FEBRUARY 6, 2026

Dear Colleagues, 

I hope the new semester is off to a good start for all of you. As researchers, we continue to face a rollercoaster, albeit a bit more of a predictable rollercoaster. We still see occasional research award terminations (the most recent of which, fortunately, were quickly reinstated), threats of a government shutdown (also fortunately averted), extraordinary requests from federal agencies for information, and concerns about federal agencies rescinding unspent research funds.  

The OVPR is working around the clock to quickly and thoroughly respond to these challenges in partnership with UConn leadership, Governmental Relations, the state, our federal team in Washington, our Congressional delegation, and our research investigators and administrators. Fortunately, we are also seeing positive signs from Congress in its efforts to limit the ability of the federal government to rapidly change the indirect cost recovery rates and to protect the research budgets of federal agencies (see Federal Update below for further information).  

While we clearly need to stay vigilant to protect our research enterprise, we also see the urgent need to provide support for critical expenses and strategic investments in new opportunities. We greatly appreciate your continued support and perseverance.  

The Future of Research Fund Allocations. Both UConn and UConn Health are facing budget constraints due to declining state support and continued volatility within the federal research climate. These challenges reveal the urgent need for robust and adaptable mechanisms to align institutional research support with both institutional priorities and the actual costs of conducting research. Through their budgeting processes, both UConn and UConn Health are actively working through possible approaches to address these needs.  

At UConn, this year’s budget process involves the Budget Transformation Initiative (BTI), budget mitigation plan and the search for a new CFO. At UConn Health, the budget process involves the development of annual financial improvement plans by UCH budget offices and senior leadership. These initiatives are moving UConn toward a more efficient, equitable, and transparent budget system that allows units at all levels to better predict and plan for expenses and opportunities.  

Our previous model of distributing institutional dollars based on a percentage of indirect costs (“10/10/10” or “7/7/7”) reimbursed without regard to where costs were being incurred is not sustainable in an environment where we have declining state and federal funding. This prior model also has fallen short as a mechanism for sustainably supporting UConn and UConn Health’s broad portfolio of research, scholarship, and creative work.  

The ultimate value of research lies in the knowledge it generates and the benefits that knowledge brings to the world. Researchers from across the University are succeeding in delivering that value in a myriad ways: discoveries in the lab, new technologies developed, interventions to improve health, innovations that transform education, community engagement and advocacy to improve the lives of others, scholarship and creative work that helps us to know who we are and inspires us to be our best selves. A system that values and invests in these activities based only on the amount of external funding they generated in the past can never sustainably support all facets of our public-serving mission. 

University leadership and the BTI Working Groups recognize that faculty and units incur costs to support their research, whether it’s maintaining labs or funding other expenses that cannot be charged to grants, which requires funding to cover these costs. Further, we recognize the need for an allocation of research funding to units to incentivize research aligned with each unit’s goals and with the University’s Strategic Plan. This allocation should be based on multiple metrics that can be prioritized by units, respecting discipline-specific values and priorities. Externally funded research and proposals will be among the metrics for many units, while others may include honorific awards and publications. A revenue allocation model that balances a consistent set of metrics with the recognition of unit-specific strengths and priorities will help ensure that the University aligns valuable research resources in an equitable and strategic manner. 

Indirect Cost Transfers 

For many reasons previously explained, the University paused the transfer of Storrs FY25 indirect cost (IDC) recoveries to units and investigators and limited the transfer of FY26 IDC recoveries only to investigators at a 5% return. We appreciate your patience and trust as we work to navigate the University’s budget challenges. At present, we are maintaining this strategy. Everyone recognizes the hardships this approach has created for many. These changes, along with many other sacrifices across the University, including hiring slowdowns (or relative freezes in some areas), have allowed the University to reduce its projected deficit and avoid widespread job layoffs. Protecting our workforce as much as possible has been a consistent priority for the University. We continue to monitor the state and federal funding landscapes. We are also looking forward to seeing the recommendations of the Budget Transformation Initiative's working groups and this year’s financial improvement plans at UConn Health. 

Covering Research Needs Through Units 

We know that everyone, including the OVPR, is anxious for stability. For now, the University needs everyone to work through existing structures to address critical research expenses. Investigators with critical research needs who are unable to address their needs with investigator funds are encouraged to work with their department heads and then deans to cover these expenses. Deans’ offices are encouraged to request funds held centrally in the OVPR to fund these expenses if local available balances are not sufficient. We all recognize this is not a long-term solution, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we navigate these transitions. 

Emergency Grant Programs  

Last spring, we launched the EMERGE program to address unexpected research expenses due to changes in the federal research landscape. The EMERGE program has been led by a rotating committee of university research deans and center/institute directors together with the OVPR team. This committee structure has given the group the perspective needed to carefully evaluate the circumstances of each application and ensure that limited University resources are directed to areas with significant opportunity for future funding and impact. This program has successfully dispersed $1,176,323 to research programs across the University (CAHNR: $243,758, COE: $125,403, CLAS: $323,706, NEAG: $427,805, SOM: $13,796, PHARM: $41,854). As the past couple of weeks have shown us, we need to continue having this program available to investigators.  

