Research News - October 2, 2015

On Wednesday September 30th Apple released their next operating system for Macs, OS X 10.11 El Capitan. At this time, we recommend not to upgrade your Mac in the Enterprise as some software provided by our vendors is not yet compatible. Click here to read more...

If you have a SAS license set to expire on 9/30/15 or 10/12/15, do not wait, request a new one now. If you are unsure, see: How to find the expiration date of your SAS install. The Research Computing Core is now selling discounted SAS Analytics Pro licenses at the cost of $400 per license annually. There will be two options: individual SAS PC Licenses (available now) and SAS Server Licenses (available for early adopters in waves). Please see the comparison chart for details about both options. Please complete the SAS License Request Form to purchase a license. You can purchase a SAS PC License and switch to the Server License at a later date at no additional cost (and vice versa). If you have questions before completing the form, please send them to rcc@partners.org.  

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

Monday, October 5, 2015, Simches Auditorium (3.110), Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

• Annual Conversation with Peter Slavin, MD, President of MGH

 All MGH Researchers welcome!

Thursday, October 8, 2015

13th Annual MGH Clinical Research Day is October 8

The Clinical Research Program invites you to join us for our 13th annual MGH Clinical Research Day on Thursday, October 8. The day starts at 8 am in the O'Keeffe Auditorium and features:

8 am – Keynote Address
How to Discover New Medicines by Mark Fishman, M.D., President, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR)
Mark C. Fishman is the President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, and a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis.  Before joining Novartis in 2002, he was Chief of Cardiology and founding Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. 

9 am – Poster Session
View posters by researchers from across the institution

11 am – Panel Discussion
How to think about innovation and translation at MGH
Maurizio Fava, MD, will moderate the Clinical Research Day’s panel discussion including Mason Freeman, MD, Director of the Translational Research Center; Merit Cudkowicz, MD, Chief of Neurology; Keith Flaherty, MD, Director of the Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies; Rox Anderson, MD, Director of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine; and Henri Termeer, retired CEO and President, Genzyme Corporation and member of the Mass General Board of Trustees.

The keynote address and panel discussion will be held in the O'Keeffe Auditorium and the poster session will be held under the Bulfinch tents.

Please click here for the MGH Clinical Research Day 2015 Event Schedule. Please contact Jillian Tonelli with questions or for more information.

Tuesday, October 6, 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.

In this RCR seminar, you will view and discuss the interactive film, "THE LAB: Avoiding Research Misconduct," from the NIH Office of Research Integrity. As part of the discussion, audience members will be asked to take the perspective of different characters and make decisions about integrity in research that can have long-term consequences.

Responsible Conduct of Research Series – The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct
Discussion Leader: Sydney S. Cash, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology

Please click here to register by Fri, Oct 2.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 4:00 - 5:00pm, The Starr Center (Schepens Eye Research Institute), 185 Cambridge Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA

Sponsored by the Seminars in Cell Biology, Division of Nephrology and the Department of Neurology

Ana Maria Cuervo, Ph.D.
Robert and Renée Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Disease
Professor of Developmental and Molecular Biology; Anatomy and Structural Biology; and Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Hosts: Roy Soberman (Nephrology, 6-3747), Breen Power (Neurology, 6-1275)

The Navigator team will be hosting information sessions in October to all who are interested at MGH. Stop by during one of the sessions below to learn more about Navigator and how it can help you, and about exciting enhancements like the new contact directory and improved search feature.

MGH employees can attend all or part of any session (2 hour time commitment is not necessary):

• Tuesday, 10/13 @ MGH Haber Auditorium (1-3pm)
• Thursday, 10/15 @ 149 Charlestown Navy Yard (10am-12pm in room 2204)

If you are interested in attending, please sign up here​​, or email researchnavigator@partners.org with the session you would like to attend.

Applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the MGH Research Scholars Program

What is it?
The Massachusetts General Hospital Research Scholars Program was established with the aim of supporting MGH research faculty who are pursuing either fundamental (basic) or clinical research at the level of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor.  The intent of these awards is to support the careers of outstanding MGH investigators doing cutting-edge research that is highly innovative and expected to result in fundamental scientific discoveries and/or clinical applications.

