Developing Your Idea

Help with Study Design and Feasibility

For consultation on study ideas, study design and feasibility, finding participants, determining sample size, and other aspects of study startup, contact Dr. Cash.

How to Conduct a Literature Search

Library Resources

Databases: Access the library databases page for research and clinical resources.

• DynaMed - brief evidence-based clinical summaries. Search by specialty, symptom, diagnosis or keyword.
• Embase - medical literature database with highly customizable search capabilities.
• Essential Evidence Plus - evidence-based point-of-care clinical decision support database

For assistance with library resources or to request a literature search, contact our Department Librarian Jess Petrey.

Department Research Areas

Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

Jeffrey Bumpous, MD
Acellular dermis in facial reconstruction, facial paralysis and rehabilitation.

Ziad Katrib, MD
Functional and cosmetic rhinoplasty, Mohs reconstruction, facial trauma surgery, reconstructive and cosmetic eyelid surgery, aging face and nonsurgical facial rejuvenation.

Jarrod Little, MD
Aesthetic facial and body rejuvenation, facial nerve disorders, and development of novel methods of critical care.

Paul Tennant, MD
Nutritional factors associated with head and neck reconstructive procedures, early mobilization strategies in head and neck reconstruction.

Head & Neck Cancer

Jeffrey Bumpous, MD
Quality of life outcomes in the treatment of head and neck cancer, and microvessel density/angiogenesis as predictors of outcome in head and neck cancer.

Liz Cash, PhD
Psychosocial factors, circadian and endocrine rhythm disruption, inflammation, and how these processes influence tumor progression, response to treatment, and head and neck cancer survival.

Ziad Katrib, MD
Head and neck cancer ablation and reconstruction, Mohs reconstruction, facial trauma surgery.

Hearing Sciences

Hammam AlMakadma, PhD, AuD
Investigation of new and improved audiological tests for clinical use; refinement of wideband acoustic immittance measurements for improved diagnostic applications in adult otological cases and in pediatric practice

Jerry Lin, MD
Hearing loss and clinical outcomes of pediatric and adult cochlear implantation

Shae Morgan, PhD, AuD
Hearing impacts on social judgments of others (e.g., assessing someone’s emotional state, confidence, gender, etc. based on what we hear); clinical audiology innovation (clinical audiology simulation, automated audiometry, new treatments for otitis media, etc.)

Pavel Zahorik, PhD
Sound localization and spatial hearing; perception of sound source distance, contributions of echoes and reverberation to percepts of source direction and distance; effects of adaptation, training, and input from other sensory modalities on spatial hearing.

Voice, Airway & Swallowing

Swapna Chandran, MD
Pediatric and adult voice, outcomes data in voice.

Suzanne King, PhD
Pathophysiology of upper aerodigestive tract injuries to improve treatment for voice and swallowing disorders; how peripheral injuries in the upper airway impair muscle function, and how do these injuries modulate motor and sensory pathways involved in swallowing, voice, and airway protection.

Teresa Pitts, PhD
Co-existence of disordered swallow and cough in Parkinson’s disease; developing a model of airway protection including dysphagia (disorder of swallow) and dystussia (disorder of cough) for testing of novel therapies to extend the quality-of-life of persons living with neuromuscular diseases.

Alan Smith, EdD
Neurogenic communication disorders with an emphasis on traumatic brain injury.

Vicki Owczarzak, MD
Surgical management of the pediatric airway.

To Find Other Local Collaborators:

• Louisville Scholar Database. Departments provide annual publication records to allow researchers to find project collaborators at UofL. Search by keyword, lsat name, or title.
• UofL CORE labs are shared biomedical and engineering facilities designed for collaborative research.

To Find Other National Collaborators:

To find individuals conducting studies in your area of interest, or to get an idea of what NIH is funding, search the NIH RePORTER database or Grantome database.

Writing a Research Protocol

For consultation on study ideas, assistance in designing your study, developing the required sections of your protocol, and writing analytic plans, contact Dr. Cash.

Help Obtaining IRB Approval For Your Study

For assistance with getting your research protocol and associated forms approved by IRB, contact our Research Coordinator, Christy Albert.

All studies conducted at UofL must receive institutional approval from the Human Subjects Protection Program Office prior to beginning data collection. Before preparing a submission, review the helpful info on the HSPPO site. to see if your study qualifies as research, as well as instructions on submitting a protocol, consent forms etc.

The HSPPO holds monthly workshop/training sessions for students, faculty, and research staff who need assistance submitting an IRB protocol. If you are interested in attending a session, please RSVP to their service email account at hsppofc@louisville.edu.

Time: 9am-12pm
Location: Med Center One, Suite 200

IRB Template forms are available for research protocols, consent forms, waivers, etc.

All studies are submitted through the iRIS submission site. For more detailed instructions, see the tutorials on the HSPPO site.

Help with Study Design and Statistics

For help writing your proposed statistical analysis, methods or results; statistics consultation; and data analysis, department Research Director Liz Cash is available to assist with studies. Contact Dr. Cash.

Another resource, the Statistical Consulting Center, is located in the School of Public Health. Contact SCS.

Help with Subject Recruitment and Data Collection 

Departmental studies recruiting participants from our clinical locations may benefit from the support of our Research Coordinator, Christy Albert.

Data Management Resources

Our department maintains a secure SharePoint site to allow for online storage of PHI and study data that complies with HIPAA, IRB, and University regulations. To request access to the site or have a study space set up for your project, contact Dr. Cash.

Access Sharepoint. Login required; enter your UL username with the Active Directory prefix: ad/jndean01

Participant Compensation

Swift Prepaid Cards

University policy requires study participant compensation be made using pre-paid Visa cards. Cards must be ordered through the Controller's Office. Two members of the study team must sign the form. Cards cost $1.75 ea, and expire after 3 months.

