Pandemic Research Recovery

The Medical School Office of Research is committed to supporting the research endeavors of our community during both prosperous and challenging times. COVID-19 has disrupted research and training programs and continues to expose inequities in the impact of the pandemic on our investigators. Some research programs have experienced ongoing pandemic-related effects, including disruptions to research and patient populations, obstacles in hiring and retaining qualified staff, and the impact of personal circumstances on professional activities.

As such, the Medical School Office of Research developed the Pandemic Research Recovery (PRR) program, which aims to reinvigorate promising research activity that has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The PRR supports the restoration of research programs by establishing new mechanisms to bridge revised grant applications, bolstering researchers disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and mitigating lost research progress. It is a needs-based program crafted in partnership with departments. Applicants should be able to clearly articulate how the COVID-19 pandemic and research-related, institutional factors or requirements negatively impacted them and their research progress.

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Faculty Awards

The PRR program provides needs-based awards to faculty who had a strong pre-COVID research trajectory and who need assistance recovering lost research productivity resulting from pandemic-related circumstances. These circumstances include both direct and staff-related circumstances, such as extensive caregiving duties, loss and suffering due to COVID, extended pandemic-related clinical duties, issues with access to key resources, etc., which have resulted in lost progress to a faculty member’s overall research program. Hardships should be directly tied to the pandemic and the faculty member’s ability to submit an extramural grant, including initial applications, competing renewal applications, and resubmissions.

  • Maximum of $100,000 for one year of funding – up to $50,000 from the Medical School Office of Research, with a 1:1 match required from the PI’s department.
  • Funds directed towards strengthening a future grant application
  • Application deadlines are on a recurring cycle of January 15, May 15, and September 15 through 2024. If the 15th falls on a weekend, the deadline will be the following Monday.
  • Early-career faculty (Assistant rank) will be prioritized in the determination of these awards. Applications will be competitively reviewed, and awards will be announced 6-7 weeks after each deadline.

Please note that the two faculty funding mechanisms offered in 2022 (PRR#1:Resubmissions of Applications Addressing Reviewer Comments and PRR#2:Hardships Impacting Lost Research Progress) have been consolidated into a single application starting in January 2023. More information about the application and required materials can be found on the Competition Space webpage HERE.

Trainee Awards

In year 1 of this 3-year PRR program, awards were provided to aide post-doctoral fellows and Ph.D. graduate students. Those cycles were held in March, May, and September of 2022, and these award opportunities are now concluded.

Medical School PRR Award Support/Resources

NIH: Addressing Pandemic-Related Productivity

If you are submitting an NIH grant application on or before May 7, 2022 (for the August/October 2022 Council round), and your research productivity has been negatively affected by the pandemic, the NIH encourages you to take advantage of several COVID-19-related flexibilities currently in effect.

Chalk Talks

Chalk Talks are a great way to obtain feedback from your colleagues before submitting your grant proposal.

Mentoring Plans

Mentoring is an important component of success and should address individual needs.

  • Mentoring approaches for faculty are available from the U-M Office of the Provost.
  • Rackham’s MORE committee on mentoring has tools for mentoring graduate students, including a modifiable co-mentoring triad template.

Writing Accountability Groups (WAGs)

Forming a WAG develops a habit of writing and maintain accountability during the grant writing process.

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has a website with a WAG Toolkit & FAQs
  • The Medical School Office of Research will consult with you on successfully forming a group and has Accountability formats that may be useful.

R01 Boot Camp

Recipients of PRR awards who are early career faculty and have not yet been a PI on an R01-equivalent grant may be interested in applying to the R01 Boot Camp.

Write Winning NIH Grant Proposals Workshop

The UMMS Office of Research hosts this popular full-day grant writing workshop by GWSW each fall. The cost for this event is ~ $350, and is eligible to be budgeted on your Pandemic Research Recovery application.  Watch Office of Research Events & Workshops, as well as the Research News enewsletter, for registration information in early fall.

Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR)

MICHR is offering in-kind services to help support recipients of awards.  Please visit the MICHR website for further information on opportunities.

Financial and Non-Financial Resources

The Medical School Office of Research maintains several financial and non-financial resources.  We have compiled a quick reference list of highlighted programs and resources.  You may also wish to explore the MS Office of Research route map for information throughout the life cycle of a research program.

Proposal Development & Review

The Research Development (RD) Team in GS&A has developed tools and templates to aid in grant proposal development. In addition, honoraria for internal/external reviewers are eligible to be budgeted on Pandemic Research Recovery applications. Departments may contact the RD Team at msgrants@umich.edu for consultation on proposal development and review.

Proposal Editing

The Research Development Team in GS&A provides editing support on near-final drafts of NIH R01-equivalent grants and proposal development assistance for NIH large-scale proposals.

Facility & Resource Profile Templates

The UMMS Office of Research maintains boilerplate descriptions of U-M facilities and resources intended to be modified as needed for grant proposals.

Well-Being

U-M Human Resources has compiled a collection of resources and programs to support your well-being.

FAQs

Are PRR awards limited to specific faculty levels?

No.  The PRR program is open to all ranks and all tracks in the Medical School.   We know that all have been impacted by the pandemic and needs will vary by individual.  The intent is to reach those with the greatest needs, regardless of stage of career.

For projects that include animal research, are there budget implications under PRR?

Yes.  Animal projects that are funded with the internal funds from the program will have additional charges of a Quality Assurance Fee (QAF) as described in the Specialized Service section of the campus page on indirect costs.
 
Of note, junior faculty  in the first two years of appointment may be eligible to receive an exemption of the QAF.  ULAM is happy to review budgets for animal projects to ensure PIs / rad Students have good estimated for true cost.  Please reach to Marc Wolf for help or information.

Questions?

Contact us at PRR.Questions@umich.edu or 734-763-4272

2800 Plymouth Road, NCRC Building 520, Room 3174, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800

A list of Grant Services & Analysis staff is available in the Personnel Directory.

 

Edited By: dagi@med.umich.edu
Last Updated: March 29, 2023