Faculty and students at Ferris are helping to solve real-world problems. It has been in our DNA since the institution was founded in 1835.
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs staff: Tom Dowling, Wendy Stapp and Maureen Wawsczyk
With a strong foundation in advancing higher education, our faculty bring expertise in applied and basic research in health care, pharmaceuticals, environmental surveillance, engineering, and biotechnology.
As a student-focused institution, we intentionally promote the scholarly and creative works of our students. Since 2011, our Student Research Fellows (SRF) program has supported over 100 students to complete faculty-mentored projects over the summer months. In 2022, this program was expanded and now features a campus-wide Student Research and Creative Activities Symposium. (Watch Video)
In this FY22 Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) Annual Report, you will find details of scholarly and creative grant awards to 14 Colleges and units across campus, including:
Our Institutional Review Board (IRB) continues to play a vital role in advancing the educational and research mission of the University. In FY22, nearly 150 new research projects in healthcare, teaching and learning were managed and approved by the IRB. Many of these research projects are part of elective or required graduate courses in doctoral (DCCL, pharmacy) and master’s degree (social work and public health) programs.
Behind the scenes, the ORSP staff coordinates grants administration – ranging from compiling and submitting competitive proposals, assistance with post-award grant execution, communicating with funding partners, and ensuring compliance with University, state and federal regulations.
We truly enjoy the pursuit of funding for innovative ideas, including research and institutional grants, equipment, and internship programs. We also work with stakeholders across campus, including general counsel, advancement, the Office of the Provost, intellectual property experts, and our finance partners to ensure that projects are supported at all levels.
On behalf of the grants management team at Ferris, we appreciate the opportunity to work with you and look forward to continued success in 2023 and beyond.
Tom Dowling, Ph.d.
Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Grants Funded in FY22
Grant Dollars Awarded in FY22
New IRB Applications
Total Award: $611,929.00
Project Director: Dr. Minji Sohn
Sponsor: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Title: “Collaboration to Harmonize Antimicrobial Registry Measures (CHARM)”
The project includes several health system partners in Michigan and will support development of an interactive dashboard for antimicrobial usage patterns among health system partners. Additionally, the program has begun to receive national attention and we have begun discussions about adding out-of-state institutions. We will be sharing our experience with the CDC to discuss a national initiative.
Total Award: $65,000
Project Director: Joy Pulsifer (VPSA/Student Life)
Sponsor: Michigan Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence
The new Cooperative Agreement that MCEDSV is proposing to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its DELTA Impact subcontractors is one that builds on a strong history of implementation of primary prevention strategies.
Total Award: $149,082.00
Project Director: Dr. Greg Gogolin
Sponsor: Department of Defense – National Security Agency
Title: “Open Source/Social Media Intelligence Curriculum, Partnerships, Capacity Building
Proposal for Information Security & Intelligence”
This proposal includes a student scholarship aspect and a capacity building aspect.
Total Award: $91,427.00
Project Director: Dr. Sue Owens
Sponsor: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Title: “Academic-Practice Partnerships: Creating 360-degree Video for Nursing Education
in the Northwest Region of Michigan”
Academic-practice partnerships will be developed between Spectrum Health Big Rapids, District Health Department #10, Mission Point, West Shore Community College and Ferris State University School of Nursing (SON). The SON has solicited assessment and skill needs/gaps/remediation from these agencies for developing virtual resources with 360-degree video for Registered Nurses (RN) and nursing students.
"Here at Ferris ... in addition to the incredible education, we also have a focus on research and finding out the 'why.' Don’t take your research lightly ... the work you are doing means something!"
– Dr. Bill Pink, President of Ferris State University, at the 2022 Celebration of Research and Creative Activities
Faculty members at Ferris State University continually contribute their innovative research efforts and produce many great contributions to their fields of knowledge.
David White, Chair of the Institutional Review Board
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) serves the important function of ensuring that all human subjects research at Ferris complies with the highest ethical standards. This mandate requires that our researchers not only comply with federal regulations and other applicable laws, but also with university policies, as well as with the best practices in human subjects’ research. Our IRB members include faculty and staff members from the various colleges at Ferris, and each member brings their unique background and expertise to help ensure we can properly assess the acceptability of research projects, regardless of the discipline. Without the work of the IRB, research efforts would stall and so too, would the essential effort of our great faculty members.
In FY22, our IRB had 317 actions, including 147 new applications, 94 study closures, 28 renewals, and 23 modifications to existing projects. Our Research Integrity and Compliance Officer, Maureen Wawsczyk, works hard to collect, screen, and resolve problems with study applications before forwarding them to committee members for review. She is also involved in appointing and onboarding new IRB members and managing relationships with external partners and IRBs involved in affiliation agreements.
Over the next year, the IRB will be engaged in an active process improvement phase. We appointed a policy workgroup to organize existing policies and procedures, as well as all other research related guidance, into one centralized handbook to make it easier for researchers to find the guidance they need to ensure the integrity of their projects. This process is also intended to be a thorough review of existing policies as we attempt to update and improve what we are doing to ensure our ongoing commitment to best practices.
The IRB remains committed to ongoing education of the campus community. In 2022, we established an IRB learning community to facilitate our educational sessions and provide an open form to address contemporary topics in research compliance and answering many how-to questions. These efforts are integral to helping our community grow and learn.
Sincerely,
David R. White, Ph.D.
IRB Chairperson
AA = Academic Affairs, CASE = College of Arts, Sciences and Education, CET = College of Engineering Technology, CHP = College of Health Professions, CLS = Hispanic/Latino Cultural Center, COB = College of Business, DCCL = Doctorate of Community College Leadership, FLITE = Ferris Library for Information, Technology and Education, KCAD = Kendall College of Art and Design, MCO = Michigan College of Optometry, PHR = College of Pharmacy, RSS = Retention & Student Success