About OSA
The Office of Scholarly Activity (OSA) serves PNWU programs and engages community partners in scholarly endeavors. OSA provides resources for research coordination including design, IRB administration, grant submissions, fund management, and dissemination of scholarly outcomes.
Research Facilitation and Support
- Research Support – Advise and assist with research idea implementation and study design. Connect investigators with appropriate mentors, collaborators, and internal and external resources.
- Research Events – Coordinate the PNWU Research Symposium, Research Exchanges, and research workshops for faculty and students.
- Research Resources – Provide support for PNWU’s REDCap software; funding to connect investigators with consultants for biostatistical support; and editing for manuscripts, publications, and grant proposals.
Human Research Administration
- Institutional Review Board (IRB) Assistance – Advise and assist faculty, staff, and students for successful submission of proposals to the IRB including navigation and use of the IRB software.
- Compliance – Provide guidance to investigators regarding compliance with federal regulations and institutional policies concerning research with human subjects.
- Technical Assistance and Training – Assist and provide training on various software platforms utilized for research (e.g., CITI Training, Mentor IRB, ClinicalTrials.gov, etc.).
Grant and Contract Administration
- Internal Funding – PNWU Seed Funds to support faculty, staff, and students in developing research projects by providing funds to cover research-related costs. Funding categories include Faculty and Staff Research Grant, Mentored Research Grant for Students, and Research Dissemination Grant.
- External Funding – Support to faculty and staff seeking and managing sponsored (external) funding. Assistance with idea development, identification of funding opportunities, proposal development, budget creation, proposal submission, award management, compliance, closeout, reporting, etc.
Definition of Scholarly Activity
Scholarly activities are any systematic creative endeavors that generate new knowledge, challenge or expand existing knowledge, or identify gaps in knowledge, and which are intended to result in the dissemination to external entities through peer reviewed mechanisms. According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), scholarly activities fall into the following categories:
- Research (bench, translational, and/or human subjects)
- Organized clinical discussions
- Rounds
- Journal clubs
- Conferences
- Peer reviewed funding
- Publication of original research or review articles in peer reviewed journals
- Chapters in textbooks
- Publication or presentation of case reports or case series
- Clinical series at local, regional, or national professional and scientific society meetings
- Participation in national committees or educational organizations
Meet the Team
Lizzie Lamb, MPH is the Interim Director for the Office of Scholarly Activity. Ms. Lamb has been with the department since 2019 when she started as PNWU’s Research Development Facilitator. She holds a master’s in public health from the University of Washington with a focus on community-oriented public health practice. As the Interim Director, Ms. Lamb is focused on improving infrastructure to support sponsored projects, streamlining human research protections, and developing a research needs assessment to map out a future for research and scholarly activity at PNWU.
Caiti Young, MEd, is our Grants and Contracts Administrator and coordinator for PNWU’s primary care training enhancement grant through the Health Services and Resources Administration. Before joining PNWU, Ms. Young was the anatomy lab supervisor and an anatomy instructor for Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Auburn, Alabama for four years. She has a master’s in education in exercise science from Wichita State University.
Jeremy Simmons, MS, is our Institutional Review Board Administrator. Mr. Simmons is charged with running PNWU’s human research protections program which includes working with the IRB to review and approve studies, conduct post-approval monitoring, and ensure all federal and local regulations are met for human subjects research. He has a master’s in experimental psychology from Central Washington University and currently serves as a volunteer member of the VA Health Care System’s IRB in Portland, OR.
Brittni Packard, MS, is OSA’s Administrative Coordinator. Ms. Packard takes the lead in planning OSA’s events including the annual PNWU Research Symposium and the Research Exchange. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration and previously worked at Yakima Valley College for four years before joining PNWU.
