Research Administration

The mission of the Office of Research at Baylor College of Dentistry is to provide support and facilitate the conduct of and training in research in the biomedical, clinical, and public health sciences for faculty and students.

The Associate Dean and staff work closely with the faculty and administrative offices at the HSC central offices and the TAMUS Office of Sponsored Research Services (OSRS) to facilitate, coordinate, and support research and training initiatives at BCD as well as between the HSC components and other academic, clinical, private, and community-based health and research institutions.

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies is located in room 483.

Conducting Research at BCD

Conduct of research at any institution must be closely monitored for a variety of reasons.  From something as simple as tracking applications and awards for reporting and audit purposes to the very critical oversight of state and federal compliance regulations. The ORGS liaises with research administrator at the HSC Office of Research and the TAMUS OSRS to facilitate investigators at the BCD campus.

The OSRS is a consortium of Texas A&M System members that brings together talents, expertise, and best practices to enhance research administration. The office is located in the Valley Park Center at 400 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Station, Texas.  The OSRS officially opened for business on September 1, 2011. The office now provides contracts and grants research administration services to those Texas A&M System members based in Brazos County that have sponsored research activity.

Both pre-award preparation and submission support as well as post-award grant management is provided through the OSRS to investigators at BCD.

• Texas A&M University System Office of Sponsored Research Services
• Office of the Vice President for Research
• Office of Research Compliance

Facilities & Administration (F&A) Costs

F&A costs are those costs associated with providing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports the research enterprise (buildings and their maintenance, libraries, etc.) and which cannot easily be identified with a specific project. The HSC encourages including the appropriate F&A costs in all proposal budgets, unless the sponsor specifically prohibits them, and it expects that F&A costs will be recovered to the maximum extent possible. 
 
The HSC strives to maximize F&A cost recovery, consistent with sponsor policy (e.g., some federal agencies and not-for-profit organizations have a lower rate that they consistently ask awardees to accept). There may be instances when a PI and college feel it is in their best interests to propose a rate lower than that which the HSC routinely receive. Investigators can request acceptance of lower rates but this should be a rare occurrence.

Cost Sharing

Federal cost accounting rules, adopted by OMB A-21 in 1996, have made identification of and accounting for cost sharing highly visible audit areas in recent years. Cost Sharing is defined as any project cost not borne by the sponsor. It is the institution’s share of the cost of research.