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A Note from PAVIR's New CEO
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 What about you is 100 percent?
I have been pondering how pervasive “100 percent” has become in today’s casual conversation. There is even an emoji for it. It no longer only describes a whole or total, but is now also used to emphasize absolutes of opinion or personal character. For example, “This is 100 percent supportive of research” or “I am 100 percent decisive.” Upon first hearing, it caught my attention, but now loses power quickly when used often and glibly. On the other hand, I particularly appreciate its use in reinforcing authenticity as in “Keep it 100” the contemporary of “Keepin’ it real.” These musings led me to reflect on things I convey and check whether I mean what I say. What about me is “100” and why is it important for you to know? For examples, I am 100% American, born and raised by immigrant parents, and I am 100% Mom. These are immutable things about me that I cannot flippantly overturn based on mood or moment, yet probably do not mean much to you other than perhaps relatability, if even that. As PAVIR’s new CEO, the singular thing you should know is I am 100% a Research Administrator forged in the enclaves of a robust academic medical center and its affiliated VA. There is no helping it; it shapes how I think about what we all do every day and is the most significant quality I bring to the table.
Why does this matter? (Click "Read More" below for my answer.) |
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Doing Right, Doing Good
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Growing from Within
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Writing Grants?
Summer NIH Deadlines are just around the corner. Contact PreAward@pavir.org to get on our calendars. For the June 5th NIH deadline, we would greatly appreciate hearing from you now. Please be reminded of PAVIR's 5-business day before deadline due date to submit final documents. If you will be a collaborator on another PI's proposal, i.e., subrecipient PI, the 5-business day deadline applies to the due date given to PAVIR by the Prime institution.
Keep Reading
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We celebrate Dr. Ngan Huang for putting VA research in space and are proud to administer her second award in collaboration with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) in which she will expand the utility of an engineered muscle in microgravity platform for performing drug screening of putative candidates for treatment of sarcopenia (muscle loss as part of the normal aging process), a major public health challenge for Veterans.
Read more about Dr. Huang's VA Research on the International Space Station from her first award.
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Congratulations to Dr. Robert Wong for receiving his first R01! He will be examining the impact of COVID-19 pandemic related disruptions in healthcare delivery in exacerbating racial and ethnic disparities in Hepatocellular Carcinoma screening. This study focuses on improving liver cancer screening among patients with cirrhosis, which contributes to significant morbidity and mortality among Veterans.
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NEW!! EARLY CAREER AWARD PROGRAM
Eligible non-clinician (up to 8/8) and eligible clinicians (up to 6/8) junior researchers are encouraged to apply for a new mentored research career development award opportunity specifically funded by the VISN-21 early career award program (ECAP). ECAP is intended to prepare highly qualified junior investigators with demonstrated abilities and plans for a VA career and VA research for further successes in obtaining research funding and making research discoveries that benefit healthcare and Veteran health. Examples of next steps in research funding after ECAP include: VA Career Development Award (CDA-2), VA Merit, NIH and/or other sponsored research grants and contracts.
Application Deadline: June 30, 2022
Award Start Date: October 1, 2022
Full Program Announcement and Application Instructions:
https://www.visn21.va.gov/ecap.asp |
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Vaccination Survey
A Reminder
PAVIR EMPLOYEES: If you have not already done so, please complete your vaccination survey in ADP. Look for the emails you’ve received from ADP asking you to complete a survey and upload an image of your vaccination card. To proceed, you will need to either download the ADP mobile app if you don’t already have it and follow the prompts, or you can complete the survey on your desktop by logging into ADP, navigating to “MYSELF” and then select “Surveys” where you will have the option to complete the survey and upload your vaccination card. Thank you!
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COVID LEAVE
What You Need to Know
California based full-time employees are now entitled to up to 80 hours of 2022 COVID-19 related paid sick leave from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022, and part-time covered employees may take leave up to the number of hours they work over two weeks.
