relevant conferences (national, international)
• Supporting preparation of abstracts and presentations
• Critiquing presentation rehearsal Planning publications (how many, scope of each, authorship)
• Evaluating journal options (based on audience, specialization, impact)
• Outlining manuscripts, section by section
• Reviewing and editing manuscript drafts, explaining recommended changes
• Critiquing graphs and tables (content, style)
• Discussing reviewers’ comments and how to address them

Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring University of Minnesota, 2012