Center for Biotechnology and
Interdisciplinary Studies Space Policy

Overview

The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) is an interdisciplinary research center made up of faculty from a variety of departments in the Schools comprising Rensselaer. The goal of CBIS is to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary research activities in the area of biotechnology, defined as the application of biological science to solve problems for the betterment of mankind. CBIS members include Rensselaer faculty and staff housed both within and outside the Biotech Building.

All Rensselaer faculty interested in biotechnology and committed to the success of CBIS are eligible to join CBIS.  Members of CBIS have equal access to all conference rooms, biotech core facilities, and biotech administrative services, whether or not they reside in the Biotech Building. Certain members of CBIS are assigned office and/or laboratory space within the Biotech Building. Space is assigned on the following basis:

• Membership in CBIS;
• Alignment with CBIS;
• Interdisciplinary aspects of investigator’s research;
• Research productivity and national/international scholarly recognition;
• Level of research funding; and
• Service to CBIS.

The Biotech Building contains unassignable space (i.e., core facilities, stock room, auditorium, meeting rooms, physical plant rooms, administrative space) and assignable space. There are two types of assignable space: primary space and hotel space.

Primary space is assigned by the CBIS executive committee to individual tenured faculty for a period of three years, and new tenure-track faculty for a period of up to six years, coinciding with the tenure decision. The amount of “wet-lab”, “computational lab”, and office space assigned is determined solely by the number of research scientists (i.e., PI, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research and technical staff) and is periodically adjusted, as groups grow or shrink. Instrument rooms are considered shared space and are assigned to instruments, not to individual faculty. The renewal of both laboratory and office space as well as the assignment of new space is based on the set of criteria listed below.

Hotel space is assigned by the Center Director to individuals, groups of faculty, or visitors to the Center for a period of up to one year. Hotel space is primarily intended for daily use and is optimally shared by multiple visitors over the assigned period. The annual renewal of hotel space is based on the set of criteria listed below.

Part B

Detailed Policy for the Renewal of Assigned Primary Space and Allocation of New Space

1) Membership in CBIS

CBIS membership is open to all Rensselaer faculty interested in biotechnology and committed to the success of CBIS are eligible to join CBIS simply by requesting membership from the Director and submitting a 100-character descriptor of their research interests.

2) Alignment with CBIS

All space allocated within the Biotech Building must either be associated with biotechnology or the four Biotech Constellations:

• Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering;
• Computational Biology;
• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine;
• Integrative Systems Biology.

A short statement describing how an investigator’s research has aligned or will align with these areas over the period being evaluated should be used to support the usage of or request for space. This statement should be accompanied by identifying publications, presentations, and funded proposals in these focus areas. Publications indicating author address as CBIS and/or acknowledging the use of CBIS core facilities and space should be clearly highlighted.

3) Interdisciplinary Research

The Biotech Building is designated to foster interdisciplinary and collaborative research. The Center’s goal is to promote interactions between:

• scientists and engineers;
• scientists in different disciplines;
• engineers in different disciplines;
• scientists/engineers and faculty in business, art, architecture, and the social sciences.

It is essential that all occupants of the Biotech Building be involved in biotechnology-related research that is either multi-disciplinary (collaborative between disciplines) or interdisciplinary (individual cross-trained researchers working at the interface between disciplines).

Identification of multi-disciplinary/interdisciplinary publications and grants as well as jointly supervised graduate students and postdoctoral fellows should be used to support evidence of multi-disciplinary or interdisciplinary activities.

4) Research Productivity and Recognition

CBIS is a relatively new center, and its ranking, as judged by the external scientific community, is primarily based on the research productivity and the recognition of its members. Enhanced visibility in the biological sciences and engineering disciplines is essential for the success of both CBIS and Rensselaer.

Research productivity of individual investigators will be judged by the number and quality (impact factor of journal, number of citations, prominence of journal/meeting venue within the investigator’s field) of research publications, patents, licensing agreements, books, book chapters, review articles, conference proceedings, and presentations. National and international awards received by the investigator and her/his group should be identified as well as appointment to academies or leadership positions in societies.

5) Level of Research Funding

The Biotech Building is an expensive, state-of-the-art facility built with the expectation that overhead from funded research grants will cover the operating costs of this facility. Thus, the funding level of each research group with overheaded research grants as well as the listing of CBIS as the programmatic Center on grant routing forms will be a basis for retention or assignment of office and research space within the Biotech building.

A listing of past (over three years for tenured faculty, or up to six years for tenure track faculty as applicable) and current funding should be used to determine an investigator’s sustained level of funding. The role and share of grants should be clearly identified, the Center or Department to which the grant was assigned, and the overhead rate on each grant should be supplied. It is also recognized that alternative forms of support also contributes to the financial health of CBIS. Alternative funding streams including external student fellowships, visiting researchers and faculty, equipment gifts, etc., supported by non-overheaded or other external funds should be identified.

The number of total research personnel for each year should be provided with a breakdown of personnel type, i.e., PI, research faculty, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists, technicians, graduate students, undergraduate students. Personnel shared by multiple investigators should be assigned a fractional value (e.g., shared by two co-PIs = 0.5, shared by three co-PIs = 0.33, etc.).

