Research Office
OUR OFFICE
The College of Agriculture Research Office provides programs and resources to support Ag faculty in identifying funding opportunities and enhancing research success, including proposal development and submission, grant writing assistance, statistical consulting, interdisciplinary team building, and grant/ contract support.
Through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES), our office administers the USDA NIFA Hatch and Hatch Multistate projects, provides seed funding for research through the AAES Competitive Seed Grants program, and supports faculty travel to multistate project meetings. In addition, the office coordinates a series of professional development workshops for faculty, staff, and graduate students. These training opportunities serve to support AAES’s outlying/field research stations. The office also coordinates the variety of interdisciplinary research conducted at the AAES-affiliated centers and institutes.
ADDRESS
Contract and Grants Team
006 Comer Hall
Auburn Univ, AL 36849
Grant Writing Team
CASIC Building
559 Devall Dr., 2nd Floor
Auburn Univ, AL 36832
Our Team
Associate Dean for Research
SUSHIL ADHIKARI
Interim Associate Dean for Research;
Interim Associate Director for AAES
sushil.adhikari@auburn.edu
(334) 844-3543
DIRECTOR, RESEARCH PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & GRANTS
MERCEDES MCKOY
Director, Research Program Development and Grants;
College-level designee for proposal submissions
006 Comer Hall
mlf0015@auburn.edu
(334) 844-3905
Proposal Reviews and Submissions
MADISON PEARCE
Contracts & Grants Specialist
006 Comer Hall
mnd0009@auburn.edu
(334) 844-2320
Pre-Award Contact for:
-Dept. of Agricultural Econ & Rural Sociology
-Dept. of Animal Sciences
-School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, Aquatic Sciences
KENDALL WILLIAMS
Contracts & Grants Specialist
006 Comer Hall
kpw0019@auburn.edu
(334) 844-3903
Pre-Award Contact for:
-Dept. of Entomology and Plant Pathology
-Dept. of Poultry Science
STEVEN PRUTSMAN
Contracts & Grants Specialist
006 Comer Hall
srp0031@auburn.edu
Pre-Award contact for:
-Dept. of Biosystems Engineering
-Dept. of Horticulture
REBEKAH ESTES
Contracts & Grants Specialist
006 Comer Hall
rks0007@auburn.edu
Pre-Award contact for:
-Dept. of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
-Ag Administration
-Alabama Agriculture Experiment Station
Grant Writing and Other Support
TIMOTHY HOOPER, MPA, CRA
Proposal Development Specialist III
tph0016@auburn.edu
(334) 844-1431
-Comprehensive grant writing and editorial support for the College faculty
-Provides one-on-one training to faculty on effective federal grant proposals
-Point of contact for AU’s AAES Internal Grants Program
JACQUELINE KOCHAK
Communications Specialist
kochaja@auburn.edu
(334) 844-7465
-Comprehensive grant writing and editorial support for the College faculty
-Provides one-on-one training to faculty on effective federal grant proposals
-Writes and electronically distributes COA monthly e-newsletters
ANNA MATHIS
Grant Writing Support Specialist
acm0136@auburn.edu
(334) 844-1440
-Monitors federal grant announcements and notifies College faculty of new funding opportunities via emailed Executive Summarie
-Provides grant writing support for the College faculty. Provides support to both COA Faculty and Research Office staff on the AAES Internal Grants Program
BERNARDO CHAVES-CORDOBA
Director of Statistics, Teaching & Consulting
167A Funchess Hall
bzc0082@auburn.edu
(334) 844-2577
Statistical Support:
-Assists faculty in designing experiments, analyzing data, and interpreting results.
KE “KELLY” PIPPIN
Manager, Academic & Research Programs
101 Comer Hall
kzp0025@auburn.edu
(334) 844-3210
Services
Pre-Award Services
Proposal Development and Submission assistance:
- Assist faculty in developing strong research proposals.
- Assist faculty with proposal, pre-proposal, or Letter of Intent submissions.
- Review budget and proposal documents for compliance with sponsor and Institutional policies.
- Create proposal application workspace and fill out forms, upon request.
- Route Endeavor funding proposal (EFP) to obtain institutional approvals for submission.
- Coordinate and obtain signatures from AU authorized representative/OSP (including letters of collaboration or other forms).
- Coordinate with external
- Submit to the sponsor on behalf of Auburn University.
Grant Writing Assistance:
- Assist faculty in finding research opportunities.
- Develop a proposal checklist specific to the agency solicitation.
- Create proposal preparation timelines and processes.
- Create a proposal narrative template with subheads to alert reviewers to sections they are seeking.
- Assist with writing of non-technical text and transitions (Initial development of proposal content/narrative is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator).
- Develop a clear, compelling “storyline” or gap analysis for the proposal narrative.
- Assist with document control, copyediting, and proofreading.
- Assist with assessment and outreach component needs.
- Prepare, with assistance from the Principal Investigator, documents such as the Data Management Plan, Management Plan, Logic Model and others.
- Assist faculty with Letter of Intent and pre-proposal submissions.
- Format personnel documents such as the research team’s Biographical Sketches, Current & Pending forms, and Conflict of Interest attachments.
Statistical Support:
- Assist faculty in designing experiments, analyzing data, and interpreting results.
Interdisciplinary Team Building:
- The Research Office facilitates interdisciplinary team building by connecting researchers from different fields
AWARD AND POST-AWARD SERVICES
- Assist with questions or information needed for account/FOP setup.**
- Serve as a liaison between central offices and faculty for grant/contract account setup or award modifications.
- Review budget modifications and process documentation to the Office of Sponsored Programs.
- Assist with no-cost extensions (NCE) requests.
- Process award modifications to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), if applicable.
** Project management and post-award activities will be handled at the departmental level in collaboration with the College Business Office. Please work with your department administrator for specific details about their processes.