Full time employees can take up to 40 hours and part time employees can take up the number of hours they work in a week for the following reasons:
- Vaccine-Related
- Caring for Yourself
- Caring for a Family Member
Full-time employees may take up to an additional 40 hours of leave if they are unable to work or telework,
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and part-time employees may take up to an additional number of hours they work over one week for either of the following reasons:
- The employee tests positive for COVID-19.
- The employee is caring for a family member who tested positive for COVID-19.
If you took leave for one of the reasons identified above from January 1, 2022 or later and used one of your accrued leaves (sick or vacation), you can request the time off be recoded as “CA FT Supplemental PSL 22” and have your balance of accrued time restored. If you took time without pay for one of the reasons identified above during this time period you may also request a retroactive payment. Payment is at the employee’s regular or usual rate of pay, not to exceed $511 per day and $5,110 in total. Please email payroll@pavir.org for help recoding your time in your timecard or receiving retroactive payment.
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Request Time Off:
Moving forward, please request the time off in ADP using the code “CA FT Supplemental PSL 22”.
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 Pay Parity
PAVIR is committed to pay parity among our employees. We take the time to carefully define jobs and align employees to job groups and levels that best reflect their responsibilities.
- We review and adjust salary amounts annually.
- Our analyses and adjustments are also performed when new employees join PAVIR and at annual salary review time, when we ensure our employees are paid competitive market wages.
Should you have any questions about pay parity and our work in this area, please feel free to contact HR@pavir.org.
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Independent Contractors
A Reminder
 We want to remind you of the CA laws that became effective in 2020 related to engaging independent contractors (ICs). The California Supreme Court established the “ABC Test” to determine the correct classification of ICs.The guidelines are strict and presume that all individuals are employees. An IC classification is only permitted if the business can prove all three of the following are true (the burden of proof is on the employer):
- That the worker is free from the control and direction of the business in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact; and,
- That the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the entity’s business; and,
- That the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.
IC requests are reviewed thoroughly for compliance with the ABC test. Please contact HR@pavir.org for questions about the ABC test or your Contract & Grant Analyst to submit a requisition.
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 401K Update
PAVIR is committed to providing a high-quality retirement plan for its employees. As part of that process, the 401(k) Plan conducted a Plan Review and is making the following changes to the plan:
Fund and Withdrawal Features Changes:
Your retirement plan's investment choices are monitored and adjusted for many reasons. Based on the most recent detailed review, the plan trustees have decided to make an addition to the Plan’s investment lineup as well as to the withdrawals available from the Plan.
We encourage you to read the attached documents thoroughly and contact our advisor, Vita Planning Group, if you have any questions. Vita Planning Group can be reached at (650) 567-9300 or at planning@vitamail.com.
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Diversity and Inclusion at PAVIR
Making a Difference
 PAVIR’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Council members have held exciting discussions during their monthly virtual meetings. Ten Council members represent a cross-section of our community: PAVIR employees, Principal Investigators, and members of the PAVIR leadership team. With everyone’s participation, the Council members are striving to create a diverse, inclusive, and respectful space for all employees, Veterans, and the community we serve!
Next up on the Council’s agenda is to conduct a survey to find out what issues our community of employees might be experiencing and where we need to drive change and progress.
Want to join the DEIA Council or contribute to their work? Please reach out to the Council’s Co-Chair Natalia Shreve at nshreve@pavir.org.
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Employee Referrals Work!!!
 When you share PAVIR job openings with your network, we receive inquiries from motivated, eager and diverse applicants and we want more of your referrals! Even when we can’t hire them right away, we add them to the PAVIR Talent Community and send job links to your referrals directly in hopes to find a good opportunity for them (and pay a referral bonu$ to you!), so keep them coming! |
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WELCOME!
