Welcome Back Husky Scholars!
We hope your summer was filled with well-earned rest, inspiration, and maybe even a little adventure. Now that the academic year is in full swing, we’re thrilled to welcome all of our new subscribers to Weekly Research Roundup to our vibrant community of nursing scholars!
For those returning, you might notice that our research enterprise has evolved since spring quarter wrapped. This edition of Notes on Nursing Research & Innovation highlights key updates from the UW School of Nursing, the broader university, and federal research funding agencies over the past three months. Let’s dive in.
University of Washington School of Nursing
Spring Research Intramural Funding Program (RIFP) Awardees: the most recent cycle of RIFP reviews awarded more $100,000 to UW School of Nursing Faculty Members. These four incredible projects are truly pushing the boundaries in nursing science—read more about them here. The Fall 2025 RIFP cycle will be released early October and be sure to ready the Weekly Research Roundup for this, and all other requests for research proposals.
University of Washington Digital Health Innovation Hub (DHIH): This summer the DHIH was busy with three new initiatives. We’d like to encourage faculty, students, staff and friends to apply for the new seed funding, attend the fall quarter Voices in Nursing Innovation Fireside Chat featuring celebrated nurse innovator Jo Masterson on Tuesday October 9th (register here), and to save the date for the AI Advancement in Nursing: Education, Research, and Practice Symposium to be held on Friday May 15, 2026 from 9-3pm.
Transitions: This summer we said goodbye to two longtime ONR&I team members Ken Pike and Kaletra Welch. We are grateful for all of their contributions to the UW School of Nursing and their steadfast dedication to supporting our community in our shared mission to elevate nursing science.
We are also excited to welcome two new team members to our unit. Warren Szewczyk is a Research Scientist who is available for statistical consultation and Ron Craig has joined our post-award management team. Please extend a warm welcome to both Warren and Ron and don’t forget to check out Warren’s Lunch and Learn Session on Monday October 13, 2025.
ONR&I Lunch and Learn: Our Lunch and Learn seminar series is back with a stellar lineup of nine of our colleagues to share their incredible work. From best practices in sample size estimation to research collaboration opportunities at Seattle Children’s Hospital to using AI to determine when a patient is at risk for pneumonia this year’s speakers are bound to inform and inspire all in attendance. View the full calendar and register here.
University of Washington Office of Research
Required Training for Principal Investigators: All funded PIs at the University of Washington are required to complete several research trainings including, Good Clinical Practice, Financial Conflicts of Interest, Grants Management for Investigators, and Research Security Training. Please double check your training transcript to make sure these are up to date.
Grant Proposal Submission Deadlines are Changing: Federal changes are increasing sponsor demands and regulatory requirements, prompting earlier and more detailed proposal reviews. To meet these evolving expectations, the UW School of Nursing is updating its internal deadlines: final business elements are due 14 business days before the sponsor’s deadline, and all final documents must be ready 7 business days prior. ONR&I pre-award staff will begin adjusting timelines with investigators this fall, with full implementation effective for proposals due on or after January 1, 2026.
Workday Finance Tools for the Research Community: Stay on top of your research grant spending with ease by getting familiar with the PI dashboard in Workday. This 19-minute video will provide you with clear instructions for how to access and navigate the PI Dashboard to get answers to specific questions about your award. The dashboard offers a clear snapshot of your research portfolio, start-up funds, and RIFP expenses all in one place and lets you drill down into the details that matter most.
New Diversity in Clinical Trials Requirements (Effective January 1, 2026): A new University of Washington policy requires researchers to submit a Diversity Plan for all research that meets the definition of a clinical trial where UW employees or agents are responsible for or engage in recruitment or consent activities. This policy is aimed at improving enrollment of underrepresented groups in clinical trials. Key components might include culturally tailored recruitment strategies, translation and interpreter services, e-consent options, and tracking enrollment metrics. Investigators should plan for associated costs during their proposal development. Resources to support compliance include the UW Health Sciences Library, ITHS Recruitment Support Service, and UW Translation & Interpreter Services. For other guidance, contact HSD at hsdinfo@uw.edu or visit their planning and budgeting guidance.
Federal Funding Changes
Mandatory Manuscript Deposits in Pubmed Central: Starting July 1, 2025, all NIH-funded peer-reviewed publications must be freely available immediately upon publication. No delays. No embargoes. No excuses. Read more about these new changes, and your responsibility as the Principal Investigator here.
NIH Grant Submission Cap: Beginning September 25, 2025, NIH will limit each PI—whether applying solo or as part of a multiple PI team—to six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications per year. Read more about what this new cap means for investigators here.
New Application Structure for NIH-Funded International Collaborations: NIH has introduced new activity codes (PF5 and UF5) for complex international applications. Recent updates include information on the new PF5 and UF5 activity codes for multicomponent or complex applications. If you are planning to submit an NIH proposal with a foreign component please reach out to the Office for Nursing Research & Innovation as soon as possible.
We know, it’s a lot and we’re sure you have questions. Please know that the Office for Nursing Research & Innovation is here to help you navigate these changes. Throughout the year we’ll be working with Faculty Council, our Departments and others to make sure that you are kept up to date on these- and all future- sponsored project updates. From everyone at the Office for Nursing Research & Innovation we wish you a wonderful academic year.