Research News

Research News - August 21, 2015

August 21, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. PeopleSoft DHHS Salary Cap Rollout
2. Upcoming Change in Password Self Service
3. PEAS Enrollment Required for all Apple Macintosh Products
4. Innovation Service Survey
5. PCORI Board Approves $65.7 Million for Research and Topics for Future Funding
6. Core of the Week: Vector Development and Production Core

EVENTS

1. Invitation to submit abstracts for MGH Clinical Research Day

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Call for Pre-Proposals - Sanofi iAwards Program
2. Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
3. Pilot funding: Up to $50,000 for Proposals in Schizophrenia or Human Oral Microbiome
4. DF/HCC Nodal Award Program 2015
5. Private Funding Opportunities
6. Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
7. NIH Update for Week Ending August 21, 2015

In Case You Missed It

Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. PeopleSoft DHHS Salary Cap Rollout

This past Thursday, August 20th at 12 noon, the PeopleSoft DHHS Salary Cap Enhancement rolled out to all Personnel Transactions including RPOs and EDCs. Click here for the training document which reviews the enhancement in detail. This has been communicated at RADG and BRISC in May and June as well as ongoing departmental and general training sessions.

If you have any questions, issues and or concerns we are offering office hours at the below location and phone number. Please feel free to give us a call or come in to go over your transaction. We will have extra laptops so that we can walk through the issues and or questions you may have. If you plan on traveling over to the below location, please email acassese@partners.org so that we can let security know you will be arriving.

Wednesday August 26, 2015 from 1-3 @ 101 Huntington Ave, Fl.3, Large Conference Room (p) 617.954.9826

If you have any general questions and or concerns regarding the enhancement and rollout, you can always reach out to your Post-Award GA and they will be able to assist. Thank you all for your continued support and cooperation.

2. Upcoming Change in Password Self Service

Did you know... that beginning August 27th, you will once again be able to reset a forgotten or expired password from home or a non-Partners computer (outside the Partners network)?

Keep in mind... that you must have pre-registered a phone number. To reset your password, you will need to enter a confirmation code, delivered via text message or phone call. Learn More

Avoid password issues... by changing your Partners password when you receive your first email reminder.

If you need assistance, please contact the IS Service Desk.

3. PEAS Enrollment Required for all Apple Macintosh Products

The IT Asset Management Standards for Apple Macintosh Products (EISS- 8.1d) are effective as of August 1, 2015. The standards require all institutionally owned or issued Macintosh devices be enrolled in the Partners Enterprise Apple Support (PEAS) program. Individuals have 90 days from August 1, 2015 to comply with the new standard. Click here to read more.

4. Innovation Service Survey

Please take the Partners HealthCare Innovation 2nd Annual Service Survey. This annual survey will help us provide the highest quality service to our constituents. Action plans and priorities will be set based on survey results. The survey is open until Friday, October 3, 2015.

To begin, please click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5VLB9K5. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this survey, please contact innovations@partners.org.

5. PCORI Board Approves $65.7 Million for Research and Topics for Future Funding

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

6. Core of the Week: Vector Development and Production Core

Vector Development and Production Core
Director: Bakhos Tannous, Ph.D.
Location: Building 149 13th Street, Room 6309, Charlestown

The Vector Development and Production Core provides viral vectors with custom-designed promoters and reporter genes and capacity for gene regulation.

To learn more about the Vector Development and Production Core, please click here.

EVENTS

1. Invitation to submit abstracts for MGH Clinical Research Day

Thursday, October 8, 8:00am - 12:00pm, O’Keeffe Auditorium & Bulfinch Tents

On Thursday, October 8, MGH will celebrate the 13th Annual Clinical Research Day. The Division of Clinical Research invites investigators from across the hospital to submit abstracts at https://crp2015.abstractcentral.com/ by the September 8th deadline.

Please note that submissions must be about clinical research conducted at MGH and may include manuscripts published after September 1, 2014.

MGH awards for best abstracts:

$5,000 Team Award (Nominations by chiefs required)
$1,500 Translational Research Award, sponsored by the Department of Molecular Biology
$1,000 Individual Award
Departmental Awards for clinical researchers in Anesthesia, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, Ob/Gyn, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Performance Analysis and Improvement/Practice Improvement, Psychiatry, Radiology, Surgery
A raffle sponsored by Mass General Research Institute

Clinical Research Day will begin at 8 a.m. with the keynote address delivered by Dr. Mark Fishman, President, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Call for Pre-Proposals - Sanofi iAwards Program

The Sanofi iAwards program brings together 7 top academic research institutions across the country and aims to support research ideas early in the translational path, at the transition between basic research and first proof of concept. Annual funding for each award granted by Sanofi will be ca. $100k total cost representing $57.5k direct cost and may be extended for one additional year at a similar funding level. Successful projects have the potential to grow into sponsored research agreements with significantly increased funding levels and timelines.

