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COVID-19 Response & Updates for Research

The health and safety of our students, employees, and visitors is of the utmost importance to the University.

If you have questions about how the Vice President for Research, Innovation & Economic Development or Office of Research & Sponsored Programs is handling safety for COVID-19, contact research@louisiana.edu or 337-482-5811.

Visit the University's COVID-19 response website for more information about how the University is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring the health of all students and employees.

Jump to:

Continuity of operations
Proposal submissions
Research compliance & Institutional Review Board
New IRB guidelines
Innovation management
Post-award contracts, contract modifications & reporting
COVID-19-related research policies & procedures
COVID-19 funding opportunities

Continuity of Operations

At the current time, all administrative services of OVPRIED will continue to remain fully operational for the research community. These services include the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), the Office of Innovation Management (OIM), and the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), including research compliance committees such as IRB, IACUC, among others. Likewise, SPFAC is also equipped to serve the campus research community.

All ORSP staff members are available during regular business hours via their UL Lafayette phone numbers, email addresses, and Microsoft Teams accounts. Faculty wishing to meet with ORSP Staff members in-person should plan such meetings ahead of time. ORSP staff can also meet via video conference through Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

Proposal Submissions

At present, all federal agencies are accepting proposals and are processing awards as usual. ORSP staff are fully prepared to support the research community with their proposal submissions through their normal business operations.

To facilitate planning, at your earliest convenience, please notify your pre-award specialist of any proposals you plan to submit within the next 30-90 days. View the list of pre-awards specialists. Contact Dr. Kumer Das, assistant vice president for OVPRIED, at kumer.das@louisiana.edu.

Research Compliance & Institutional Review Board

ORI is prepared to provide uninterrupted support to the campus community through various research compliance committees such as IRB, IACUC, Institutional Biosafety Committee, Radiation Safety Committee, among others. All research committee chairs, members, and ORI staff are committed to support your research program.

Please expect delays in the event the research compliance committees are unable to establish a quorum because of COVID-19 and are unable to review your research proposals in a timely manner.

New IRB Guidelines

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institutional Review Board has continued to operate remotely. As the University is forging plans for the safe resumption of on-campus courses and operational functions, the IRB has developed a plan to ensure safe re-engagement of human subjects in research involving interpersonal, face-to-face interactions.

Contact Dr. Robin Broussard, ORI director, at robin.broussard@louisiana.edu should you have any further questions.

Innovation Management

The Office of Innovation Management is continuing operations as normal during the remote work period. Contact Noah Bergeron at noah.bergeron@louisiana.edu should you have any further questions.

Post-Award Contracts, Contract Modifications & Reporting

At present, all federal agencies are processing awards, contracts, contract modifications, reporting, and compliance monitoring as usual. SPFAC staff are fully prepared to support the research community with post-award services through their normal business operations. SPFAC is maintaining and updating a listing of agency provided directives related to sponsored programs. This should be periodically checked to ensure any and all updates related to agencies are considered for the continuity of research operations.

If you believe your funded projects are likely to face disruptions due to COVID-19, please notify your Post-Award Specialist of any specific needs for your contract modifications as soon as identified. View the list of post-awards specialists.

COVID-19 Related Research Policies & Procedures

Under the direction of the Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development and in accordance with federal, state, and local directives related to COVID-19, the University's research offices have developed interim processes and procedures to ensure that operations and services continue uninterrupted, as much as is possible, during this time.

Updates

This page was updated on August 13, 2021, and will be updated regularly, as the COVID-19 situation evolves.

Interim Policies & Procedures In Effect