Training & CER Workshops

Research Training Finder

All investigators funded by an externally sponsored project must complete grants management training (as explained here). A search tool has been developed for USC faculty, PIs, postdocs, students, research staff and lab technicians: This Research Training Finder tool is a comprehensive matrix for training courses that are required and suggested for University research compliance.

Research-Related Events and Training

For upcoming research-related events and training, visit our Research Calendar. If you’d like to submit an event to the calendar, follow these instructions.

Navigating Research @ USC 2020

The Office of Research invites faculty, research staff, postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and graduate students to participate in two research forums (via Zoom):

USC Research During COVID-19
Wednesday, August 19, 1:00pm-4:00pm

This research forum will cover updates and guidance related to policies for research during COVID-19, including talks about USC Health, Environmental Health and Safety, Campus Access, Human Subjects & Field Research, Animal Research, Contracts & Grants, Core Facilities, and COVID-19 Funding Landscape & Opportunities.

See the full agenda. Take a look at the Q&A.

Presentations (login with your USC email):

Navigating Research @ USC
Thursday, August 20, 10:00am-12:10pm and 1:10pm-4:00pm

This research forum will cover campus-wide resources available to support research and scholarly work at USC. Topics will include research committees, core facilities, networking/mentorship, diversity, external and internal funding sources, grant proposal writing, grants management, research integrity & compliance, technology transfer, and research communication, among others.

See the full agenda. Take a look at the Q&A.

Presentations (login with your USC email):

Spring 2021 CER Schedule

Guide:
↔ Collaboration
$ Funding and Grant Writing
✪ Professional Development
✎ Research Resources/Methods

Each semester, the Center for Excellence in Research organizes workshops for USC researchers. These courses are designed to provide faculty, research staff, postdocs, PhD students and graduate students across all fields of study with specialized skills and knowledge in seeking funding from government, foundation, and corporate organizations as well as a variety of other topics.

Join our mailing list. For more information, contact us at usccer@usc.edu.

Do you have an idea for a Fall 2021 CER workshop? We’d love to hear from you.

✎ Understanding International Engagement Disclosure Requirements
Thursday, January 21, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

Daniel K. Shapiro
Assistant Vice President
Office of Compliance

Ben Bell
Assistant Director of Research Administration Compliance
Office of Compliance

While the university supports the widest range of research engagement and collaboration, international activities carry with them responsibilities that may not be readily apparent. The U.S. government as well as a range of federal sponsors have expressed growing concerns regarding inappropriate influence by external entities over federally-funded research and are requiring greater transparency from both institutions and faculty when it comes to their global engagements and affiliations. This training session is designed to inform faculty about their disclosure requirements to research sponsors and USC.

$ Strategies for a Mission Agency Young Investigator/Early Career Award
Thursday, January 28, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

James Murday
Director Of Physical Sciences
Office of Research Advancement

Mission agencies are federal agencies that support research as a means of furthering the agencies’ goals, such as securing national defense, addressing national energy challenges, etc. James Murday will provide tips on how to structure a successful proposal, approach program officers, the amount of funding available, guidance toward topic selection, and due dates.

$ Writing Compelling NSF Proposals
Thursday, February 4, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Paul Ronney
Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Viterbi

Arrrgh! My fantastic proposal was rejected! Why couldn’t those knuckleheads at NSF understand how brilliant my ideas are? Did they even read the proposal? Prof. Ronney has served on many NSF panels and has reviewed many well-written (and not-so-well-written) proposals. In this workshop he will help you understand how the review process at NSF and other funding agencies works and provide specific recommendations for increasing your chances of getting funded, including how to anticipate panel dynamics and tailor your proposal accordingly.

✎ Introduction to Advanced Research Computing Resources and Services
Wednesday, February 17, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

BD Kim
Director of High-Performance Computing
Information Technology Support Services

Nearly all scientific and engineering disciplines confront challenges in dealing with a vast amount of data or modeling complex processes across many scales. BD Kim will cover high-performance computing, cloud solutions, data workflow management, and other research computing related topics.

✎ Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Thursday, February 25, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Fikret Kirkbir
Manager of Intellectual Property Analysis and Assessment
Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering (AMI-USC)

In this introductory workshop, types of intellectual property (IP) such as utility patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and their differences will be presented. Pitfalls of the provisional patent application, which is a very frequently used IP route in the university setting, will be discussed. Strategies for patenting while submitting scientific articles will also be considered.

$ How to Obtain NIH Funding
Wednesday, March 3, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Steven Moldin
Executive Director of Research Advancement
Office of Research

The NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, investing more than $32 billion a year. Steve Moldin will review the NIH grant process — from conceptualizing your proposal to getting funded — as well as show you how to identify which institute to target, prepare for the review process, and build relationships with agencies.

$ Obtaining Funding from Foundations
Thursday, March 18, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Hossein Pourmand
Senior Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
University Advancement

There are thousands of charitable foundations around the world looking to fund research — the challenge is finding the right one for you. Learn from Hossein Pourmand how you can build a meaningful relationship with a foundation and the process, as well as resources available at USC to help you along the way.

✎ Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research on Organizations: Methods, Challenges, and Solutions
Thursday, March 25, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Howard Peter Greenwald
Professor
Sol Price School of Public Policy

The workshop will inform participants about qualitative and quantitative research approaches for building understanding of organizational leadership, change, conflict, reward systems, productivity, ethics, and other areas, in sectors including corporate, non-profit, government, health, volunteer, arts, and community advocacy.

$ Securing Corporate Funding for Your Research
Thursday, April 8, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Hossein Pourmand
Senior Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
University Advancement

In 2016, businesses provided $4.2 billion in academic research funding, largely directed toward life sciences and engineering. Hossein Pourmand will discuss the commercialization process and how the University Advancement can help you find a partner, negotiate a license, and market your product.

$ Writing Effective Specific Aims
Wednesday, April 21, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Robert J. Milner
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Professor of Clinical Neurology
Keck School of Medicine

Joan M. Lakoski
Director of Proposal Development
West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute

The Specific Aims page or its equivalent is the most important part of a grant application. This workshop will focus on the essential elements of a compelling Specific Aims page. In an interactive session, participants draft key components for their specific aims page with feedback from colleagues and the presenters.

$ Designing and Writing a Successful NSF Broader Impacts
Wednesday, April 28, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Heidi Smith Parker
Grant Strategist
Dornsife

Dieuwertje Kast
Director of STEM Education Programs
Joint Educational Project
Dornsife

Katie Mills
Co-Director
K-12 STEM Center
Viterbi

A great NSF Broader Impacts statement won’t strengthen a proposal with poor science, but a poor one can sink a proposal with good science. Heidi Smith Parker, Dieuwertje Kast and Katie Mills will teach you how to develop your statement with examples of creative strategies, a brainstorming session to help you develop your ideas, and an overview of resources at USC.