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.

✎ FERPA, PPRA, and HIPAA for Researchers
Wednesday, April 14, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Jullie Slayton
Director of the Office for Protection of Research Subjects
USC Office of Research

RoseAnn Fleming
Associate Director of USC Institutional Review Board

If you are conducting research in K-12 or higher educational environments and you plan on accessing student records or you are conducting research involving patients’ medical records, this is an essential CER for you. There are substantive differences between what you are allowed to access as a teacher, faculty member, administrator, or clinician and what you are allowed to access as a researcher. Join us to learn the differences and how to make sure you are abiding by federal laws and regulations!

$ 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
Thursday, April 29, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Heidi Smith Parker
Grant Strategist
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Dieuwertje Kast
Director of STEM Education Programs
Joint Educational Project
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Katie Mills
Co-Director
K-12 STEM Center
USC Viterbi School of Engineering

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.