When a trainee or fellow serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) on a research proposal, the following items/actions are important to keep in mind to ensure a smooth and successful proposal submission process:
- The trainee should have an identified faculty mentor for the proposed project.
- The trainee should work with the department research administrator and be guided to follow the school’s standard process for proposal preparation and submission, including following the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) processes.
- Department, School, and OSP internal deadlines should be followed.
- The trainee should have the appropriate access and role in sponsor systems (ex: National Institutes of Health (NIH) require mentors and fellows to have specific roles in eRA Commons).
- Compliance requirements and training courses should be completed and up to date, as applicable (ex: Conflict of Interest annual disclosure, research security training).
Trainees are welcomed and encouraged to participate in regularly offered OSP trainings to learn more about OSP teams and processes and to sign up for the OSP listserv to receive weekly communications.
FEDERAL AGENCY ROUNDUP
Updates from federal agencies for the week of 1/19/2026
- NIH released NOT-OD-26-028: NIH Policy on Research Involving Human Fetal Tissue.
- NIH released NOT-OD-26-026: NIH Requires Use of the eRA Prior Approval Module for the Submission of ALL Prior Approval Requests.
- NSF released a Policy Notice Supplement 2, which provides updates to the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), version 24-1 and supersedes the relevant financial assistance policies in version 1. NSF is also updating its Project Reporting and Public Access Repository (PAR) systems to align with NSF’s Gold Standard Science Implementation Plan.
- NSF announced an organizational realignment.
Stay up-to-date and informed by visiting the Pitt Research Executive Orders and Federal Funding website.