Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute Membership Enrollment Process

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can become a member of a research center?
Any Children’s faculty member may elect to become a member of a research center.

Why do I need to select membership in a center?
Grants and indirects are administered through the centers, not through the Research Institute. If you do not join a center, then there is no system in place to administer your grants. Indirects will be credited to the Research Institute and will not be returned to you.

How can I select a center if I don’t know what the individual center benefits are?

  • Something must come first, membership or benefits. The center directors have decided that it is important to include center member input in the determination of benefits offered by each center. Therefore, specific center benefits will be determined only AFTER center membership has been defined. Center members will help determine what benefits a particular center offers.
  • For most faculty members, there will be a natural alignment with a specific center, so the choice of a center should be clear. Faculty with interests or needs that span across multiple centers in a significant way should contact the relevant center directors to discuss his/her options.

I’m not sure that I should join a research center. Who should I talk to?
Start by talking to your division chief or department director.

What if I decide to change my center at a later date?
Changes to centers are allowed at anytime, with the agreement of the center directors. However, changes to grant administration and indirect cost allocations will only be allowed on a yearly basis. Therefore, if you initially elect Center A as your center with Primary Level Privileges and then change to Center B in 2 months, Center A will continue to administer your grants until the end of the fiscal year.

What if I don’t select a center during the open enrollment period?
You may still select a center after open enrollment, however you may be left out of early center announcements and discussions that are expected to begin soon after the enrollment period ends.

My grants are administered by the UW. Can I apply for membership in a SCHRI Center?
Such applications for center membership which would require consideration of transfer of grants from other facilities (e.g. UW, FHCRC) to SCHRI must first be approved by the UW Academic Chair, the president of SCHRI and the chief academic officer of SCHRI.

What are the rates for the Core Services?
Rates will be determined after membership enrollment has been completed. Rates are dependent on the indirect funding that a center receives and are tied to the number of Members (grants) within a center.

When will enrollments for membership with Adjunct Level Privileges take place?
Enrollment into centers with Adjunct Level Privileges will take place after the open enrollment period has completed. Membership with Adjunct Level Privileges requires the approval of all involved center directors.

I am a post-doc. What are my membership options?
Postdoctoral level scientists may become Scholar members in the centers in which their mentor is a member.

I am part of research staff. What are my membership options?
Staff are considered staff members of the centers in which their primary investigator is a member.

What if I want to join the Center for Neuroscience?
The Center for Neuroscience will be soliciting members in the near future. If your research is most relevant to the Center for Neuroscience and you are interested in obtaining Primary Level Privileges in this center, then you should not select another center for membership at this time. You are encouraged to wait until the new director of the Center for Neuroscience is identified. The recruitment process for the center director is currently underway. If you have questions about the Center for Neuroscience then you should contact the interim director, Sidney Gospe, MD.

Even after reading these FAQs I have more questions. What should I do?
If you are early in your decision process, you should talk with your division chief or department director. If you already know that you will be joining a center, but cannot decide in which center you would like to have Primary Level Privileges, then you should talk with the center directors. For general questions about enrollment, please contact Mark Ruffo, research marketing manager.

Do K awards count towards membership with Primary Level Privileges?
Yes, K awards count towards Primary Level Privileges.

For new grants or K awards, who should we list as our home institution?
Talk to your division chief or department director first and then talk with the appropriate center director.

Will there be institutional cores or cross-center cores?
Most likely there will be institutional or cross-center cores in which multiple centers contribute to the core. It is up to the centers to determine how they would like to manage core facilities. If multiple centers decide to share a core, then they may. There are already some discussions going on about a Data Management Core that would be shared by the Center for Clinical and Translational Research and the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development.