MONTHLY NEWSLETTER – AUGUST 2025
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back to a new academic year!
While research and innovation at USC thrive year-round, the fall semester brings a renewed sense of energy as our campuses fill with students, fresh ideas, and opportunities for collaboration. It is an inspiring time to recommit to advancing discoveries, scholarship, and entrepreneurial ventures.
This month’s newsletter reflects that spirit. Inside, you’ll find opportunities to engage with new funding initiatives, explore innovation and entrepreneurship resources, and stay up to date on compliance and training. You’ll also see highlights of the work from our research support teams, along with upcoming ways to connect with programs that strengthen USC’s research and innovation ecosystem.
We look forward to partnering with you in making this another impactful and productive year.
Warm regards, Ishwar K. Puri
Senior Vice President, Research & Innovation and Professor
FACULTY ENGAGEMENT:
OORI Funding: Thank you to those who submitted proposal applications to the Ming Hsieh program. The 16 applications received are currently under review. A final decision is scheduled for the end of August.
Center for Excellence in Research: We’re looking for volunteers to teach a one to two-hour workshop via Zoom this fall on topics such as research resources/methods, professional development, grant writing, etc. Do you want to help researchers learn new skills? Or do you have a suggestion for a workshop? Submit a proposal and we’ll get back to you soon. To be updated about upcoming workshops, please visit our website or join our mailing list.
RESEARCH STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT:
NSF Launches New Funding Opportunities to Advance AI Education
The National Science Foundation has announced new initiatives to expand AI education at the K-12 and high school levels. Opportunities include supplemental funding for existing NSF projects to scale AI literacy programs, new efforts to support high school courses and certifications, and a program solicitation for research on how AI can transform STEM teaching and learning. Learn more here.
USC Techstars University Catalyst Program Launching Soon
The USC Techstars University Catalyst Program will be kicking off shortly, with the first cohort of selected companies now being finalized. We look forward to announcing the participants soon—congratulations to these teams on their selection! This program provides USC-affiliated startups with mentorship, entrepreneurial training, and access to the global Techstars network, helping founders accelerate their ideas into scalable, impactful ventures.
USC Techstars Accelerator – Applications Open August 25
Applications for the second annual USC & Techstars Accelerator open August 25! This 13week, in-person program kicks off in March 2026 and includes a $220K equity investment. Open to pre-seed and seed-stage companies with at least one USC-affiliated founder, the accelerator is industry agnostic but will place particular emphasis on startups in biosciences, health, AI, fintech, deep tech, physical sciences, robotics & autonomy, media & entertainment tech, and EdTech. Participants will receive intensive mentorship, investment opportunities, and connections to the global Techstars network. Stay tuned for details on how to apply, and don’t miss our upcoming virtual Q&A and in-person campus info sessions this fall (dates TBA). Follow the USC & Techstars Partnership on LinkedIn and USC’s Innovation Ecosystem website for the latest updates.
DEPARTMENT OF CONTRACTS & GRANTS: The Department of Contracts and Grants would like to remind USC researchers that NIH has issued NOT-OD-25-133, outlining a new research security training requirement for all Senior/Key Personnel. This includes the requirement to disclose all research activities and affiliations (active and pending) in Other Support (see Other Support Form). These changes impact all NIH-funded proposals and awards and are effective October 1, 2025.
If you also have NSF or Department of Energy funding and have already completed the USC Research Security Training, this training satisfies the NIH training requirement as well.
Key Updates Include:
- Research Security Training Must be Completed by Oct. 1, 2025
- All parties listed as senior/key personnel must complete research security training within 12 months prior to proposal submission.
- To fulfill this requirement, the Office of Culture Ethics and Compliance (OCEC) has added a 70-minute course entitled “Research Security Training” that is now available through Trojan Learn. If you are currently identified as a PI or Co-PI on an NIH award, please expect a notification from Trojan Learn assigning the course to you. For general information regarding the Research Security Training course, please visit this link.
Action Required by USC Faculty and Research Admins with NIH Funding:
For any USC Faculty or Staff with current NIH Funding or who expect to submit proposal to NIH, it will be important to:
- Disclose and retain documentation for all foreign appointments and current/pending support.
- Ensure Senior/Key Personnel complete the approved Research Security Training in TrojanLearn.
Federal Directives
As a reminder, USC’s DCG Federal Directives page offers a central hub where research teams can stay up to date on the latest executive orders and agency directives—complete with campuswide communications, university guidance, and practical “what-you-should-do” checklists to help manage proposals and awards through shifting funding landscapes.
Recent Microlearnings:
The Microlearnings provides bi-weekly training designed to deliver concise, focused sessions on core research administration topics. Please check out our complete listing of training on our DCG training website.
STEVENS CENTER FOR INNOVATION: We have successfully mapped and migrated all the data in our previous platform, Sophia, into our new database, Inteum’s Minuet. As part of this transition, we launched a new inventor portal that streamlines the collection of information needed to evaluate inventions and facilitate timely government reporting. We have made great strides in clearing our government reporting backlog and are committed to maintaining compliance going forward. This phase is particularly important as the government is increasing its scrutiny on Bayh-Dole compliance and actively negotiating with universities that may be out of step. We will continue to treat this responsibility with the utmost care.
