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Animal Research

Animals have been central to the advancement of knowledge that has led to a vast array of benefits to both human and animal health. The University of Connecticut regards the use of animals in research, teaching, and testing to be an integral component of continued progress in science, education, and agriculture. The University expects all of its animal facilities and programs to maintain high ethical standards for animal care and use, and to be operated in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines.

The animal care and use program refers to all the components that exist in support of the University’s activities involving live animals. These components include facilities, employees, researchers, policies and procedures, equipment and animals. The Animal Care and Use Program has been accredited by AAALAC International since 2010.

Animal Care Services

Animal Care Services (NetID Access Restricted link)  provides animal husbandry and veterinary care for vertebrate animals housed at the Storrs Campus, excluding the farm animals under the supervision of the Department of Animal Science. ACS veterinarians have University-wide responsibilities for assisting faculty and the IACUC in protocol review, facility inspections, and training. The Animal Care and Use Program is accredited by AAALAC International. For further information please contact acsinfo@uconn.edu.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is charged with responsibility for reviewing the University of Connecticut’s program for the humane care and use of animals in research and teaching as described in its Assurance and University Policy. The IACUC is created by and subject to federal law: the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS 1986), the USDA Animal Welfare Act/Regulations (CFR 1985) and related Guides. Members include scientists and nonscientists, veterinarians and nonaffiliated individuals from the community.

Research Resources

Finding Research Funding

The UConn Library licenses two databases to identify sources of funding for research projects and other endeavors:

Grants.gov is frequently consulted for federal government funding opportunities:

Research Advisory Groups

The Office of the Vice President for Research’s (OVPR) mission of supporting and advancing faculty research greatly depends on involvement and input from faculty and from UConn’s schools/colleges.  To that end, the Vice President for Research (VPR) has established research advisory groups to facilitate communication and collaboration between the OVPR and stakeholders across the university.  These groups meet regularly to discuss research-related issues that impact UConn/UConn Health faculty and provide opportunities for faculty to convey concerns to the VPR and the OVPR executive team and to work together to identify and implement solutions.

The President’s Research Advisory Council (PRAC) was created by the Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Radenka Maric, and President Thomas Katsouleas. The membership of the PRAC consists of faculty representatives from each school and college, including UConn Health, as well as student and postdoctoral representatives. The PRAC will serve as a forum to discuss issues and concerns related to research, scholarship, and creative works at UConn and UConn Health and to provide input and guidance to the President and Vice President on relevant institutional policies, practices, and strategic initiatives.  The PRAC will meet twice a semester.  A list of the Council members is available on the membership page.
2022-2023 Meeting dates: TBD

The Research Deans’ Council (RDC) includes Associate Deans for Research of all UConn/UConn Health schools and colleges.  The RDC is charged with communicating the research priorities of the schools/colleges to the OVPR and representing their interests in discussions regarding research-related policy.  RDC members also advise on internal funding and limited submission internal competitions.  The RDC meets twice a semester during the academic year.  If you have an issue/problem/request that you would like the RDC to consider, please contact the RDC chair or your school/college’s Associate Dean(s) for Research.
2022-2023 Meeting dates: Sept. 22, Nov. 14, Feb. 6, April 11

The Health Center Research Advisory Council (HCRAC) advises the Vice President for Research and the Research Deans on the development, management, and disposition of the Health Center’s central research resources and intramural grants programs.  For more information on HCRAC responsibilities and programs, please visit their pages on the UConn Health website.

Service Units

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) oversees the research enterprise across all UConn campuses, including UConn Health, managing all aspects of research and scholarship activities for UConn’s faculty.

The OVPR advances UConn’s research enterprise and innovation pipeline through both short- and long-term initiatives. Its support spans individual faculty projects, large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations, industry partnerships, and university-driven startups.

The OVPR’s key areas of responsibility include:

  • Research Support & Development
  • Core Research Facilities
  • Grant Proposal Support
  • Award Management
  • Research Compliance
  • Technology Commercialization
  • UConn’s Technology Incubation Program
  • IPB at UConn Tech Park

Learn More

Faculty Services is an optional service provided by the University and jointly funded by participating units and the Office of the Vice President for Research. We provide both pre- and post-award support and units can sign up to receive either or both services. If you are interested in receiving more information about this service and the cost, please contact Brianna Demers, Associate Director for Faculty Services (brianna.demers@uconn.edu).

 

Pre-Award Services

Our comprehensive proposal support allows faculty to spend more time on the drafting a strong narrative while ensuring their proposal will adhere to all University policies and meet with the requirements of the sponsor and solicitation. A full list of our services can be found here.

  • Provide exceptional administrative support from proposal assembly to submission from expert administrators.
  • Allow faculty to focus on the scientific development of the application.
  • A team of specialists ensures support is always available to faculty during University hours.
  • Help faculty to produce higher quality proposals is greater numbers.

