Thank you to everyone in the CCBBI community who attended last month's Town Hall and contributed to the discussion. We appreciate your thoughtful questions, feedback, and suggestions, which help us continue to improve our operations and better serve our community.
We shared highlights from the Town Hall in last month's newsletter, which you can revisit here. Since then, the CCBBI team has had an opportunity to reflect on the topics raised and discuss potential next steps. Below, we share several updates.
CCBBI Parking for Research Visits
CCBBI parking spaces are funded through earnings operations funds, and as such, priority is given to MRI study participants, followed by TMS study participants.
We recognize that parking can also be helpful for participants attending behavioral research sessions. When spaces are available, we are happy to accommodate these requests. If you would like to reserve parking for a behavioral session, please email ccbbi.service@osu.edu 48 hours in advance to coordinate availability and obtain a parking pass. We will not be able to reserve these spaces 48 hours before the scheduled time for behavioral sessions.
Sharing Community Achievements and Website Updates
We are always excited to celebrate the accomplishments of our CCBBI community! We encourage you to share research achievements, publications, awards, and other noteworthy updates with us at ccbbi.service@osu.edu.
We will continue to highlight these accomplishments through our newsletter and website, as well as through our upcoming social media channels.
We are also working to expand the CCBBI website to better showcase our community, including information about CCBBI alumni and faculty publications. To make sharing news easier, we have added a "Submit a News Item" button at the bottom of our newsletters.
Annual Safety Training Schedule
Following the Town Hall discussion, we have reviewed other dates for the Annual Safety Training as well as discussed this with the Steering Committee. We all agree that it would be challenging, if not impossible, to find a time that works for all faculty, graduate students, and other research staff. As we want to maximize the number of faculty members and graduate students who can attend the safety training, going forward, the Annual Safety Training will be held on the Friday before the start of fall semester classes.
We recognize that some members of our community, particularly undergraduate students, may not have returned to campus by that date. Anyone unable to attend the annual session can contact ccbbi.service@osu.edu to arrange an alternative training session.
Please mark your calendars for August 20, 2027, for our next annual safety training.
Faculty Involvement in CCBBI Award Reviews
We remain committed to ensuring a fair and transparent review process for CCBBI student awards. Faculty members who provide letters of recommendation for applicants are recused from evaluating those students' applications. This practice helps maintain the integrity and impartiality of the review process.
To further enhance transparency, we will also share the evaluation criteria used to review applications in future award announcements.
MRI Scan Coverage and Staff Scheduling
We recognize the importance of consistency and familiarity with study protocols, particularly for research involving specialized participant populations.
As staff schedules can change frequently, we are unable to guarantee or provide advance schedules for coverage by specific MRI technologists. However, we will ensure that all staff members assigned to provide scan coverage are fully trained in MRI operations and the relevant study protocols, ensuring that sessions can be conducted safely and effectively. For additional questions or concerns about scan coverage, please contact CCBBI Director Dr. Ruchika Prakash directly at Prakash.30@osu.edu.
Thank you for your continued partnership in making CCBBI a collaborative and supportive research environment.