By Maria Gonzalez
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – The Faculty Research and Professional Development Program, sponsored by the Office of Research Enhancement at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley recently held their final Keys to Research Workshop. This year, thirty-six UTRGV faculty completed the program designed to equip them to be successful in peer review publishing, contribute to a culture of research compliance and ethical behavior and pursue federal, state, and private sector grants from external agencies.
The workshops led by Dr. Karen Martirosyan, AVP for the Office of Research Enhancement and keynote speakers, provided an opportunity for faculty and staff to participate in a series of nine training workshops related to research Development.
“The primary objective of this set of workshops is to provide professional training for individual investigators to pursue federal, state, and private sector grants from external agencies to be successful in scholarly activity,” Martirosyan said.
The primary objective of this set of Workshops is to provide professional training for individual investigators in the following areas:
- Professional grant writing skills
- Build capacity for developing high impact research projects
- Prepare highly competitive grant proposals and peer review publications
- Successfully mentor student’s research project
- Leadership and research compliance training
The monthly three-hour workshops also provided participants a venue to get their questions answered in a conversational and coaching atmosphere designed to give faculty real solutions to improve their research and grant writing skills.
“The program guides faculty through the entire process of writing a funding proposal,” Martirosyan said. “Grant proposals often require a variety of documents, such as a proposed research summary, project narrative, and supporting information. In this professional development program, participants can learn how foundations and university research units operate, find funding opportunities and how to transform a research idea into a project,” he said.
The Keys to Research Program also provided specialized training on grant writing skills, grant application processes, budget preparation and cost share.
The monthly workshop series were held from September 2021 to May 2022. Upon completion, participants received a certificate and a $500 research award.
The next registration period will be opened September 12, 2022.
The Division of Research recognizes the following faculty and staff for the successful completion of Keys to Research Program.
- Aje-Ori Agbese, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, College of liberal arts
- Sheikh Ariful Islam, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Clara Choi, Assistant Professor, School of Art and Design, College of Fine Arts
- Alexandre Couture Gagnon, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
- Julia Cuevas, Assistant Professor, College of Education and P-16 Integration, Division of Academic Affairs
- Chandler Seokmin Kang, Assistant Professor, College of Education and P-16 Integration, Division of Academic Affairs
- Thomas Daniel Knight, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
- Qinyu Liao, Professor, PhD in Business Administration, Program of Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship
- Young Lim, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, College of Liberal Arts
- Amit Raysoni, Assistant Professor, School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences, College of Sciences
- Rebecca Resendiz, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, School of Medicine
- Xuan Wang, Assistant Professor, PhD in Business Administration, Program of Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship
- Yong Kang Wei, Professor, Department of Writing & Language Studies, College of Liberal Arts
- Youngki Woo, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, College of Liberal Arts
- Murali Yallapu, Associate Professor, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine
- Mataz Alcoutlabi, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Mohsen Amjadian, Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Jerald Hughes, Associate Professor, Information Systems, Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship
- Andreea Stoian Karadeli, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Affairs & Security Studies, College of Liberal Arts
- Jennifer Lemanski, Professor, Department of Communication, College of Liberal Arts
- Miriam Ortiz, Lecturer I, College of Education and P-16 Integration, Division of Academic Affairs
- Jake Lin, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
- Sharon Helsley McGinley, MSN, RN, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Division of Academic Affairs
- Milena Melo-Tijerina, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts
- Tamara Al Rawwad, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Division of Health Affairs
- Melissa Abeyta, Assistant Professor, Organization and School Leadership, College of Education and P-16 Integration
- Isela Almaguer, Professor, Department of Bilingual and Literacy Studies, College of Education and P-16 Integration
- Derek Abrams, Associate Professor of Practice, Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, Division of Academic Affairs
- Haoyuan Chen, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences
- Mario Gil, Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program, Department of Psychological Science
- Sylvia Gonzalez-Gorman, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
- Michiyo Hirai, Professor, Department of Psychological Science, College of Liberal Arts
- Honglu Jiang, Assistant Professor, Informatics and Engineering Systems, College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Wei Lin, Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Science
- Swati Mohan, Lecturer I, Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences
- Manar Shoshani, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Science
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.
