Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

July marks the halfway point of the year—a great time to celebrate the progress we've made and look ahead to what's next. Whether you're refining a proposal, wrapping up a summer project, or beginning to plan for the fall semester, ORSP is here to help turn your ideas into opportunities. We hope this month's newsletter provides helpful resources and inspiration for the months ahead.

— Your friends at ORSP

ORSP is seeking faculty and staff volunteers to serve on the Local Peer Review Council (LPRC). Reviewers will provide constructive feedback on grant proposals before submission, helping principal investigators enhance proposal quality and competitiveness.

As recognition for their time and expertise, reviewers may be eligible to receive compensatory funding.

If you have questions, or would like to learn more, please contact ORSP at funding@shsu.edu.

Managing sponsored project finances at SHSU is now easier with the launch of Cayuse Fund Manager. Available through the Cayuse platform, this new tool provides principal investigators, project directors, and research administrators with a centralized view of grant financial information.

Users can monitor budgets, expenses, encumbrances, available balances, and transaction activity through an easy-to-use dashboard that integrates with Banner and is updated regularly.

The Controller’s Office will be offering training sessions and demonstrations in the coming weeks, with additional details to be shared via email.

Access Fund Manager: https://shsu.app.cayuse.com/
Questions? Contact Jennifer Babcock

The College of Osteopathic Medicine is pleased to announce that REDCap is now available to COM faculty, staff, and students. Hosted securely by SHSU IT, REDCap is a powerful web-based platform for collecting, managing, and storing research and clinical study data.

Whether you're administering a simple survey or managing a complex longitudinal or multi-site research project, REDCap provides secure, customizable tools for data collection, participant management, electronic consent, automated communications, and more. The platform supports compliance with major research data security and privacy standards, including HIPAA and GDPR.

Key Features & Capabilities:

• Advanced Research Support: Longitudinal and multi-site project configurations.

• Electronic Consent: Streamlined e-Consent for research participation. 

• EHR Integration: Clinical Data Interoperability Services for seamless connection to health record systems. 

• Randomization: Statistically sound techniques for clinical trials. 

• Automated Outreach: Survey invitations via email, SMS, and automatic alerts.

• Participant Incentives: Integrated eRewards (Tango) gift card compensation. 

• Project Portability: Tools to migrate or share projects between institutions. 

• Accessibility Features: Built-in features including descriptive popups, text-to-speech, text resizing, keyboard navigation, and multi-language management.

Get Started: The COM Research Team is currently building a library of user resources. Please visit the links below to learn more and access the SHSU REDCap User Documents at REDCap Central.

• SHSU REDCap Central: redcap.link/redcapcentral 

• Project REDCap Info: project-redcap.org 

SHSU is now a participating institution in ResearchMatch, a free, secure, NIH-funded participant recruitment platform designed to connect researchers with individuals interested in volunteering for health-related research studies.

With a nationwide registry of more than 120,000 volunteers, ResearchMatch helps investigators identify potential participants whose interests and eligibility align with their research. The platform is available to support a wide range of health-related studies and can help streamline participant recruitment while expanding the reach of your research.

Faculty and staff conducting health-related research are encouraged to explore the platform and determine whether it may be a valuable resource for their current or future projects.

Learn more and create an account at: https://www.researchmatch.org/

July 14, July 22, & July 30 | Virtual

Faculty and staff involved in clinical research are invited to participate in a virtual training series designed to help academic medical centers meet federal requirements for registering clinical studies and reporting results on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Specialists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will address frequently asked questions regarding regulatory obligations and the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (PRS).

The training begins with a required pre-recorded video that participants can complete at their own pace before registering for any of the live panel sessions. After completing the on-demand training, participants are encouraged to submit questions for the expert panel to address during the live sessions. The discussions are designed to build upon the pre-recorded content and provide practical guidance for registering clinical studies, reporting results, and meeting federal data transparency requirements.

Live panel sessions will be held on:

• Tuesday, July 14

• Wednesday, July 22

• Thursday, July 30

Complete the pre-recorded training and register for one or more live sessions to gain practical information for sharing clinical trial information with the public accurately and on time.

(L-R) Miranda Rose, Lucie Burkett, Jill Myers, John Brome, Kathy Allen, Colton Gates, Chris Alicea, Jenny Babcock, Maribeth Start (not pictured)

Following the launch of Cayuse Fund Manager, the Controller’s Office will soon share upcoming training opportunities and demonstrations to help faculty and staff navigate the new system. Be on the lookout for updates! 