The Sanofi iAwards Program is expected to fund 24 projects per year for 3 years across the 7 participating academic entities: John Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University Medical Center, Columbia University, Brigham and Women`s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and University of Texas System. It will be subject to the oversight of a Joint Scientific Steering Committee (JSSC) comprised of 2 to 6 representatives from Sanofi and 1 representative from each of the academic institutions participating in the iAward Program. Our representative will be Maurizio Fava, MD, MGH Research Institute, Clinical Research Division Director. Each JSSC member will sign a confidentiality acknowledgement. The notification of pre-proposals chosen to be pursued as detailed proposals will be done by Sanofi. The JSSC will review the invited detailed proposals and make recommendations for funding by Sanofi.

The conditions related to program's governance and management, intellectual property, confidentiality have been negotiated and agreed by all Parties.

For additional information and all questions please contact our Coordinating Team: Gabriela Apiou, PhD, MGH Research Institute, Director for Translational Research Training and Development (gapiou@mgh.harvard.edu) and Seema Basu, PhD, Partners HealthCare Innovation, Director for Licensing and Strategic Collaborations (ssbasu@partners.org).

Please send pre-proposals by email to both Gabriela Apiou and Seema Basu by September 4, 2015. This will allow the Partners HealthCare Innovation Office to complete the uploading process and meet the Sanofi deadline (September 10, 2015). Please limit the total length of your pre-proposal to a maximum of 3 pages. This does not include the cover page or biographical sketch. All information in the pre-proposal should be non-confidential.

Please click here to view the call. To download the template, click here.

2. Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country's economic, social and research based growth.

Value & duration

$70,000 per year (taxable)
2 years (non-renewable)

Eligibility

Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to apply.
Applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree from a Canadian university may hold their Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at either a Canadian institution or an institution outside of Canada. Note that the proportion of Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships that may be awarded annually to individuals who apply in collaboration with a foreign institution is capped at 25% overall.
Click here for more eligibility information

To Apply
As there is a significant amount of institutional involvement required for this application process, we ask that all those interested in applying, who meet the eligibility criteria, email MGH ECOR acknowledging their intent to apply along with a copy of their CV by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 4, 2015.

Application Deadline: September 23, 2015

3. Pilot funding: Up to $50,000 for Proposals in Schizophrenia or Human Oral Microbiome

ReSourcing Big Data Pilot Funding Opportunities
As a follow-up to the successful ReSourcing Big Data Symposium held in March, up to $50,000 is available for translational research projects in two areas: schizophrenia or the human oral microbiome.

To learn more and apply, you must attend an educational event on September 16.

Human Oral Microbiome: Collaboration Opportunity
12:30-2:00pm, Countway Library, HMS
Open Translational Science Schizophrenia
4:00-5:30pm, Countway Library, HMS

Proposal applications due mid-October; more information on these opportunities can be found below and on the website.

For more information on either of these opportunities or the education events, please contact us.

4. DF/HCC Nodal Award Program 2015

Deadline for submission: September 14, 2015 by 9:00AM EST

Overview and Goals of the Nodal Award Program
A key goal of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) is to encourage and support the development of scientific collaborations among Center members that promote new translational cancer research as well as research that addresses issues relevant to the unequal burden of cancer and cancer outcomes in diverse populations.

To advance this goal, the DF/HCC periodically solicits proposals for pilot projects that are designed to enhance or create new “nodal point” interactions between members in clinical-based and discipline-based DF/HCC Research Programs (http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/research/research-programs/). These interactions provide an opportunity to link research efforts across Programs, with a focus on projects that have the potential of significant human application. Such inter-programmatic research efforts are the “nodal points” that are targeted for support by this award program.

Award Amount: $65,000 per year for up to two years (direct costs). These are federal funds awarded to DFCI as part of the Development budget of the DF/HCC Cancer Center Support Grant (5P30CA006516-50), and full indirect costs, at the awardee institution’s federally negotiated rate, will be awarded.

Deadline for submission: September 14, 2015 by 9:00AM EST
Funding decisions will be made after peer review during October, 2015
Anticipated award date: November 1, 2015

For more information, please click here.

5. 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.

Young Investigator Award, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT)
Alzheimer's Disease Research (ADR): Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards, BrightFocus Foundation
LE&RN/FDRS Lipedema Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards Program, Health Resources in Action (HRiA)/The Medical Foundation
Research Grants, Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation (DTRF)
Grants for Research and Development Projects, Stiftelsen Promobilia – Promobilia Foundation
SFARI Explorer Awards, Simons Foundation/Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

6. 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.

Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (P30)
Career Development Programs in Diabetes Research for Pediatric Endocrinologists (K12)
Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers (P30) – NEW!
Worker Training Program (WTP) Ebola Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response Training (UH4) – NEW!
Nanomaterials Health Implications Research (NHIR): Comprehensive Evaluation of Interactions between Engineered Nanomaterials and Biological System (U01)
NIMHD Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers for Health Disparities Research on Chronic Disease Prevention (U54) – 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.

7. NIH Update for Week Ending August 21, 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