How much is each award?
These awards are for $500,000 over 5 years; and will be funded at $100,000 per year, including 15% indirect costs.

When is the deadline?
Tuesday, November 10, 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 HMS Foundation Funds Program administers the nomination process for HMS/HSDM faculty and postdocs for funding opportunities from private foundations that require candidates to be nominated by either Harvard Medical School or Harvard University. Each year, several foundations invite HMS/HSDM 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. Interested investigators must first apply internally through the HMS Foundation Funds, and a committee will select the final candidates who will then submit applications to the foundations.
Additionally, a number of funding opportunities are available solely to our faculty. These are different from the typical Foundation Funds awards because applicants do not go on to compete against applicants from other universities at the national level, and therefore no institutional nomination is required. More information on these awards can be found in the award listings.
Information on funding opportunities offered through the HMS Foundation Funds office is available online at: www.hms.harvard.edu/foundationfunds

Awards include:

• Brain Research Fund Fay/Frank Seed Grant Program
• Breast Cancer Alliance Exceptional Project Grant**
• Dana Foundation David Mahoney Neuroimaging Program
• Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award
• Macy Foundation Faculty Scholars Program
• Mary Kay Innovative/Translational Cancer Research Award
• Packard Fellowships in Science and Engineering
• Rita Allen Faculty Scholars Program

Faculty and postdocs interested in applying for any of the awards listed above can apply for the HMS nomination by submitting an application online no later than October 15, 2015 at 5:00PM.

**Note: If you are an MGH investigator, you should not apply directly to HMS for several of the funding opportunities offered through the HMS Foundation Funds office throughout the year. Please click herefor more information on how to determine where to apply and for information on the process.

Please direct all inquiries to the Office of the HMS Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs, 617-432-7463, hmsaca@hms.harvard.edu. For any questions regarding the process for receiving the MGH institutional nomination to apply for any limited submission funding opportunity, please contact Erin McGivney at emcgivney@partners.org or 617-643-6471.

The Center for Skeletal Research based in the Endocrine Unit at MGH, and funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (NIAMS) is announcing a request for applications for an Innovation Travel Award. This award will provide up to $5,000 for an investigator to travel to an outside laboratory to gain expertise in novel methodologies used for skeletal analyses and to help integrate these new technologies into one of the Research Cores upon return to Boston.  These funds will subsidize travel, hotel, meals and reagent costs required for integration of the service into a Core.  

Submission deadline is Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 5pm EST.  Funding is anticipated to be available on or before December 1, 2015.  Travel must be completed by Thursday, April 30, 2016.

For more information, go to https://csr.mgh.harvard.edu/travel-award

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.

• Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Program, American Kidney Fund (AKF)
• Liver Scholar Award, American Liver Foundation (ALF)
• CART Grants, CART Fund (Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust)
• Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
• FRAXA Postdoctoral Fellowships, FRAXA Research Foundation
• Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE):  Novel Approaches to Characterizing and Tracking the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE):  Explore New Solutions in Global Health Priority Areas, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Gates Vaccine Innovation Award, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Genetics Prize, Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation
• Neuroscience Prize, Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation
• Geriatrics Project (Irma and Paul Milstein Program for Senior Health), Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation)
• Hematology Project (Research Project Award in Hematology), Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation)
• Hematology Project (Research Project Award in Hematology), Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation)
• Reproductive Medicine Project (Research Project Award in Reproductive Medicine), Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation)
• Translational Medicine Project (Research Project Award in Translational Medicine), Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation)
• Dermatology Project (Research Project Award in Skin Disease), Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation)
• Research-Specific Grants:  MSTS Clinical Research Grant in Orthopaedic Oncology (OREF/Musculoskeletal Tumor Society), Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• RPB Physician-Scientist Awards, Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB)
• RPB Career Development Awards, Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB)

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.

• Child Neurologist Career Development Program (CNCDP) (K12) – NEW!
• NIMHD Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers for Health Disparities Research on Chronic Disease Prevention (U54)
• Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and Training Program (P42) – 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

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

MGH ECOR Formulaic Bridge Support
Application Deadline: October 7, 7th day of each month

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

Innovation Travel Award
Application Deadline: October 15

Pfizer Centers for Therapeutic Innovation 2015
Application Deadline: October 16

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

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

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