Instructions and FAQs.

Order Form

Load Swift Cards

Finding Funding Announcements

Our department maintains a funding opportunities spreadsheet to help investigators identify appropriate mechanisms based on career stage, training background, position, and project scope. If you have suggestions, comments or questions please let us know!

For more searchable funding resources, see the Sponsored Programs Administration page.

Internal - EVPRI Grants Program

Internal grants are available through the EVPRI's internal grants program. These grants are open to faculty on Belknap and HSC campuses. Several programs exist for specific project needs. Awards range from $3000 to $10,000 for a one-year funding period.

Submission deadlines are typically in the Fall and Spring semesters.

Apply

Internal - School of Medicine Grants Program

The School of Medicine Basic Grant Program is designed to provide initial support to junior faculty to establish a research program or to established faculty who would like to pursue new areas of investigation. Funds are limited and priority will be given to junior faculty. The maximum award is $25,000 and the period of support is one year.

Submission Dates: July 1, October 1, January 1, April 1

Apply

External - NIH/Federal Funding Announcements

NIH funding announcements are comprehensively listed on Grants.gov, where many resources and instructions are available. Announcements can also be accessed on the websites of the individual focus agencies.

Learn How To Write a Grant

Orientation & Training

• Review this eight-part ASHA-sponsored series on writing your first grant.
• Take the PI readiness assessment.
• NIH provides a downloadable podcast called All About Grants that covers the application process, preparation and submission.
• The NORDP organization provides a very helpful resource on navigating every aspect of NIH, including avoiding common mistakes and FAQs.

Budget Resources & Administrative Forms

UofL Offices for Grants Support

Our department is supported by the HSC Research Office for submission of NIH grants. The HSCRO will facilitate budgeting, formatting, forms, routing for institutional approval and signatures, and submitting to NIH through eRa commons. To request HSCRO assistance with your submission, email the HSCRO service account (hscro@louisville.edu) and Anne Noe (anne.noe@louisville.edu).

The School of Medicine Research Committee offers an NIH-style review of proposals (complete package) up to 6 weeks in advance of a deadline. The committee will review prior submissions to NIH that were unscored/unreviewed to offer feedback for improvement. To submit a request, contact Anne Noe (anne.noe@louisville.edu).

Navigating NIH Pre-Submission Items and Administration

• All individuals listed as investigators on any NIH submission will require an eRA Commons login and account. Get an account.
• All individuals who require a biosketch will need to link to their Pubmed bibliography. Set up your account.
• Once an appropriate funding announcement is identified, contact the Program Officer for the institution (listed on the PA) to discuss ideas, get advice, and get permission for submission. More advice on speaking with Program Officers.

Application Submission to NIH and Foundation Grants

• NIH R-grants are submitted by the HSCRO into iRIS. Once the PI reviews and approves the submission, the Office of Grants Management reviews and uploads the submission into eRA Commons.
• Other NIH grants are submitted using ASSIST. See the introduction to ASSIST.
• Applications are typically due 5pm local investigator time in the fall, spring, and summer according to standard NIH deadlines and due dates. Plan to have your application complete and ready for submission 5 business days before the deadline.
• Many foundation grants use the Proposal Central system for application housing and submission. Create an account.

Revision & Resubmission

• Tips for how to respond to reviewers.

Post-Award Management

See these instructions on setting up a new award.

Internal resources and instructions are available from the Sponsored Programs Administration office for budget management, reporting requirements, UofL policies & procedures, extension requests, as well as closing an award. More closeout forms and documentation are available here.

For nondisclosure agreements, contracting, intellectual property including patentable or commercializable products, contact the appropriate EVPRI office.

Department Financial Support

The Shared Services Office can assist with payroll management, speedtype reconciliation, and budget spending validity. Contact Heath Harmon for further questions and training.

Shared Services Contacts

For Reconciliation statements or University Transfers:
HSC Shared Services Finance,Service Account hscssfin@exchange.louisville.edu

For personnel matters (putting staff on grants, etc):
HSC Shared Services HR,Service Account hscssc@exchange.louisville.edu

For procurement of equipment and supplies:
HSC Shared Services Purchasing,Service Account hscsspur@exchange.louisville.edu

Recruitment & Data Collection

Funded studies may be able to utilize participant recruiting and consenting support through the Clinical Trials Unit.

Departmental studies recruiting participants from our clinical locations may benefit from the support of our Research Coordinator, Christy Albert.

Participant Compensation

Swift Cards

University policy requires study participant compensation be made using pre-paid Visa cards. Cards must be ordered through the Controller's Office. Two members of the study team must sign the form. Cards cost $1.75 ea, and expire after 3 months.

Instructions and FAQs.

Order Form

Load Swift Cards

Department Authorship Guidelines

For every publication or presentation, all authors should:

1. Make substantial contributions to:
   - Conception and design 
   - Acquisition of data, or 
   - Analysis and interpretation of data
2. Draft the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
3. Give final approval of the version to be published
4. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Each author must meet ALL FOUR conditions. Contributors who do not qualify as authors should be listed under “Acknowledgments,” with their particular contribution described.

Authorship determinations are based on criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Posters & Presentations

Creating and Printing a Research Poster

IT provides UofL branded research poster templates here and here. Podium slide presentation templates are available here.

See the instructions for poster printing. Full color posters typically cost $5 per square foot.

Downloadable UofL logos and images.

Manuscript Development and Writing Resources

Purdue University provides an Online Writing Lab with helpful writing, organization and formatting tips. Purdue OWL.

Download free Endnote referencing software.