OSPA is the University agency for submitting grant proposals and accepting grant awards. We facilitate research and sponsored project activities at SIU, and administer internal grant programs.
There are many advantages of attending a comprehensive research university. This includes the opportunity to participate in a research setting where faculty and students work together with a wide support net of professionals. "Research" may be conducted in any discipline; we broadly define research as inquiry, discovery, and creation of new knowledge and new perspectives about the world. SIU offers research opportunities at all levels.
Proposal Mentoring
A team of SIU colleagues have volunteered to act as proposal mentors who can evaluate, comment on, and hopefully improve the quality and success of the research proposals by our faculty. A list of mentors with contact information and their familiarity with funding agencies is here.
Proposal Mentor Information
Ruopu Li, ruopu.li@siu.edu, School of Earth Systems & Sustainability
Areas of Expertise: GIS, Remote Sensing, Social Environmental System, Water Resources Management
Is willing to review proposals outside own area
Familiarity with Agencies: NSF, USGS
Has recently reviewed proposals by Agencies: NSF, USGS
Chao Lu, chaolu@siu.edu, School of Electrical, Computer & Biomedical Engineering
Areas of Expertise: AI, Circuits and Systems
Is willing to review proposals outside own area
Familiarity with Agencies: NSF, NASA, DOE
Has recently reviewed proposals by Agencies: NASA
Vjolica Konjufca, violc@siu.edu, School of Biological Sciences - Microbiology program
Areas of Expertise: Immunology, Vaccine development, Host pathogen interactions
Is willing to review proposals outside own area
Familiarity with Agencies: NIH, DoD
Has recently reviewed proposals for Agencies: NIH, DoD
Justin McDaniel, jtmcd@siu.edu, School of Human Sciences
Areas of Expertise: Social Science Projects, Military/Veterans, Psychometrics, Public Health
Is willing to review proposals in the Social Sciences
Familiarity with Agencies: USDA, DeptOfLabor, ORAU
Has recently reviewed proposals for Agencies: NASA
Derek Fisher, dfisher@siu.edu, School of Biological Sciences
Areas of Expertise: Bacterial-Host Interactions, Prokaryotic Cell and Molecular Biology, Infectious Disease Drug Development and Molecular Pharmacology, Topics in Immunology and Infectious Disease
Is willing to review proposals outside own area
Familiarity with Agencies: NIH
Has recently reviewed proposals for Agencies: NIH, DoD, Institut Pasteur
Faculty who are planning to submit proposals may contact a member for assistance in the preparation of a proposal. The mentor may agree to assist or not depending on their work responsibilities. If the mentor accepts, then they will work with the proposal team to improve the presentation of the work.
We request that you give mentors at least three weeks lead time.
Faculty, staff, and students across campus may use the services of these facilities for a reasonable fee. Most of these facilities are administered by the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research; some are administered by other units. See below for description.
OSPA and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research offer several cross-disciplinary programs that provide financial support to researchers. Individual colleges may also offer internal grants for research.
Research Centers
SIU has a number of research centers and institutes, some of which are housed in the individual colleges and some of which are housed in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. In addition, we belong to various research consortia, and several national and international research organizations are headquartered here.
Tech Transfer helps faculty and staff inventors to assess the commercial feasibility of university inventions and intellectual property (IP), file patent applications as appropriate, and develop strategies to market and license the technologies to industry. Tech Transfer grants licenses to industry and qualifying startups that are capable of successfully developing and commercializing the University inventions and intellectual property.
The Southern Illinois Research Park (SIRP) is a non-profit corporation affiliated with SIU. SIRP promotes technology and knowledge-based enterprise development within the park and the southern Illinois region
Research Hub
"The SIUC Research Hub is a platform designed to help faculty explore external funding opportunities. It brings together important information, tutorials, and videos from various federal agencies, along with general SIUC research resources. This site serves as a complementary tool to assist faculty in identifying funding sources and understanding application processes."