Research News - July 24, 2015

An email was sent out on July 21 to many Principal Investigators and research staff discussing updates on the CNY149-8 HVAC Renovation Project. If you missed this email, please click here to read it. (Please note that this email is located behind the firewall and has limited access.)

Ragon Institute Imaging Core-Flow Cytometry
Director: Galit Alter, Ph.D.
Location: 400 Technology Square, room 910, Cambridge, MA 02139

The mission of the Ragon Institute Imaging Core is to bring the latest imaging modalities to bear on fundamental molecular and cell biological questions pertaining to infectious diseases. As an MGH core, it also serves the greater MGH community in all aspects of microscopy, flow cytometry and cell sorting. The Flow Cytometry division of the Ragon Institute Imaging Core is located on the 9th floor of 400 Technology Square in Cambridge. The core offers training, assistance, and access to flow cytometers and other instrumentation. Consultation is provided on experimental design. Our high speed cell sorter is situated in a BL2+ facility, permitting sorting of fixed or live samples with up to BL2+ containment.

For more information about the Ragon Institute Imaging Core please click here.

October 29-30, Boston Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center

The Partners' 2015 Connected Health Symposium, The Internet of Healthy Things: Integrating Connected Health into Real World Care Delivery, will be held October 29-30 at the Boston Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center.

With a focus on trends at the intersection of technology and new models of health care delivery, the Connected Health Symposium is a dynamic event where you will hear about real world programs and the future of the rapidly-expanding connected health marketplace that affects all providers and their patients.

View our growing list of keynoters and expert panelists. Visit http://symposium.connectedhealth.org/speakers.

Don't miss out! Enjoy $45 off the already reduced Partners Employee rate. Click here to Register.

Wednesday, August 26, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Location provided upon registration.

The Office for Clinical Careers presents a seminar for MGH faculty with HMS academic appointments:

Do you need help drafting the "Chief's letter" for your promotion?

This interactive session will focus on how to write a convincing letter for Harvard Medical School promotion committees. Learn how to help your chief understand and convey your story so that your promotion can move forward. Don’t let procrastination and anxiety get in your way!

Career Advancement Series: Drafting Your Chief’s Letter

Facilitator: Theodore Stern, MD, director of the Office for Clinical Careers, Ned H. Cassem Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Psychosomatic Medicine/Consultation at HMS, and chief of the Avery D. Weisman, MD, Psychiatry Consultation Service

Faculty with HMS academic appointments click here to register. If you have any questions please email clinicalcareers@partners.org.

Thursday, October 8, 8:00am – 12:00pm, O’Keeffe Auditorium & Bulfinch Tents
 
Celebrate MGH’s 13th Annual Clinical Research Day on Thursday, October 8 from 8am – 12pm. The day will kick-off with the keynote presentation by Dr. Mark Fishman, President, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
 
More details will be available in the next few weeks, including instructions on abstract submission and event schedule. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Questions may be directed to Jillian Tonelli.
 
MGH Clinical Research Day is brought to you by the Division of Clinical Research.

Monday, July 27, 2015, 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm, Haber Auditorium

Partners will be holding a Research Naviagtor Q & A Session at MGH on Monday, July 27, 2015. 
These sessions will be informal open forums where members of the research community can stop by to learn more about the Research Navigator.  This is also a time to ask any questions you may have or address any specific issues you have encountered. 
If you are interested in participating in one of these forums, please sign up here. 

Additionally, if you are aware of specific issues that users are currently having with the Research Navigator, please communicate those to Daniel Perry before the forum on the 27th so those issues can be addressed.    

Applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the MGH Howard M. Goodman Fellowship

What is it?
This is an endowed fellowship established by the MGH Department of Molecular Biology in honor of the founding Chief of the Department, Dr. Howard M. Goodman. The award is intended to further the careers of outstanding independent young scientists who have demonstrated the potential to rise to a leadership position in their chosen field.  Independent Fellows, Instructors, and new Assistant Professors from any MGH Department are eligible to apply for this award.  

How much is the award?
The award is for two years at $150,000, plus 15% indirect costs, per year and is effective April 1, 2016.  

When is the deadline?
Tuesday, October 1, 2015 – 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?

• Click here to read more and apply online.
  Click here to see a list of past recipients.
  Visit the ECOR website for other funding opportunities.

The Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) is accepting applications for the August 1st deadline for the Deliberative Interim Support Funding g.  August is the second of three standing deadlines for these awards in 2015. The next deadline will be December 1, 2015.  