 

Post-Award Services

Our full post-award support is a partnership with administrators within your unit to ensure faculty receive tailored services to manage their awards effectively. An overview of this partnership can be found here. By acting as the Fiscal Officer, we can provide rigorous oversight including thorough monthly reviews and a closeout process to ensure there are no surprises (deficits, unallowable costs, etc.). A full list of our services can be found here.

  • Provide exceptional administrative support from pre-award/advance accounts through closeout from expert administrators.
  • Provide detailed and customized monthly reports.
  • Allow faculty to focus on the research and spend less time on administrative tasks.

For Participating Departments

Pre-Award Services

Who is My Pre-Award Specialist?
Summary of Services
  • Budget development
  • Budget justification templates
  • Completion of all internal administrative forms (IPR, Cost Sharing, etc.)
  • Review of all proposal documents against the requirements of the sponsor and solicitation
  • Application building (our team will complete the application in WorkSpace, FastLane, etc.)
  • Coordination with Sponsored Program Services for final review and approval
Faculty Tips for Success
  • Contact us early! The earlier we are involved, the more support we can provide you.
  • Contact us even if you are not sure if you will submit!
  • Send us your documents as you complete them. We will review them against the requirements of the sponsor and solicitation and will let you know if changes are required.
  • Keep us informed of your scheduled and planned travel so we can manage deadlines effectively.
  • When your assigned Specialist is out of the office, contact facultyservices@uconn.edu for urgent issues and requests.

 

Post-Award Services

Who is My Post-Award Specialist?
Summary of Services
  • Daily monitoring of account through KFS and HuskyBuy transactions
  • Customized monthly reports and thorough monthly review
  • Evaluate payroll changes
  • Facilitate subaward and consultant agreements
  • Calculate projections of future expenditures
Faculty Tips for Success
  • Inform of your needs for pre-award/advance account as soon as you think you might need it.
  • Inform us of potential personnel changes so we can project the impact to the award and obtain sponsor approval if necessary.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it’s what we’re here for!

Faculty Services

Faculty Services, founded in the fall of 2014, was created with the mission to grow and support the research enterprise by providing excellent, consistent proposal development and award management support for University faculty. This department, housed within the Office of the Vice President for Research consists of a team of expert research administrators who work directly with faculty. Faculty Services provides a single point of contact for proposal and/or award support. Our goal is to reduce faculty administrative burden allowing them more time to write proposals and work on funded projects. Faculty Services reduces the number of administrators required to complete a single transaction and reduces administrative tasks overall improving turnaround time and allowing more time to be devoted to complex and unique transactions.

Sponsored Program Services

Sponsored Program Services (SPS) assists faculty with the administration of sponsored program activities to reduce administrative burdens on researchers and department staff. Our goal is to help faculty win more grants and provide comprehensive pre- and post-award services, including:

  • Budget development assistance and review
  • Proposal review and submission
  • Industry contract review and negotiation
  • Guidance and consultation on grant-related questions
  • Assistance with inter-campus award applications
  • Set up of new grant and contract awards and related budgets in UConn’s accounting system
  • Assistance with and processing of budget adjustments
  • Final financial report preparation
  • Proposal preparation and award management support through a shared service program (Faculty Services) to participating Schools and Colleges
  • Research administration training, job aids, and support for staff and faculty

 

 

Proposal Development Support Request Form

Safety in Research Contacts

Name Title Phone Email
Karen Moré, MS, CPIA Director of Research Compliance 860.486.2459 karen.more@uconn.edu
Brent Lewchik, CHMM Director, Environmental Health and Safety and Chemical Hygiene Officer 860.486.4927 brent.lewchik@uconn.edu
Valerie Brangan, CIH EHS Occupational Health and Safety Manager 860.486.2982 valerie.brangan@uconn.edu
David Cavallaro, MS, RBP, CBSP Institutional Biosafety Officer and EHS Biological Health and Safety Manager 860.486.3180 david.cavallaro@uconn.edu
Amy Courchesne Radiation Safety Officer and EHS Radiation Safety Manager 860.486.5399 amy.c@uconn.edu
Brianna Sullivan Laser Safety Officer and EHS Senior Radiation Safety Specialist 860.486.1108 brianna.sullivan@uconn.edu

Safety in Research

“The way we conduct research, engage our students, and prepare the next generation of scholars requires that we ensure the health and well-being of all involved. Strengthening and supporting a culture of safety is as important to our discovery enterprise as is peer review, publication, grant writing, mentoring, and educating; it is integral to the responsible conduct of research…Safety is a critical component of scholarly excellence…Good science is safe science.” APLU Council on Research (2016).