Incentive Pay - Fall 2026

The Incentive Pay Compensation Program continues to grow in both popularity and participation, helping attract and retain active researchers while encouraging new faculty to pursue sponsored research opportunities.

If your grant budget includes a research buyout, please notify Kathy Allen by August 1, 2026 to participate in the Fall 2026 Incentive Pay Program. This deadline allows sufficient time to ensure payouts are calculated accurately. Fall semester incentive payments will be issued in February 2027.

Program Codes – Why They Matter

If you've submitted an EPAF, BearKat Buy request, or Chrome River reimbursement, you may have been asked to update the program code.

While many assume all grants fall under Program Code 20 – Research, that's not always the case. Depending on the nature of the project, grants may instead be classified as 30 – Public Support or 40 – Academic Support. Each award is assigned a default program code that has been established and reviewed by ORSP and ORA. Using the correct program code is essential for maintaining budget accuracy, ensuring proper financial reporting, and meeting state and federal reporting requirements.

Cayuse Fund Manager

Cayuse Fund Manager is now up and running. ORA is working with Human Resources to offer training through Talent Management, with additional in-person training opportunities coming soon.

What's Happening in ORA?

During June, the Office of Research Administration:

• Established 9 new awards

• Held 8 award kick-off meetings

• Processed 21 award modifications, including:

- 13 No-Cost Extensions

- 3 New or Increased Funding modifications

- 1 PI Change

- 1 Administrative Revision

- 3 Budget Revisions

• Received 42 payments totaling $761,936.70

• Submitted 56 invoices/drawdowns totaling $1,401,705.12

Reminder: The deadline is August 1, 2026, to contact kathyallen@shsu.edu and let her know that you will be participating in the Incentive Pay Program

As always, our office is support your research. Reach out if you have any questions!

Innovative ideas often begin as a simple insight, teaching tool, or “what if?” moment. If you have an idea, no matter how early, we encourage you to submit an intellectual property disclosure to ORSP.

Submitting a disclosure is confidential and does not commit you to patenting or commercialization. It simply allows ORSP to help explore whether your idea could be protected and provide guidance before publishing or presenting.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Jonathan Thomas.

Explore our Opportunities Spotlight, a curated database of grant opportunities to support your research and projects. Stay ahead with the latest funding calls and find the right fit for your work.

Updated weekly—because the best funding matches keep rolling in!

Find it anytime in our Find Funding page.

SHSU Grant Activity as of June 2026

FY26 (YTD)

214 Proposals submitted for $117,799,808

65 Proposals awarded for $20,450,574

FY25 (YTD)

180 Proposals submitted for $108,447,171

45 Proposals awarded for $10,804,363

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate in a pilot study evaluating the SAFER AI™ Academic Transparency Template, an initiative led by Dr. Lola Longe, Lecturer of Practice in Practical AI & Intelligent Automation at Sam Houston Polytechnic College.

The study seeks anonymous feedback on the template's clarity, usability, and educational value. Participants are asked to review the Student AI Use Declaration Template and complete a brief survey to help improve the resource for academic use. Participation is voluntary, and feedback will contribute to refining the template for broader implementation.

To participate, scan the QR code on the flyer or visit the survey using the link provided. For questions, contact Dr. Lola Longe at txl054@shsu.edu.

SHSU students are encouraged to participate in a brief survey exploring how artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, are being used in college coursework. Feedback from this survey may help inform future classroom practices and course design related to AI use at SHSU.

• Takes approximately 10 minutes

• Participants must be 18+ and currently enrolled at SHSU

• Responses are anonymous and confidential

Explore our collection of webinars, trainings, templates, and other tools to support your research. We’re committed to continuous improvement, so feel free to share any feedback or suggestions for new resources.

Our team is always accessible, and ready to support you at any stage of your research endeavors.

If you are still in the ideation stage or looking for funding opportunities, reach out to our Research and Proposal Development team.

If you have already identified a grant and are ready to begin developing your proposal, please submit a Pre-Proposal Notification (PPN) form, and our team will reach out to assist.

Do you have a project, event, or success story you'd like to share with the SHSU community? We're always looking to highlight the incredible work happening across campus. Submit a content request form and your story could be featured in our next newsletter!

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