New Emergency Grant Program (EMERGE Phase 3)  

The EMERGE committee and many investigators have strongly advocated for a more traditional emergency bridge grant program to complement EMERGE. We are finalizing the details regarding what we are calling “EMERGE Phase 3” and anticipate it will be available for investigators by the end of February 2026. Deploying this emergency grant program from central resources facilitates the University’s ability to maintain sufficient funds for this need while avoiding having multiple “savings” accounts throughout the University.  

Investments in our Future 

Technology Infrastructure. We recognize there are substantial deficits in our research administration systems that are creating unnecessary burden on investigators and the staff supporting our vital work. These deficits span IRB, IACUC, proposal submissions, and many other areas of the research infrastructure. I’ve heard it said that “we are using operating systems from the 1900s to support our research,” including using paper for many processes. This is unfortunately true in many cases. Working with UConn leadership to address these problems, we will seek to improve the researcher and staff experience when using essential tools, avoid unnecessary duplication and manual input, provide more timely reviews and better integration between policies and processes, reduce institutional risks, and strengthen our ability to support research across the University into the future. 

Seed Grants. The University’s research seed grant programs have been, quite understandably, very popular with faculty. And our data show that they are quite effective for supporting and growing research. Seed grants have produced returns on investment of 10:1 or greater when comparing external funding levels before and after awards. Recent surveys of faculty participants in internal funding programs have also shown that those funded overwhelmingly agree that seed grants have made a positive impact on their competitiveness for external funding, on their ability to build/strengthen collaborations, and the collection of important preliminary data. Failing to invest in these types of programs jeopardizes the University’s future research and scholarship. While our research community would benefit from a re-launch of our traditional seed grant programs, we are currently unable to support all of these mechanisms. We will revisit reinstating paused programs over the next several months as we monitor the University’s budget as well as the State's appropriation process and the federal research landscape. In the meantime, we believe the University still needs to make some strategic investments, so we will open the following programs: 

The Internal Funding team within Research Development Services will work with the Research Advisory Council (see Q&A below) to develop, refine and launch these programs, and we expect to have more to share later this month. 

Thank you for all you do,

Lindsay J. DiStefano, Ph.D., ATC, FNATA 

Interim Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship 

UConn | UConn Health 

Professor 

Department of Kinesiology 

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery 

Department of Public Health Sciences 

UConn’s Technology Commercialization Services (TCS) marked a series of significant achievements in last quarter of CY25, reinforcing its mission to translate university research into impactful commercial and societal outcomes through strategic licensing and partnerships. 

A key milestone was the execution of an umbrella license agreement led by Dr. Amit Kumar of TCS with a global leader in pharmaceutical testing. The agreement provides the company access to multiple technologies developed in Prof. Diane Burgess’ laboratory at UConn, streamlining the pathway for academic innovations to reach the marketplace. The most recent addition to this portfolio is a glass slide adapter for in vitro USP dissolution testing of in-situ forming drug products, supporting more efficient and reliable pharmaceutical development. 

TCS also advanced environmentally responsible innovation through the protection and commercialization of a novel ornamental plant developed by Dr. Yi Li. The patented sterile Euonymus alatus (burning bush) retains its signature vibrant red fall foliage while eliminating invasive spread through 100 percent sterility. With growing regulatory and consumer demand for sustainable landscaping solutions, TCS is working with BioFlora Inc. to pursue Canadian patent protection and conducting required trials. In parallel, Dr. Amit Kumar and Dr. Ana Fidantsef of TCS are collaborating with U.S. nurseries to evaluate the plant for commercial launch. 

In the life sciences, TCS continues to support faculty entrepreneurship. Dr. Chris Conners recently executed an option license enabling a faculty-founded startup led by Dr. Yusuf Khan and Dr. Lakshmi Nair to advance a long-lasting, non-opioid treatment for post-surgical pain. 

Additionally, Dr. Michael Invernale, PhD, facilitated collaboration with a multinational animal health manufacturer to advance a newly filed UConn invention by Professor Challa Kumar (Emeritus) and his team. The team has developed a novel, scalable method for creating and encapsulating mRNA-based vaccines suitable for multiple delivery formats. UConn and the company are jointly evaluating and scaling the technology through sponsored research at the Institute of Materials Science, with initial applications focused on poultry and expansion to other animal models underway.  

Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate TCS’s growing impact in bringing UConn innovation to market. 

In the last edition of The Abstract, we included an item celebrating the successful QuantumCT NSF site visit and recognizing the efforts of faculty and staff who have made significant contributions to the QuantumCT effort. We would like to add two names to that list – Brianna Demers and Tyler Justice, both of SPS Faculty Services. The development of the preliminary and full proposals would not have been possible without their dedicated and skillful support. 

