Research in the time of COVID-19
What about my research lab?
UCI transitioned to Phase 2 on June 8, 2020. Please click the drop down below to view a message from Brandon Gaut, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, about the transition.
Important Resources:
Animal Studies
Information about animal studies from the UCI Office of Research includes important topics such as “Social distancing while conducting critical research with animals.”
If you need help with animal breeding or genotyping contact ULAR. They have technicians trained in collecting mouse tissue samples for genotyping and managing breeding colonies (setting up breeding pairs, weaning offspring etc.). These are not included in the standard per diem recharge rate, so there is an extra charge for ULAR techs to do these services.
Deliveries
Deliveries of orders are now being routed to North Campus.
This link provides information on how to set up the delivery address and how to pick up packages at North Campus.
The Distribution Center is open M-F from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm and is located at 19182 Jamboree Rd., Tel: 949-824-6734.
Note that deliveries through the US Postal Service, which might include Amazon packages, may also be routed to North Campus.
General Information
General information about continuing research is available through the UCI Office of Research:
What about my human research studies or clinical trials?
Important updates on human studies from the UCI Office of Research:
What about my funding?
NIH
NIH has released several Notices:
-NOT-OD-20-083 – General FAQs for proposal submission and award management
-NOT-OD-20-086 – Flexibilities for applicants and recipients of federal financial assistance
-NOT-OD-20-087 – Guidance for clinical trials and human subject studies
NSF
NSF is continuing to accept applications and review them on a rolling basis (no deadline):
UCI Sponsored Projects Administration
UCI Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) has curated resources from a wide array of organizations and agencies for easy reference, including NIH, NSF, Foundations, NASA, and DOE:
BSL-3 Research Facility
Biological Sciences Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) facility that is located in the Biological Sciences III building has been approved and certified as of June 2020. Coronavirus research is now active after a rigorous approval process from the Institutional Biosafety Committee and High Containment Laboratory Oversight Group (HCLOG), as well as a comprehensive facility re-certification, standard operating procedures review, and hands-on trainings for researchers. We are excited that this facility will be used by multiple researchers to contribute towards the ongoing global COVID-19 crisis.
A town hall meeting for research and building occupants was conducted on May 21, 2020. We are also forming a FAQ information page to compile any questions related to the BSL-3 research facility or coronavirus research.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the BSL-3 facility please direct them to Cynthia Zalt, EH&S Coordinator for School of Biological Sciences (czalt@uci.edu) whom is working directly with the Biosafety Officer, Facilities Management and researchers to respond to the campus community and address any concerns.
I’d like to study the virus or its impact
NIH Resource
The COVID-19 Open Research Dataset is a free resource of over 52,000 scholarly articles, including over 41,000 with full text, about SARS-CoV-2 and the coronavirus family of viruses for use by the global research community.
Tools for Studying Viruses
The School of Medicine Office of Research has created a hub of COVID-19 related resources, including a research project inventory.
UCI Center for Virus Research
Click here to view the UCI Center for Virus Research website.
This link shows resources available to the UCI community for studying the virus.
Center director: Bert Semler (blsemler@uci.edu)
COVID-19 Internal UCI fund
Researchers across UCI are searching for ways to contribute to the effort of slowing and stopping the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its negative impacts. In order to support these efforts, a UCI Joint Research Fund—supported by multiple schools and the UCI Office of Research—was created to fund meritorious proposals.
The fund is now closed, but you can view a list of projects and videos about the research funded from this competition at https://news.research.uci.edu/researcher-resources/joint-research-fund/
Additional Resources to Study COVID-19
UCI ICTS COVID-19 Research Biobank
The UCI SOM Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Center for Clinical Research, and Institute for Clinical and Translational Science are developing a comprehensive research biobank available for COVID-19 related research projects. Initial collections include whole blood, plasma, and serum from participants being tested for COVID-19 and remnant nasal swab samples.
Contact: Rob Edwards (redwards@uci.edu)
Funding
Various grant agencies, as well as UCI, are soliciting proposals for research projects that advance our understanding of the virus (natural history, pathogenicity, and transmission), as well as projects to develop medical countermeasures.
Funding Opportunities
- UCI curated list of COVID-19 funding opportunities
- UCI School of Medicine list of funding opportunities, including COVID-19:
- NIH funding options
- NSF funding options
- CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) funding options
- RESEARCH CONTINUITY: UCI Sponsored Projects Administration