The principal executive officer of research programs at the University of Georgia (UGA) is the Vice President for Research, who coordinates the activities, organizations, and personnel related to research. This individual is responsible for the overall UGA research program, including components in departments, schools, and colleges as well as units more specifically dedicated to research, such as the agricultural and veterinary medicine experiment stations and research institutes and centers.

The Vice President administers the sponsored research programs, approving all research proposals submitted to external agencies, and oversees the conduct of programs supported by grants and contracts. The Vice President also is responsible for technology transfer, patents, copyrights, trademarks, plant variety protection certificates, animal care and use, biosafety, quality assurance, research involving human subjects, and research communications.

In carrying out these responsibilities, the Vice President is assisted by a staff who deals with various aspects of university-wide research administration and by the directors of the cross-disciplinary centers and institutes.

Business and Economic Development supports research-related business development opportunities at UGA. It assists UGA researchers with research-related entrepreneurship, including startup company incubator support where appropriate, through the Georgia BioBusiness Center, and assists with research-related state and regional economic development initiatives.

The Human Subjects Office (HSO) is responsible for the review of research projects that involve human subjects to ensure compliance with federal regulations, state laws, and University policies. Human Subjects review and approval is required for all research activities that involve human subjects, whether done by students or faculty, and with or without external funding. Some examples of activities that require prior approval are interviews, completion of surveys, educational strategies, and review of medical or other records.

The HSO also serves as a primary contact for research participants concerned with their rights as subjects and supports the activities of the UGA Institutional Review Board (IRB), which answers administratively to the Associate Vice President for Research. The IRB members represent various disciplines and professions and are recruited both on and off campus. Members provide assistance by reviewing proposals to help ensure compliance. The Human Subjects Office staff also assists investigators in attaining compliance, investigates complaints and concerns that relate to human subjects research, and makes recommendations to the IRB.

For additional information about federal and UGA compliance, see Human Subjects Laws and Regulations or contact the Human Subjects Project Coordinator, irb@uga.edu, or (706) 542-6514.

As part of the overall mission in support of research across campus, OVPR operates a number of Internal Grants & Awards to support, facilitate, and reward research activities.

Internal Grants

UGARF provides funding through a variety of "seed grant" programs designed to support initial work by early career faculty or in a new area of research to get projects off the ground. The Faculty Research Grant program funds early career faculty in the sciences and social sciences, the Willson Center for the Humanities and Arts funds faculty at any stage of their career for research in humanities and arts, the Poverty and the Economy grant program funds research in these important research areas, the Biofuels, Biopower, and Biomaterials Initiative supports new research projects in the area of renewable bioenergy, and the Faculty of Infectious Diseases supports interdisciplinary research projects in this developing area.

Internal Awards

At an annual Research Awards Banquet each spring, we present a series of awards in recognition of research accomplishments by UGA faculty and graduate students. Graduate student awards include the Robert C. Anderson Memorial Award, the James L. Carmon Scholarship, and the Excellence in Research Awards. At the faculty level, we present the Creative Research Medals, the Creative Research Awards (the Albert Christ-Janer Award, the Lamar Dodd Award, the William A. Owens Award), and the Inventor's Award. We also select the faculty who are recognized with the title of Distinguished Research Professor.

Internal Competitions

A number of awards and grants from foundations or federal agencies have limits in the number of applications that can come from any institution. OVPR takes on the responsibility of holding an internal competition when more than one application is proposed. We select the most competitive applications to be submitted as the institutional proposal.

OVPR is served by a large number of volunteer faculty members who participate on the review and selection committees for these awards and funding decisions.

For more information, contact Internal Grants & Awards, jhawks@uga.edu or (706) 542-5056.

The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. Legal Services advises the UGARF Board of Directors and Officers in matters of corporate non-profit law, research contracts and grants, intellectual property and licensing, and material transfer.

The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF) is the assignee of intellectual property developed at UGA either through UGA research programs or by UGA personnel. UGARF has responsibility for protecting and marketing intellectual property and proprietary information to industry, and for negotiating and prosecuting license agreements and industry-sponsored research agreements.

 For more information contact UGARF Legal Services, (706) 542-4750.

The Office of Animal Care and Use, under the direction of the Assistant Vice President for Research, develops and implements UGA policies and coordinates activities that involve the use of animals.

The UGA policies for use of laboratory animals encompass regulations of the Animal Welfare Act as amended (Public Law 99-198 The Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act), Guidelines and Principles of the United States Public Health Service Policy, and The Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Agricultural Research and Teaching.

Compliance with policies is monitored by the UGA Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which answers administratively to the Assistant Vice President for Research. The IACUC members conduct site visits and inspections of animal care facilities, review animal use proposals, and ensure through staff development activities that people who work with laboratory animals are trained appropriately.