UConn is dedicated to promoting a culture of safety and provides resources and mechanisms to support researchers in conducting safe, responsible, and successful research activities:

The Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) provides comprehensive services in the fields of biological safety, chemical safety, occupational safety, radiation safety, and environmental health. EHS maintains and administers programs that combine training, consultation, control, and inspection to protect the health and safety of the University community and to ensure regulatory compliance and adherence to University policies and recognized standards.

Research Integrity & Compliance works to promote safety and regulatory compliance in research by maintaining faculty lead oversight committees.  The safety committees supported by this office include:

Research Misconduct

The University of Connecticut is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in the performance, reporting, reviewing and proposing of research and scholarly activity.  To this end, it is the responsibility of all faculty, staff, students, trainees and visiting scientists to refrain from and prevent research misconduct.

Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

  • Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
  • Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
  • Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit. Authorship disputes are not defined as plagiarism in this policy.

Research misconduct does not include honest errors or differences of opinion.

It is also the responsibility of the research community to report suspected incidents of research misconduct.

Policies

Policy on Alleged Misconduct in Research

Non-Retaliation Policy

Reporting Research Concerns

All concerns related to human research, animal research, conflict of interest, research misconduct, research financial accounting, research safety or other research compliance matters should be reported by calling Research Integrity & Compliance at 860-679-2230, Office of University Compliance at 860-486-2530, or the specific area.

Concerns can also be reported anonymously through the REPORTLINE by calling a toll-free number at (888) 685-2637 or via the REPORTLINE website. The REPORTLINE is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year operated by a private (non-UConn) company. You may contact the hotline to report a concern without giving your name. You will be able to re-contact the REPORTLINE to track your report to provide further information at a later date or to obtain general updates about the status of your concern.

The University welcomes and encourages good-faith reporting. As such, individuals who submit a report or participate in a compliance investigation in good faith are provided protection from retaliation per the University’s Non-Retaliation Policy.

Additional information on reporting concerns can be found at the Office of University Compliance website..pdf

Resources

The following is a list of videos on research misconduct and integrity from the US Office of Research Integrity.

The Lab, Avoiding Research Misconduct – In this interactive movie, you can choose an alter-ego and become a graduate student, post doc, PI or RIO, and make decisions facing you in a case of data falsification. Decisions that can have long-term consequences on your career. The movie addresses topics such as avoiding research misconduct, mentorship, data stewardship, authorship, and more. The movie has versions in English, Spanish and Chinese.

The Research Clinic – In this movie, you can become a PI, a clinical research coordinator, a research assistant, or an institutional review board (IRB) chair, and make decisions that protect research subjects and avoid research misconduct.

Internal Funding Opportunities – Overview

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) supports faculty research, scholarship, and creative endeavors through a wide range of internal funding programs.  OVPR internal grants serve as high-leverage, strategic investments in outstanding faculty research projects that are at critical stages of development.  Our internal funding mechanisms are designed to competitively identify projects that fit our key funding criteria–projects that meet the highest disciplinary standards for excellence and are at a “tipping point” where specific work can lead to breakthroughs, external funding, and/or significant recognition. Recognizing that those crucial moments occur at various stages of the research process (and require different levels of funding to address, depending on your discipline), OVPR internal funding programs include large and small dollar mechanisms that focus on seed funding, completion/publication funding, and commercialization funding.

If you are a UConn/UConn Health faculty member who has a project that is ready to move to the next level, we invite you to browse our program guidelines to learn more.  You are also welcome to contact us (research@uconn.edu) to ask questions and to discuss which mechanisms are best suited to meet your needs.

The OVPR-Research Development Services (OVPR-RDS) team is excited to host (virtual) Teams Internal Funding Office Hours where faculty can share their novel seed grant project ideas and ask questions about the internal funding competitions.

Click to sign up for a time slot

Office hours for all awards are:

  • Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to noon
  • Wednesdays, 2 to 4 p.m.

 

Overview of FY 25 – FY 26 Internal Funding Opportunity Timelines (Last updated 1/21/25)

Program

Applications open

Applications due (12 noon)

Target for Notifications
Scholarship Facilitation Fund – SFF Fall (Storrs/Regional Campuses only) FY26 1/6/2025 6/1/2025 6/30/2025
UConn Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI FY25) Research Initiative 1/6/2025 3/3/2025 6/2025
SPARK Commercialization Technology fund – SPARK FY25 9/16/2024 10/28/2024 (LOI) – 2/24/2025 (Full proposal due by invitation only) 5/2025
Research Excellence Program –REP FY25 9/16/2024 12/16/2024 5/2025
Scholarship and Collaboration in Humanities and Arts Research – SCHARP FY25 9/16/2024 12/16/2024 5/2025
Convergence Awards for Research in Interdisciplinary Centers – CARIC FY26 TBD TBD TBD
Clinical Research and Innovation Seed Program – CRISP FY26 TBD TBD TBD

 

Table Key:

Complete / not yet open
 Open for Applications In Review