Update on Federal Indirect Cost Policies 

The Senate passed the Labor/HHS/Education bill on January 20, 2026. Current IDC rates and policy have been maintained in each of the individual spending bills that govern their respective federal agency/agencies. Higher Education Institutions will advocate agency-by-agency for IDC protection in appropriation bills moving forward unless there is an interagency compromise.  

I know that many of you are aware of the cuts to Federal research dollars that were proposed in the administration’s FY26 budget. Thankfully, Congress has largely rejected those proposed cuts and has provided strong budget support for Federal agencies that fund research. 

This report from AAAS provides an excellent summary of how Federal research appropriations turned out.  Here are results for key research-funding agencies. 

As you can see, most agencies received budget allocations close to or exceeding FY25 funding levels. We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring the transfer of these funds to actual new awards, which have been slowed over the past several months.

Finally, as you’ve likely heard, the termination of nearly 3000 SAMHSA grants for substance use and mental health were quickly reversed by the Health Secretary after intense bipartisan pressure.

Last month we shared an online tool to allow you to quickly report any of these types of situations so that we can work with our federal delegation to pursue them, if possible. Please continue to share information about stalled proposals, as our representatives really want to help us. Some of our grant administrators are reporting upticks in grant movement from proposals submitted in late 2024 / early 2025, which is encouraging. 

*Reminder – please reach out to and/or copy Governmental Relations (govrel@uconn.edu) if you have an opportunity or need to meet with our federal or state delegation or staff.  This is vital for ensuring that everyone is aware of these important conversations, allowing coordination/support to be offered, avoiding unnecessary redundancy, and as a courtesy to elected officials. 

Please share questions and ideas using this short webform. We will answer a couple of questions here with each communication. 

Question: Last year OVPR launched several task forces to help shape responses to changes in federal research funding.  Will those groups continue to meet in 2026?  What outcomes have the task forces produced? 

Answer: In late 2024, the OVPR launched faculty and staff task forces to help the UConn community adapt to changes in federal funding policy. The topics and needs addressed included strategies for pivoting to new funding sources, potential impacts to research operations, and strategic messaging about the value of UConn and research.  Several project teams were launched to develop ideas with potential for high impact and feasibility.  Projects currently in progress include: 

These project teams will continue to meet in 2026 to complete their deliverables. 

Taskforce meetings also provided invaluable opportunities for faculty from across the University to engage with each other and with OVPR leadership. Recognizing the enduring value of this kind of collaborative forum, in 2026 the OVPR will transition these ad-hoc groups into a more formal structure by reestablishing the Research Advisory Council (RAC).  RAC membership will consist of successful faculty researchers from each school/college who do not currently have an administrative role. The group will meet regularly to discuss important issues facing UConn researchers (such as engaging with the BTI Research Working Group) and to provide advice and feedback to OVPR leadership.

Initial membership will be drawn from members of the existing task forces, augmented as needed to ensure broad representation. If you are interested in being involved in the RAC in the future, please email research@uconn.edu.

Human Research Protection Education & Outreach Program 

The UConn Human Research Protection Program and the UConn Health Human Subjects Protection Program are excited to announce the launch of a new Education & Outreach (E&O) Program, a collaborative, cross-campus initiative designed to support the research community. 

What is the E&O Program? 
The E&O Program aims to support researchers with the knowledge, tools, and personalized training and education needed to navigate human subjects research regulations. 

What does E&O Offer?

Learn More: 
Visit our new webpages to view information and upcoming offerings: 

UConn Storrs: https://ovpr.uconn.edu/services/rics/irb/education-outreach/  

UConn Health: https://ovpr.uchc.edu/services/rics/hspp/education-outreach/  

 
Submit a request through our new Training Request Form or reach out directly to our team at hrp-education@uconn.edu. 

Help Shape Future Education & Training Opportunities. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey below: 
Human Subjects Research Training Needs Survey – Fill out form 

Meet the E&O Team: 

In response to federal law and policy updates, the Office of the Vice President for Research has revised the University’s Policy on Alleged Misconduct in Research. This policy applies to all University of Connecticut campuses and UConn Health. 

In order to ensure the highest level of research integrity and prevent any possible perception of research misconduct: 

OVPR’s Research Development Services team is planning several events focused on early career grantseeking and the NSF CAREER funding opportunity for the spring semester. Here are our upcoming events: 

When we finalize dates for the upcoming events, we will email our listservs and post information on our Grantwriting Training Calendar. If you’re interested in past webinars we’ve offered, you can find the materials in our Resource Library with NetID login. Please email us at ovpr-rds@uconn.edu if you would like us to add you to our early career listserv! 

Please complete a brief survey to help guide our communications efforts.

 

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH

 

Whetten Graduate Center
438 Whitney Road Extension, Unit 1006
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1086
research.uconn.edu