Research News - March 20, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. MGH Policies and Procedures can now be found on ellucid 

As of Monday, Trove is no longer in use for MGH Policies and Procedures. Please use the new policy manager system, ellucid, to find all current MGH policies and procedures. The site is accessible inside or outside the Partners Network; you will need to login using your Partners Username and password. Please note,Trove is still active for Partners HealthCare policies and procedures. 

• access the site from a standard Partners Windows PC, go to Partners Applications > Policies and Procedures > MGH-MGPO. If you do not see the Policies and Procedures folder under the Clinical References folder, please reboot your computer.
• access from a Mac or a non-standard Partners Windows PC, navigate to this URL https://hospitalpolicies.ellucid.com/.

Visit the KnowledgeBase article for updates and information regarding browser compatibility. Further inquiries can be directed to Kelly DiBenedetto at kdibenedetto@partnes.org.

2. CIMIT/B-BIC Healthcare Commercialization Boot Camp

The CIMIT/B-BIC Healthcare Commercialization Boot Camp guides academic research teams through the development of a commercialization roadmap that can be used to help apply for funding from commercially oriented sources (such as B-BIC, CIMIT, SBIR’s, Angel investors, etc.) and maximize the impact teams have on patient care. The program combines experiential, real-world learning with interactive lectures and facilitated exercises to help teams understand how to best address the needs of the multiple stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem (buyers, users, influencer, regulators, payers, providers, etc.) Teams will work to create a viable business model and commercialization roadmap by speaking with important stakeholders to validate key commercialization assumptions regarding potential customer needs, value propositions, regulatory and reimbursement pathways, important experiments to be conducted, etc. Teams will get out of the lab and out of the building to develop a commercialization roadmap based on data from actual customers and other important stakeholders.

For more information, please visit: http://cimitcolab.org/web/bootcamp/cimit-healthcare-commercialization-camp

Click here to apply.

3. Core of the Week: Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit Core Lab Core

Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit Core Lab Core
Director: Jordan Smoller, MD, ScD
Location: Simches Research Building, 185 Cambridge Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02114

The PNGU Core lab provides a variety of services intended to facilitate the identification and characterization of the genetic basis of psychiatric, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders and to translate these discoveries into improvements in clinical care and public health.

Services include assistance with study design and start-up, custom genotyping (SNP, other), qPCR for CNV detection/confirmation, DNA extraction and quantification, and sample preparation, tracking, and storage.

The PNGU core is open to both internal (MGH) and external investigators.

To learn more about the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit Core Lab Core, please click here

4. PCORI Update: Pharmacy Benefit Management Roundtable, Applicant Webinar, Board Meeting

Please click here to read the latest news from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

EVENTS

1. 2015 Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting

Wednesday & Thursday, April 1 & 2, 2015, Simches Research Building 

The 68th Annual Meeting of the MGH Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) is being held on April 1 & 2, 2015.

Please click here to view the agenda.

2. Munn Nursing Research Grand Rounds

Thursday, April 2, 1:30-2:30 pm in the O’Keeffe Auditorium

 “The Feasibility and Efficacy of Using A Computer-assisted Pedometer to Improve the Perception of Health in A Cohort of Nurses”
Jane Flanagan, PhD, ANP-BC and Meaghan Rudolph, RN, MS-PMHCNS-BC

Recipients, NIOSH Award (2013)
This presentation will describe the feasibility and efficacy of using a computer-assisted pedometer in a cohort of nurses aimed at increasing daily steps taken, improving mood, and decreasing the amount of time being sedentary.

Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development at Massachusetts General Hospital (OH-239, 10/1/2017) is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Ohio Nurses Association (OBN-001-91), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The learner must stay for the entire program and submit a completed evaluation to obtain contact hours.

3. HMS Faculty Seminar – Building Your Lab Team

Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Location provided upon registration.

The Center for Faculty Development's Office for Research Career Development presents a seminar for MGH research faculty.

This panel discussion is designed for early career faculty who are new to the process of hiring and leading laboratory staff. Topics covered will help you in building the best lab team for your new research program, including:
• Getting started: who to hire, postdoc or technician
• How to hire: interview and selection techniques
• Getting your team off to a good start: setting expectations
• How to avoid pitfalls and what to do if things go wrong

Building Your Lab Team
Panelists: Dennis Brown, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Director, Office for Research Career Development
Ellen Nelson, Manager, Partners Employee and Labor Relations
Patrick Purdon, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia

Faculty with HMS academic appointments, please click here to register by Wed, Apr 1.

4. MGH Seminar Series in Cell Biology

Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 3:00 PM, Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY Bldg. 149-East, Room 7231)

Sponsored by the Division of Nephrology

"Cell Biological Aspects of Host-Microbe Interactions”
Jonathan C. Kagan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Schwachman Chair in Gastroenterology
Harvard Medical School
Staff Scientist, Division of Gastroenterology
Boston Children’s Hospital

Host: Roy J. Soberman, M.D.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. MGH ECOR Deliberative Interim Support Funding

What are they?
This is open to Principal Investigators during a lapse or delay in their research funding from the NIH or another Federal agency (e.g., the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense).  Investigators must have applied for independent, long-term support (R01, R21, U01 and P01).  The Deliberative Interim Support process is open to:

1. Investigators whose grants were not scored or whose scores were not translated into a percentile ranking.
2. Investigators whose grants received scores >20th percentile.
3. Investigators who were awarded Formulaic Bridge Funding (grants with scores < or = 20th percentile), and are now requesting additional financial support (in excess of $75,000 for RO1s, and $37,500 for R21s).
4. Investigators who have already received Formulaic Bridge Funding or Deliberative Interim Support on their A0 grant application and are now requesting support for their A1 or A0 resubmission.  Investigators in this category must apply through the Deliberative Interim Support process for their A1 and A0 resubmission regardless of the score they received on their resubmitted grant.

