Research Administration
The School of Medicine at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley encourages faculty to seek external support for sponsored projects related to the mission of the university. The Office of the Associate Dean of Research has set forth guidelines for all externally-funded grant proposals and awarded projects within the SOM.
Each Principal investigator has the responsibility to be compliant with the stated pre-award guidelines for the School of Medicine.
Faculty are encouraged to seek guidance from the Office of the Associate Dean of Research when developing grant proposals. If the funding opportunity is from a foundation, additional guidance should be sought from the Division of Institutional Advancement/Development Office. The internal review process at the School of Medicine requires prior approval from the PI's Department Chair/Supervisor, Associate Dean of Research or AVP of Clinical and Translational Research, Executive Vice Dean, and, for proposals over $1 million, the Dean of the School of Medicine prior to final submission to the Office of Sponsored Programs.
Pre-Award Procedures
Applications for external funding must be approved by the Office of the Associate Dean of Research prior to submitting the proposal to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) or the Office of Institutional Advancement/Development Office. Please note that each designated approver will need ample time for the internal review of each proposal. Depending on the complexity of the proposal, internal review may require several days. The first step is to complete the online notice of Intent to Submit (ITS). The completed SOM Grant Submission Approval Form is due at least five (5) business days before the grant deadline.
Cayuse Routing & Approvals
- Principal Investigator (PI)
- Department Chair/Supervisor
- Associate Dean of Research or Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Research
- Executive Vice Dean
- Dean of the School of Medicine, when over $1 million
- Office of Sponsored Programs- Associate Vice President, Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance
- Institutional Advancement/Development Office if a non-governmental opportunity
Proposal budgets must comply with UTRGV set guidelines, as well as the established guidelines referenced in the RFP or FOA’s. Proposals submitted to Federal agencies must comply with OMB Circular A-21 on cost principles that requires all costs be allowable, reasonable, and necessary.
Salary and fringe requested in a proposal must be in accordance with institutional policies, as well as applied consistently to individuals in like circumstances and must be supported by acceptable accounting principles. Salary charges for work performed on a sponsored agreement, whether for research, teaching, or other activities, must be based on the individual’s total annual compensation, unless sponsor policies limit salary charges. This compensation is known as Institutional Base Salary (IBS). An individual’s IBS may not be increased as a result of replacing University salary funds with grant funds.
Animal Research
Federal regulations for the Animal Welfare Act and the National Institute of Health (NIH) require that protocols for research be submitted for review and approval by the University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
For more information regarding the IACUC:
Website UTRGV IACUC, E-mail: iacuc@utrgv.edu, Phone: (956) 665-2889
Human Subjects Research
Federal regulations (CFR 75, Part 45, Protection of Human Subjects) require a careful and comprehensive review of research involving human subjects or possible risk to human subjects. All such projects must be submitted to and approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board: Human Subjects (IRB) before research begins.
For more information on the Health Affairs IRB, please visit the IRB Support page or contact:
Office of Research Compliance
Email: irb@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3598
Fax: (956) 665-2940
Matching Funds and Cost Sharing
Faculty submitting proposals requiring the inclusion of cost share or matching funds must have administrative approval before committing cost share or matching funds to a sponsor. The approval form for cost share or matching funds can be downloaded at Cost Share Form.
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs, Indirect Cost Rate, and Fringe Benefits
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs and fringe benefits should be budgeted in all grant and contract applications. The current Indirect Cost Rate (IDC) is posted on the OSP website, Indirect Cost Agreement (IDC). These rates are negotiated with the federal government and are to be used in proposals to provide support for expenses other than direct program costs unless a different rate is specified by the funder. For more information, please refer to the Office of Sponsored Programs.
A percentage of the Indirect Costs Revenue associated with each research (NACUBO) grant or contract award will be distributed to the Provost & Executive VP for Academic Affairs, the Sr. VP for Research & Economic Dev., the Center Director, the Dean, Department Heads, and Principal Investigators. For details, please refer to Allocation of Indirect Cost Recovery of Funds from the Office of the President. For more information, please refer to the Indirect Cost Recovery Funds Policy.
Contact Us
School of Medicine Research Office
McAllen Rio Bank Bldg. MRIOB 4.322
Email: research-som@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1705