The next phase of our Inteum implementation focuses on increasing efficiency through greater automation. This involves integration with Workday and other outside vendors in addition to setting up core processes such as patent docketing, government reporting, and tracking of agreement financials (i.e., money owed and received). Phase two will continue through at least the end of the year, and we will keep you updated on our progress. We appreciate your patience as we strengthen these systems.
One area that remains backlogged is distributions. The migration to Minuet was a necessary first step, as the system offers stronger financial tracking and data integrity. With this foundation in place, we’re auditing the records now. We have engaged consultants to help us audit agreements and work through the distributions backlog, which consists of the most difficult-to-calculate and long-standing cases. Our plan is to prioritize straightforward distributions first and to move through the remainder systematically. We have a goal of completing the backlog in 3-6 months. We continue to hold weekly office hours on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 am via Zoom (link) and welcome questions about Minuet, patenting, or licensing. Thanks for your patience as we upgraded to Minuet!
The USC Stevens licensing team focusing on physical sciences will be attending the second annual SoCal Deep Tech Symposium produced by The Alliance for SoCal Innovation. Our Director of Technology Licensing, Rose Kiser, will be attending with Emily Morgan and Veronica Reynolds. The event will connect with top minds, explore the technologies and economic conditions driving the future of deep tech industries, and the opportunities and challenges of commercializing deep tech innovations in sectors such as Aerospace & Defense, Advanced Manufacturing, Autonomous Mobility, Robotics, and Cleantech.
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL RESOURCES: Sustainability is in action at DAR, where we are solving several problems such as water wastage, space constraints, and ergonomic challenges, by upgrading the caging and rack systems in HNB by 9/30. Users were given an info session on 8/14 to ask questions and provide feedback. Specific information regarding timeline and types of upgrades are posted in the facility. Future equipment upgrades are envisioned for similar types of facilities in the coming years.
Think about importing animals? Please visit our updated website as we have clarified the list of approved vendors and what pathogens are excluded in our facilities. DAR takes pride in remaining pathogen free for several years and our veterinarians take special precautions to ensure there are no breaches through quarantine. Although quarantine is a service, we provide to support research, it is an outdated practice. Since we aim to provide the highest standards in animal care and use, we recommend rodent embryo and sperm rederivation services through an approved vendor, whenever receiving animals from other institutions. Not only is the pathogen status guaranteed, resulting in immediate housing and use, but Charles River also offers USC special discounts. Contact dartrans@med.usc.edu if you’d like to know more.
You are invited to a Lunch and Learn Event on Rederivation and Cryopreservation on 9/17 at 11am. Look out for the flier for RSVP details and location.
We continue to review our services to ensure accurate cost structures while maintaining the health and welfare of the animals.
- Direct charge for Pink Sticker services can be requested via AOPS ο A recent Istar message was sent out about this to all animal users
- Shoe Covers will phase out; evidence does not support their use for preventing the spread of rodent pathogens
- Limit printing of reserve cage cards
More information, including what you can do, can be found at dar.usc.edu.
HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION PROGRAM:
Time to Approval: Current staffing shortages in the Social-Behavioral and Reliance teams have affected wait times for IRB review. While this may not be completely addressed, we have been cleared to hire and expect to see some relief this fall. Due to the current staffing shortfall, we are temporarily suspending our commitment to review simple amendments within 3 days. The volume of work that the staff has is making this obligation difficult under the current circumstances. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Please do remember that quality of submission remains the single greatest factor in review time. To help minimize delays, researchers should:
· Use the most up-to-date application templates. These have been recently revised to align with changes at the Federal, State, and local levels.
· Ensure all questions are answered thoroughly and accurately.
We regularly update our website to provide the latest guidance and resources. These updates reflect our commitment to accountability, community, and transparent communication.
Quality Improvement/Post Approval Monitoring: We are beginning a new QIU/PAM program and will be introducing several new initiatives this fall to help assess and improve quality within the HRPP and research compliance. For Post Approval Monitoring, building relationships and trust with investigators will be the first step to establishing a robust partnership with research teams to help prevent and rectify issues before they become problems. If problems occur, we are dedicated to help devise plans to address identified issues and prevent future ones.
Education: We have developed new guidance for IRB members (with their input). The intent is to establish clear expectations for the content of IRB member reviews and provide guidance on what to highlight during a committee meeting. These are designed to help streamline reviews while maintaining consistency and quality. Further, new checklists are being developed to remind reviewers of regulatory requirements that are applicable to a study. Lastly, we will also be developing IRB analyst educational materials to cross train and develop resiliency in the HRPP so that we can adapt to changing research funding landscape.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY:
Safety Fair
Join us at an upcoming Safety Fair to participate in hands-on fire extinguisher demos, meet
EH&S team members, and to gather essential safety and disaster preparedness information.
| University Park Campus (UPC) Event Details When: Wed, Sep 17 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Where: Hahn Plaza | Health Sciences Campus (HSC) Event Details When: Wed, Sep 24 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Where: Pappas Quad |
Chikungunya Health Alert: The CDC has issued travel health notices regarding the Chikungunya virus. Chikungunya is a viral disease contracted from the bite of an infected mosquito. EH&S has composed this HealthAlert to advise on the risks, symptoms, and best practices for preventing the disease.
Heat Illness: As summer temperatures remain high, it’s crucial that both supervisors and employees know how to recognize and prevent heat-related illness, even indoors! Stay hydrated, take breaks in cool areas, and know the signs of heat-related illness. Read more about heat illness on the EH&S Heat Illness Prevention Program webpage.