The staff supports the activities of the IACUC, helps provide veterinary care, consults on development of animal use proposals, provides technical oversight on compliance standards, and supports maintenance of animal care facilities.

For more information, see the Animal Care and Use Laws and Regulations, and/or contact the Director of Animal Care and Use, bobbie@uga.edu, or (706) 542-5933.

The Office of Biosafety provides guidance and assistance to protect faculty, staff and students from exposure to biohazardous materials and to guard against the release of biohazardous materials that may harm humans, animals, plants or the environment.

The Office of Biosafety also provides administrative support for the Institutional Biosafety Committee and the Select Agent and Toxin Program (SAP) for the University’s main campus facilities.

For more information, contact the Biosafety Office, biosfty@uga.edu, or (706) 542-7265.

The Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) operates under the direction of the Associate Vice President for Research, administering all externally sponsored grants and contracts awarded to the University of Georgia (UGA) or the University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF). Selected staff members have signatory authority to negotiate and accept awards for UGA and UGARF, and monitor programmatic aspects of projects from idea conceptualization (i.e., proposal development) through final project closeout.

OSP serves as the central resource for information regarding funding opportunities. Staff members serve as liaisons between the university community and external funding agencies for all matters related to sponsored program administration. The Contracts & Grants Division of the Office of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration provides accounting and related financial compliance services for all external awards to UGA and UGARF.

As the institution's central repository for records regarding external awards, OSP serves as the office of record on research, public service, extension and instructional sponsored activity.

For more information contact the Office for Sponsored Programs, sponprog@uga.edu, or (706) 542-5939.

The Office of Research Communications provides information about the depth, breadth and quality of UGA research to the media, the public, policy makers, UGA faculty and administrators, and other interested audiences. It also assists OVPR units in communicating the services they provide to support researchers at UGA.

Information is distributed in many ways, including the World Wide Web, ugaresearch magazine, an electronic Research Newsletter for the UGA research community, news releases, and a variety of other publications and printed materials.

For more information, contact Research Communications, rcomm@uga.edu, or (706) 583-0599.

The Research Facilities Office ensures the maximum overall value and impact of UGA renovations of research space. The Assistant Vice President for Research Facilities authorizes and facilitates all faculty research renovation projects, and serves as the liaison between Physical Plant and OVPR regarding research renovation projects.

The Research Facilities Office is involved at the inception of any research renovation project and must agree to the scope and nature of the renovation, at which point OVPR requests a cost estimate. The AVP has responsibility for authorizing any faculty research MRR projects and must approve any changes to projects once they are initiated. The goals are to ensure more accurate cost estimates in order to facilitate budget planning by OVPR and reduce the risk of change in the project scope.

For more information, contact the Research Facilities Office, cberg@ccrc.uga.edu, or (706) 542-4487.

The Office of Research Fiscal Affairs manages and monitors the financial resources of the Office of Vice President for Research and University of Georgia Research Foundation in order to ensure fiscal responsibility in the use of operating funds, and supports the Vice President for Research in the development and implementation of sound fiscal policies to achieve strategic goals of the Office of Research.

The services provided include preparation and management of the budget, financial analysis, strategic financial planning, oversight of internal funding initiatives (i.e. for start up packages, general research support, foreign travel, and faculty research grants), and funding initiatives provided by Georgia Research Alliance and Board of Regents.

For more information, contact the Accounting and Business Office, marshao@uga.edu, or (706) 542-5930.

The Quality Assurance Unit provides oversight for research investigations that must comply with the federal mandate of the Good Laboratory Practice standards (GLPs). These are federal regulations promulgated by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that describe the practices for conducting non-clinical laboratory studies that support or are intended to support applications for research or marketing permits for products regulated by the FDA or the EPA. These products include animal food additives, human and animal drugs, medical devices for human use, biological products, electronic products, and pesticide products.

The Quality Assurance Unit audits the protocols, in-life phases, raw data, and the final report of those studies to insure that the data are of the highest integrity and accuracy.

For more information contact the Quality Assurance Officer, mispagel@uga.edu, or (706) 542-5960.

The Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) serves the UGA community by connecting industry with university expertise and inventions for the public good, promoting economic development and increasing research visibility.  The University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) administers all intellectual property at The University of Georgia.

Functions include:

• Evaluating inventions for patentability and commercial potential
• Facilitating the acquisition of intellectual property protection (patents, trademarks, plant variety protection certificates, copyrights, or trademarks) on university inventions
• Marketing technology to commercial companies identified as the most likely to bring the technology to public use
• Negotiating license agreements in a manner that will bring a reasonable financial return to UGARF
• Receiving and distributing license income
• Maintaining active patents

Additionally, TCO supports faculty with negotiation of material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, and other contracts governing university technology.

 For more information contact the Technology Commercialization Office, tco@uga.edu, (706) 542-5942.