Research News - August 28, 2015

We hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

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.

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

MGH Biomedical Informatics Core
Director: Timothy W. Clark
Location: 65 Landsdowne Street, Suite 200, Cambridge, MA 02139

The MGH Biomedical informatics Core (MGH BMIC) serves the information management and analysis needs of the MGH/Partners/Harvard research community as well as non-profit organizations and industry. MGH BMIC has expertise in biomedical informatics, and leverages re-usable tools developed by the group to offer services in a cost-effective manner.

To learn more about the MGH Biomedical Informatics Core, please click here.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015, 12:00-1:00 pm, Simches Auditorium (3.110), Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

Government Affairs Update - Joseph Alviani, PHS Vice President for Government Affairs

Plus News & Announcements about:

• Dr. Slavin’s Annual Conversation with the Research Community
• 2015 ECOR Elections
• Current ECOR Funding Opportunities
• New Animal Protocols Process
• Center for Faculty Development
• Employees Assistance Program
• Enterprise Research Infrastructure & Services (ERIS)

All MGH Researchers welcome!

Thursday, September 10, 12-2pm, WebEx or Prudential Center

This month, Esmond Kane, PHS Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, will provide security updates highlighting new and ongoing projects. Mike Healy, Senior Project Specialist, and Mike Stromski, Director of PHS Network Security, will discuss the Network Access Control (NAC) initiative and field questions and concerns. The monthly Tech Lunch is an important forum for research IT administrators and managers to engage with ERIS, Partners IS and each other regarding IT services, technologies, security and infrastructure. RSVP Online by 9/8 and note if you plan to attend remotely so that details are sent. Visit the website and contact rcc@partners.org with questions about Tech Lunch.

Friday, September 11, 2015, 1:00 - 2:00 pm, Simches Research Building, Room 3.110

“The NIH Common Fund High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program: Supporting exceptionally creative scientists with highly innovative research ideas at all career stages”

Dr. Ravi Basavappa, NIH Program Leader

Come learning about the NIH Common Fund High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program highlighting:

• NIH Director’s Pioneer Award
• NIH Director’s Early Independence Award*
• NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award
• NIH Director’s New Innovator Award

*This award is a limited funding opportunity handled by MGH ECOR, for more information on any limited funding opportunities please contact Erin McGivney at 617-643-6471.

Thursday, September 17, 2015, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Charlestown Navy Yard (details upon registration)

The Center for Faculty Development’s Office for Research Career Development presents a seminar for MGH Postdocs with HMS academic appointments.

This session will help you understand the highly competitive Tosteson and Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) application process, including:

• When is the best time to apply?
• What factors do reviewers consider in ranking your application?
• How can you increase your chance of receiving an award?

MGH ECOR Fellowships for Postdocs: How to Write a Competitive Application
Speakers/Co-chairs of ECOR Review Committee:
Iain Drummond, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, MGH Renal Unit
Kristin White, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center

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.

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

Are you interested in applying for Yvonne L. Munn Nursing Research Award?

Eligible members of the MGH clinical nursing staff (registered RN, permanent benefits-eligible MGH employee of at least 20 hours per week in a staff nurse role) are invited to apply for a Munn Nursing Research Award to pursue a clinical investigation arising out of day-to-day practice.  Your research team must include a PhD-prepared nurse mentor.

To set up an appointment to learn more about the Munn Award, please email: Kim Francis, PhD, RN or Mary Larkin, MS, RN.

• Letter of Intent due: October 16
• Proposal due: December 11

For general information about the Munn Award, please visit the Munn Center website.

The AAMC is teaming up with The Patrick Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation to issue a request for proposals for Advancing Implementation Science in Community/Academic Partnered Research. The partnership offers an opportunity for academic medical centers to collaborate on research that has the potential for near-term impact to improve population health outcomes. The research should facilitate collaborations among researchers, community organizations, and health system leaders.

Proposals are due Oct. 16.

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.

• Innovation Awards, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
• Young Investigator Award, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT)
• ARTust Faculty Development Award, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI)
• AAF Scholar Awards, American Asthma Foundation (AAF)
• Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows Award, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
• Research Project Grants, DEBRA International

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.

• Career Development Programs in Diabetes Research for Pediatric Endocrinologists (K12)
• Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers (P30)
• Worker Training Program (WTP) Ebola Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response Training (UH4)
• 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)

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: September 7, 7th day of each month

DF/HCC Nodal Award Program 2015
Application Deadline: September 14

Howard M. Goodman Fellowship 2016
Application Deadline: October 1

Tosteson & Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards
Application Deadline: October 2

Charles H. Hood Foundation Child Health Research Awards Program
Application Deadline: October 2

Outstanding Researchers in Neurosciences – NINDS Research Program Award
Application Deadline: October 6

MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards
Application Deadline: October 13

Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (CSIBD) Pilot/Feasibility Study Grants
Application Deadline: October 13

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Gliklich Innovation Scholars Program
Application Deadline: February 1, 2016

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

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

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

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