I want to make sure you know that the due dates for internal research competitions have changed (been extended, see below) and also make sure you all are aware of research procedures to be followed presently.

Human Subjects Contact Request Process. If you have reason to petition to continue your contact with human subjects or continued work on lab-based research at UTSA, you can petition to do so. Read more below.

The Office of Research, Economic Development and Knowledge Enterprise is regularly posting notices from federal agencies on conducting research. Additionally, the office has a FAQ to assist with continuity and management of research operations.

To reduce health risk for all researchers in the Roadrunner community during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, each principal investigator (PI) or group leader of a laboratory research program (experimental, computational or otherwise) is being asked to discontinue campus laboratory research activities, with the expectation that suspended lab access will likely last at least six to eight weeks. However, PIs may request a shut-down exemption for essential research activities only. To be designated as essential, the research activities must meet one or more specific criteria. These criteria and the Exemption Request submission portal are available here:

Dr. Bonner and I will be reaching out to individual faculty about their projects as we learn more about accommodations specific funders are allowing. One suggestion I have is for faculty with sponsored projects, who are wondering what they can do to extend their studies (using just existing, planned funds) to complete the work they planned for this spring during next Fall, (now that data collection this semester may be shut down for those doing in vivo and face-to-face data collection). You may want to look at the balances on your fringe accounts and see whether there will be remaining funds that would support extensions of research projects in terms of paying for time needed to finish their work for PI Course Buyouts of GRA stipends. Other options may be suggested by specific funders in the coming weeks, including support or extension options provided by funders; and as we learn about these we will make that information available to those affected.

Michael J. Karcher, Ed.D., Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research
Professor of Educational Psychology
College of Education and Human Development
University of Texas at San Antonio
501 Cesar Chavez Blvd., Suite DB 4.337 (DT); MB 3.304D (Main Campus, COEHD Dean’s Suite)
San Antonio, TX 78207
(210) 458-2032; 458-2650 (department)
michael.karcher@utsa.edu