We traditionally welcome new PAVIR employees with each newsletter issue. It has been too long since we last published a newsletter, but this does not diminish the pleasure with which we welcome you and look forward to ongoing work with you.
| Kyle Kim |
Research Assistant |
3/25/21 |
| Jacqueline Butterfield |
Research Associate |
4/1/21 |
| Ryan Vinh |
Research Assistant |
4/1/21 |
| Geliya Kudryavtseva |
CR Coordinator |
4/5/21 |
| Mandana Mostofi |
Research Assistant |
4/9/21 |
| Donovan Pitts |
Research Assistant |
4/16/21 |
| Zemin Wang |
Research Associate |
6/1/21 |
| Gurkamal Dhaliwal |
Research Assistant |
6/28/21 |
| Jamie Kim |
Research Assistant |
6/28/21 |
| Emilie Claire Schneider |
Research Assistant |
7/1/21 |
| Aaron Tolman |
Contract & Grant Analyst |
7/7/21 |
| Evan Jarman |
Research Assistant |
7/12/21 |
| Freya Whittaker |
Research Assistant |
7/12/21 |
| Samantha DaLuz |
Contract & Grant Analyst |
7/14/21 |
| Emil Galhotra |
Administrative Assistant |
7/14/21 |
| Jasmin Francisco |
Research Assistant |
7/26/21 |
| Summer Bui |
Research Assistant |
8/10/21 |
| Tyler Weaver-Escobar |
Animal Technician |
8/10/21 |
| Sohayla Elhusseini |
Research Assistant |
8/11/21 |
| Gladys Chiang |
Research Assistant |
8/16/21 |
| Jessica Kirschmann |
Research Assistant |
8/16/21 |
| Regine Deguzman |
Research Assistant |
8/20/21 |
| Keoni Butler |
Research Assistant |
8/27/21 |
| Vaughan Hooper |
CR Coordinator |
8/27/21 |
| Ananya Krishnan |
Research Assistant |
8/27/21 |
| Annie Porter |
CR Coordinator |
9/1/21 |
| Meghana Nallajerla |
Data Analyst / Programmer |
9/1/21 |
| Danny Kwon |
CR Coordinator |
9/7/21 |
| Zeyuan Yang |
Data Analyst |
9/15/21 |
| Marisol Duran Reinoso |
Research Assistant |
9/17/21 |
| Phyo Phyo Aung |
CR Coordinator |
9/27/21 |
| Yu Chen |
CR Coordinator |
10/1/21 |
| Lance Safarta |
Research Assistant |
10/4/21 |
| Emily Stenson |
Research Assistant |
10/6/21 |
| Daniela Zanetti |
Data Analyst / Programmer |
10/16/21 |
| Meimei Liao |
CR Coordinator |
10/22/21 |
| Nadia Malek |
Research Assistant |
10/22/21 |
| Tariku Beyene |
Data Analyst |
11/29/21 |
| Danniel Bravo |
Animal Technician |
12/2/21 |
| Megan Abels |
Research Assistant |
1/3/22 |
| Zhuo Jun Li |
Research Assistant |
1/3/22 |
| Cristina Rodriguez Mateo |
Research Associate |
1/17/22 |
| Mia Vogel |
Research Associate |
1/25/22 |
| Josef Suba |
Research Associate |
1/27/22 |
| Helen Day |
Research Assistant |
2/1/22 |
| Anoop Thakore |
Research Assistant |
2/7/22 |
| Stephanie Gee |
CR Coordinator |
2/16/22 |
| Chandana Gowdara |
CR Coordinator |
2/16/22 |
| David Pagano |
Consultant |
2/16/22 |
| Luisa Manfredi |
CR Coordinator |
2/23/22 |
| Rhean Riego de Dios |
Animal Technician |
3/7/22 |
| Bao Nguyen |
Research Assistant |
3/16/22 |
| Molly Ma |
CR Coordinator |
4/4/22 |
| Evan Bao |
Research Assistant |
4/11/22 |
| David Ngendahimana |
Data Scientist / Statistician |
4/14/22 |
| Sara Ellis |
Research Assistant |
4/22/22 |
| Allyson Davis |
Veterinarian |
4/22/22 |
| Steffany Fredman |
Sleep Assessment Consultant / Fidelity Rater |
4/25/22 |
| Megan Skye |
Statistician |
4/29/22 |
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