What are they?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding
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?
Saturday, August 1, 2015 - 5:00 PM

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

The Charles H. Hood Foundation was incorporated in 1942 to improve the health and quality of life for children throughout New England. Today's research projects encompass many disciplines that have contributed to discoveries in pediatric medicine while launching the careers of promising junior faculty. The intent of the Award is to support newly independent faculty, provide the opportunity to demonstrate creativity, and assist in the transition to other sources of research funding. Research projects must be relevant to child health.

Online Application Deadline: Friday, October 2, 2015 at 12:00 Noon, U.S. Eastern Time

Application Materials: www.tmfgrants.org/Hood

Funding Period and Award Amount

• January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2017
• Up to five $150,000 awards at $75,000 per year (inclusive of 10% institutional overhead)

Eligibility

• Investigators within five years of their first faculty appointment (inclusive of any independent research positions in a for-profit or other professional setting)
• Research with relevance to child health
• Hypothesis-driven clinical, basic science, public health, health services research and epidemiology projects

• Applicants may submit only once to the Hood Foundation regardless of project focus unless specifically invited back by the Scientific Review Committee.

PLEASE NOTE: Hospital divisions may select no more than two Applicants to submit proposals. There are no limitations on departmental or institutional submissions.

Please direct any questions to 617-695-9439 or GLockwood@hria.org.

The purpose of the NINDS Research Program Award (RPA) is to provide longer-term support and increased flexibility to investigators whose outstanding records of research achievement demonstrate their ability to make major contributions to neuroscience.  RPAs will support the overall research programs of NINDS-funded investigators for up to 8 years, at a maximum level of $750,000 direct costs per year.  This greater funding stability will provide investigators increased freedom to embark upon research that breaks new ground or extends previous discoveries in new directions.  It will also allow Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) to take greater risks and to undertake research projects that require a longer timeframe.  Research supported through the RPA should be within the scope of the NINDS mission (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/about_ninds/mission.htm).

It is anticipated that the RPA will:

• Provide a stable and flexible funding environment, thereby facilitating ambitious, creative research;
• Enable investigators to pursue research opportunities as they arise; PDs/PIs will not be bound to specific aims proposed in advance of the studies;
• Reduce the time researchers spend writing grant applications and managing multiple grant awards, thereby allowing them to spend more time conducting research; and
• Enable PD/PIs to devote more time and energy to mentoring junior scientists.

Eligibility to apply through this FOA is limited to investigators who currently have at least one active NINDS R01 or R01 equivalent grant (defined here as R01, R37, DP1, or DP2 awards) due to expire in FY16 or FY17.  Applicants must also have received continuous R01 or R01 equivalent grant support from NINDS for at least the past 5 years.  Investigators receiving RPAs must relinquish their other NINDS research grants, with a limited number of exceptions.

For more information, click here.

The Gliklich Innovation Scholars Program launched in 2013 with the aim of providing a transformative opportunity for young physicians to pursue novel and disruptive ideas and projects that might otherwise be difficult to undertake through traditional funding mechanisms.  The program seeks individuals looking for a mentored experience in innovation and the opportunity to make an impact on healthcare treatments, delivery, outcomes, or education through a focused project, protected time, and the rich, collaborative environment of the Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard, nearby institutions, and other resources.   The program draws on the unparalleled resources of the Harvard community: its faculty, networks, and a broad range of potential collaborators and local entrepreneurs.  The program is seeking motivated individuals with good ideas -- ideas that will help shape their own unique experience at a premier, specialized teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and impact healthcare broadly.  Projects should be relevant to at least one of the departments at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, with key milestones that can be achieved during the period of funding.

Innovation Scholars may be selected for either a full-time or a part-time commitment.  Salary support will be commensurate with their post-graduate level and time commitment, and funding will be provided for miscellaneous expenses and travel. 

For more information, click here.

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.

• Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program, Fondation Leducq/Leducq Foundation
• Targeted Grants in the Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems, Simons Foundation
• Project Research Grant, Wings for Life (WFL) Spinal Cord Research Foundation
• Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowships, Cancer Research Institute (CRI)
• Research Grants, Frick Foundation for Research on ALS, Bruno and Ilse

Please click here for further details on these 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.

• Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (U19)
• Career Development Program in Emergency Care Research (K12)
• Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (P30) – NEW!
• Career Development Programs in Diabetes Research for Pediatric Endocrinologists (K12)
• Nanomaterials Health Implications Research (NHIR): Comprehensive Evaluation of Interactions between Engineered Nanomaterials and Biological System (U01) – NEW!

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.

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

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

MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards
Application Deadline: October 13

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

Research Subject Remuneration and Reimbursement: Policy Review – August 4

HMS Faculty Seminar: Drafting Your Chief’s Letter  - August 26

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