When is the deadline?
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding - Click here

2. HMS Foundation Funds: Opportunities for Faculty and Fellows

Information on funding opportunities offered through the HMS Foundation Funds is now available online at: www.hms.harvard.edu/foundationfunds

Each year several foundations invite HMS junior faculty members and postdocs to apply for their fellowships and grants, which serve as critical funding at the early stages of a research career. For awards that limit the number of applicants from Harvard, interested investigators must first apply for the HMS nomination through the HMS Foundation Funds, and a committee will select the final candidates to submit applications to the foundations.

The following opportunities may be applied to via HMS:

• Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award
• Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Medical Scientists
• Burroughs Wellcome Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases
• Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program
• Grunebaum Cancer Research Fellowship
• Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship Program
• Searle Scholars Program
• W.T. Grant Scholars Program

Researchers interested in applying for any of the awards listed above can apply for the HMS nomination by submitting an application online no later than Tuesday, April 7, 2015 by 5:00PM

Please direct all inquiries to Betty Carbunari, Office of the HMS Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs, 617-432-7463, Betty_Carbunari@hms.harvard.edu

The selection process for the following opportunities is handled by MGH ECOR. To view MGH’s internal process on applying for limited submission funding opportunities as well as corresponding deadlines, please click here. For more information, please visit the ECOR website.

• ADA Pathway to Stop Diabetes: Diabetes Research Accelerator Award
• ADA Pathway to Stop Diabetes: Diabetes Research Career Initiator Award
• ADA Pathway to Stop Diabetes: Diabetes Research Visionary Award
• Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation Grant
• Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences
• Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research

If you have any questions regarding applying for a limited funding opportunity through MGH, please contact Erin McGivney at 617-643-6471.

3. Private Funding Opportunities 

Please contact Corporate & Foundation Relations in the Office of Development at devcfr@mgh.harvard.edu if you wish to submit a proposal in response to any of these funding opportunities.  Note that proposals are still routed through the standard InfoEd/Research Management process.

• LRI Distinguished Innovator Awards, Lupus Research Institute (LRI)
• Novel Research Grant Program - New Research Grants for Novel Approaches to Lupus, Lupus Research Institute (LRI)
• National Marfan Foundation/Canadian Marfan Association Faculty Grant Program, National Marfan Foundation (NMF)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

4. Limited Submission Funding Opportunities

We ask that all MGH Investigators interested in applying for any limited submission award submit a Letter of Intent (see detailed instructions below) to the MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) by the deadline indicated for each award to be considered to receive an institutional nomination.

Process
Submit a one- to two-page Letter of Intent (LOI) to the MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) via email to ecor@partners.org.  In addition to your LOI, please include an NIH Biosketch.

The letter of intent should include:

• Name of the Principal Investigator with appropriate contact information 
• A descriptive title of the potential application
• Brief description of the project 
• Brief description of why you specifically should be selected to receive institutional nomination for this award

In the event that there is more than one MGH investigators interested in applying for each limited submission award, the LOIs will be used to assess candidates and a review and selection process will take place.

Current Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
Please click here for more information and for our internal deadlines.

• Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation
• American Diabetes Association Pathway to Stop Diabetes Research Awards
• Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation Grant
• Validation of Pediatric Patient Reported Outcomes in Chronic Diseases (PEPR) Consortium (U19) - NEW!
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network (UG1) - NEW!
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Cooperative Multicenter Neonatal Research Network (UG1) - NEW!
• NIAMS Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Centers (P30)

If there is a limited submission funding opportunity you do not see listed above or you have any additional questions, please contact Erin McGivney at 617-643-6471.

5. NIH Update for Week Ending March 20, 2015

For the latest National Institutes of Health notices, requests for applications, and program announcements, follow this link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/WeeklyIndex.cfm

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

The Conquer Paralysis Now (CPN) Challenge
Application Deadline: April 1

Center for Skeletal Research Requests Proposals for Pilot and Feasibility Studies
Application Deadline: April 1 

MGH ECOR Formulaic Bridge Funding
Application Deadline: April 7, 7th day of each month

Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard
Application Deadline: April 22

National Comprehensive Cancer Network Request for Proposals
Application Deadline: April 27

Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC) Accepting PILOT & DRIVE Grant Pre-Proposals

Communicating within Study Teams - March 24

Bedside to Bench: Recognizing and studying patients that lead to new discoveries - March 31

Save the Date! SAC 2015 - April 1 & 2, 2015

2015 World Medical Innovation Forum - Neurosciences - April 27-29

New Biographical Sketch Format Required for NIH and AHRQ Grant Applications Submitted - May 25

Register for the Employee Alert System (EAS) today!

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@mgh.harvard.edu