May 26, 2020

On April 23rd, we released a process to help guide requests for on-site research access. The process outlined three priority timelines by which facilities could be opened in order, from immediate priority to long term priority, and in a manner which ensured the safety of researchers and the communities in which the research is undertaken. Since this time only Priority Timeline 1 (Research requiring immediate on-site activity to minimize negative impacts which would occur by the end of the summer) requests have been reviewed and approved, with a significant portion of the approvals related to supporting timely COVID-19 research and long running research in which a serious loss of research material, data, or equipment could occur.

Through this process over 300 research personnel in 28 buildings have received access. These approvals have not granted access to office spaces or the complete return of full research programs, but rather are focused on specific tasks and requirements. The process has been overseen by a committee chaired by me, and with participation from the Faculties and shared service providers including Physical Plant Services and Environmental Health and Safety. We have been ahead of many other Universities in granting access and I want to thank those researchers who have worked through the process.

We are now at a point where we can begin to consider Priority Timeline 2 (Research requiring on-site activity to minimize negative impacts that would occur by the end of 2020) requests, however, it has become apparent that these decisions are going to be constrained by physical distancing requirements in buildings and potentially by other activities, as the Provincial legislation allows the University to open more fully. In order to facilitate a timely response to Priority Timeline 2 requests, we are transitioning from approval through the University level committee chaired by the Vice-Principal (Research), to the Faculties in coordination with the recently formed Campus Operations Group chaired by the Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration). 

We anticipate this transition will be complete by approximately June 5th. During the transition only Priority Timeline 1 requests will continue to be accepted and reviewed by the committee chaired by me (request form). In addition, we are piloting Priority Timeline 2 requests in three buildings: Botterell Hall, Ellis Hall and Chernoff Hall. Learnings from this pilot will help to inform Faculty processes.

Faculty of Arts and Science Associate Dean Research Nick Mosey has prepared a chart, which is a useful visualization of the phases we have undertaken, and plan to undertake, to bring back on-site research activity.

It is important that I state clearly: requests for on-site access are to be done so judiciously and that undertaking research remotely is still the preferred option. On-site access is challenging to facilitate and requires significant resources of building managers and custodial staff. This is not the process to gain access to your office or meet with students; those details will come as a broader reopening of the campus is planned.

One additional point for clarity: Requests to Continue Critical Field Research and Requests for Access to Library Print Material via Curbside Pickup, will continue to be reviewed independently of the requests for on-site research. Given the implications to communities external to Queen’s, field research requests will be approved by the central committee chaired by me. Print material access will continue to be guided by the Library.

Read full message online.

May 12, 2020

In recognition of the critical role that library resources play in research, including ongoing research into COVID-19, the Queen's University Library has developed a service to provide faculty and graduate researchers with limited access to print collections. A description of the service and instructions for submitting requests for print materials are now available on their website, with the first pick-up planned for early next week. For library requests please fill out the online form.

Read the full message at the Queen's University Library site.

Updated April 23, 2020

Faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students who feel their field research should be deemed “essential,” and that it must be conducted in the spring/summer term, are asked to fill out a Request to Continue Critical Field Research Form.  Principal Invesigators must sign the form, then a) in departmentalized faculties submit to the department head and then the faculty dean, or b) in non-departmentalized faculties, submit directly to the dean. Should the department head and dean agree that the work must continue, the request will then be forwarded to the VP (Research) for review and approval. Investigators will be informed of the decision within a week of submitting the request.

Read the full message online.

This competition is now closed. Decisions on second round of competition to be released on June 5, 2020. Results of first round of competition have been announced; see "Rapid Response funding awarded to help confront COVID-19" in the Gazette online

Objective:

The Queen’s SARS CoV-2/COVID-19 research funding competition is a $200,000 Vice-Principal (Research) initiative to fund and support research projects that will contribute to urgent efforts to accelerate the development, testing and implementation of medical or social countermeasures to mitigate the rapid spread of the SARS CoV-2 virus and its negative consequences on people and communities in Canada and globally.

To a large extent this opportunity mirrors the recent SARS CoV-2/COVID-19 funding opportunity available through CIHR and will support research across all disciplines: health sciences; natural sciences and engineering; and social sciences and humanities.

Funding:

$10,000-$50,000 per project (total available is $200,000)

Important Dates:

Competition 1

• April 17, 2020 - Full applications due
• April 27, 2020 - Decisions released 
• October 31, 2020 - Project Spending Deadline

Competition 2

• May 20, 2020 - Full applications due
• June 5, 2020 - Decisions released 
• December 31, 2020 - Project Spending Deadline

Read more about this new research opportunity.

As part of the national effort to address the COVID-19 Crisis, the Federal Office of the Science Advisor is establishing an expert community of Canadian COVID-19 researchers, clinical collaborators, and healthcare stakeholders from across the country. Please see http://cancovid.ca to learn more. The community will be hosted on Slack, a collaboration hub developed to facilitate communication and the sharing of information. The top research intensive universities in Canada, the U15, to which we belong, are encouraged to invite qualified researchers to join the platform and participate in the collaborations. Themes for collaboration include the following:

1. Diagnostics
2. Clinical trials
3. Fundamental Science
4. Vaccines & Therapeutics
5. Indigenous research
6. Social and behavioural sciences
7. Healthcare
8. Modelling
9. Cohort Studies

For those of you who participated in our recent survey on COVID-19-related research conducted at Queen’s, we intend to use those results to initiate the invitation list. If you are currently conducting research on COVID-19 or its impacts, or believe that you have skills that might be valuable to the themes identified above, and did not participate in the survey or wish to re-iterate your interest, please send an email to research@queensu.ca. Please provide a brief biography and ½ page description of your COVID-19 related interests/research (i.e. the theme you might fit into) in your email and we will reply. Please note that the invitations we provide will be vetted by the CanCOVID team to ensure suitability in all cases. The invitation process opened today, so if you are interested, please be in contact as soon as possible.