COVID-19 Update: Phase 2 Reopening, Human Subjects Research and More
06/09/2020, 10:35:01 AM
From the Vice President for Research at the University of Houston. View this message in browser.
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Dear Research Faculty,

​Yesterday was the first day of the Phase 2 Reopening of our campus. Research activities reopened more than a month ago. With the transition into Phase 2, there is less information to communicate. Therefore, I will reduce the email communications to once a week, every Wednesday, starting next week.

Phase 2 Reopening

The Phase 2 Reopening is no longer restricted to researchers. Anyone who wants to return to work on campus must first contact their department chair or supervisor. Chairs and supervisors will work with their building coordinators to ensure that the maximum occupancy, as determined in Governor Abbott’s Executive Order, is not exceeded. They will also be responsible for checking that everyone who comes on campus has completed the online HR training on AccessUH (TAP Employee Online Training).

Human Subjects Research

Last week, we met with a small group of researchers to discuss procedures for reopening human subjects research that requires less than six feet of distance between the research team and the subject (i.e., where social distancing cannot be maintained). Multiple working groups are being formed to address different categories of research because such guidelines are not a “one size fits all” approach. If you have active research that requires close contact with human subjects and would like to contribute, please reach out to Kirstin Holzschuh at kmholzsc@central.uh.edu, who can put you in touch with one of the above-mentioned working groups.  

DOR Operations

The majority of DOR staff are continuing to work from home during the Phase 2 Reopening, consistent with President Khator’s recommendation. We do anticipate that more of us will be working on campus as we continue further into the reopening effort. Please continue to use the contact list on the Additional Resources page to contact our staff.

VPR Virtual Office Hours

The next VPR Virtual Office Hours will be on Friday, June 19, at 11:30 a.m. (please note the time). You will be able to access the event through the Research & Innovation Teams site. I hope you will be able to join us next week.

Best regards,

Amr Elnashai, FREng  
Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer

Amr Elnashai | VP for Research and Technology Transfer | elnashai@uh.edu | 713-743-4736

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