6) Service to CBIS

Service activities within CBIS are essential to the organization’s health and vibrancy. All members of the Center are expected to contribute service to CBIS.

Examples of service activities include leadership or participation in:

• CBIS committees (i.e., executive committee, core oversight committees, etc.);
• Center-wide programs (i.e., HHMI undergraduate program, NIH training grant);
• Major funding initiatives (i.e., IGERT, NSEC, MRSEC/ERC);
• Student/faculty recruitment activities;
• Procurement, maintenance, or supervision of CBIS core equipment;
• Fund raising activities;
• Hosting or touring visitors;
• Organizing or hosting CBIS meetings or symposia;
• Other Center-related activities.

Decision and Appeal Process

The CBIS executive committee will evaluate each application for new or renewed occupancy within the Biotech Building and report their recommendation to the investigator in a letter copied to their Dean(s) and Department Head(s). The recommendation could be:

• Retention with an increase in allocated space;
• Retention (or assignment) with the same allocated space;
• Retention with a decrease in allocated space;
• Removal (or denial) of all research and office space from the investigator.

The recommendation will take effect immediately when possible (i.e., space constraints may not permit an immediate increase in space allotment). All decisions can be appealed (during a terminal year) in writing by a letter to a committee consisting of the Center Director (chair), VP for Research, and the Dean of the School in which the investigator holds her/his primary appointment. The Appeals Committee will make their recommendation to the Provost for review and transmission to the President.

Space for the Center Director or a Constellation Chair will not involve the individual’s participation in the decision-making process (to avoid conflict of interest) and will only take the form of a recommendation to the President. Faculty membership in CBIS can be withdrawn by the executive committee for serious safety or ethical violations subject to appeal (process described above).

Part C

Application Form

Format of Space Renewal or New Space Request Document

• Cover page stating name, faculty rank, date of appointment at current rank, department(s), school(s);
• Statement of research field and its alignment to CBIS (150 words maximum);
• List of publications and awards

• Provide full citation (over the past three or six years) indicating with appropriate letter(s) (see below) at the end of each citation describing the nature of the work;
• Provide a list of awards over the past three or six years;

• List of grants (over the past three or six years)

• Provide the grant title/number, starting and ending dates, funding agency, direct funds, indirect (overhead) funds, overhead rate, role on grant (PI, co-PI, collaborator), percent effort, and whether the grant was routed through CBIS. Please follow each grant listing with appropriate letters (see below) describing the nature of the work.

• Provide a table identifying the number and type of supervised personnel for each year over the three or six year period in the Biotech Building;
• Provide a list of service provided to CBIS for the three or six year period while housed in the Biotech Building.

List of letter codes for publications and grants

1. Acknowledges CBIS;
2. Is in the field of Biotechnology;
3. Is collaborative;
4. Is multi-disciplinary or interdisciplinary;
5. Involves external collaborators;
6. Uses a CBIS core facility;
7. Overheaded grant funding;
8. Uses a CBIS hotel space;
9. Led to industrial relevance or patentable technology;
10. Is joint with another CBIS member.

Part D

Addendum to CBIS Space Policy

Reviewed by the Deans of Science and Engineering and Approved by the CBIS Executive Committee

7/25/08

• Faculty must vacate office space immediately on departing RPI or when failing to receive renewal of assigned space within CBIS (subject to the appeal process described in the CBIS Space Policy*). This office space will be reassigned by CBIS to new faculty Biotech residents who may or may not be a member of the same Department/School.
• On departing RPI or on failing to receive renewal of assigned space within CBIS (subject to the appeal process described in the CBIS Space Policy), faculty must vacate all laboratory space including shared instrument rooms. This laboratory space will be reassigned by CBIS to new faculty Biotech residents who may or may not be a member of the same Department/School.
• Instrumentation purchased for the faculty and not moving with the departing faculty member is Institute property. The School in which the departing faculty member holds their appointment should take control of this instrumentation. There are three possible fates for instruments and equipment that remain after a resident departs:

1. to be removed from the Biotech building within 30 days of faculty departure;
2. to be transferred to a Biotech Core for supervision and general access by all RPI faculty; or
3. to be transferred to a specific faculty resident within Biotech (subject to CBIS approval of space required within Biotech for the housing this equipment). CBIS will take charge of all abandoned instrumentation unless otherwise notified by the Dean’s office within 30 days of faculty departure from Biotech.

• Instruments purchased using New York State monies by or for a faculty member involving a CBIS org will remain under control of CBIS on departure of that faculty member from the Biotech building.
• RPI students working for departing faculty may request continued access to CBIS space and facilities until completion of their degree. This request must be accompanied by designation of a new faculty mentor who must be housed within Biotech and approved by CBIS, and who will be responsible for the on-site supervision of these students. Housing in not guaranteed and is subject to the availability of space and compliance with CBIS rules and policy. If the students of a departing faculty member cannot be housed in the Biotech building their home department is responsible for finding alternative laboratory and office space and facilities.

* If a faculty Biotech resident is asked to leave the Biotech building they have a 1-year period in which to vacate their space during which they can file an appeal.