Research News - August 26, 2016

The Partners Biobank is pleased to announce the Biobank Portal Genomic Pilot.  The Genomic Pilot allows researchers to search for genomic variations for 5,000 genotyped subjects, in combination with the health care, patient survey and phenotype data already existing for these subjects in the Biobank Portal. For the set of 5,000 genotyped subjects, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and insertion or deletions (indel) genomic variants are available for querying in the Portal.
To participate in the Pilot, please opt-in by selecting the Biobank Portal Genomic Pilot project from the list of available projects after logging into the Biobank Portal (available from the Partners start menu and http://biobankportal.partners.org)

For questions and feedback about the Genomic Pilot, contact biobank@partners.org OR Stacey Duey - Project Specialist sduey@partners.org

In an effort to reduce contract execution time, the Clinical Trials Office is introducing an electronic signature tool. The Agreement Associates and Case Managers will utilize DocuSign for all CTO-generated documents requiring PI signature effective immediately.  DocuSign will replace CTO usage of PDF documents and reduce turnaround time by allowing PIs to sign and return documents electronically from any location.

Please watch your email inboxes for DocuSign attachments.  Signing begins when you receive an email asking you electronically sign a document.  The email is sent by DocuSign on behalf of the sender and has a message from the sender and a link to open the documents. Select the Review Documents button in the email to start signing.

On Thursday, October 6, MGH will celebrate the 14th Annual Clinical Research Day. The Division of Clinical Research invites investigators from across the hospital to submit abstracts at https://crp2016.abstractcentral.com/ by the September 6 deadline.

Please note that submissions must be about clinical research conducted at MGH and may include manuscripts published after September 1, 2015.
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, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, Ob/Gyn, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Performance Analysis and Improvement/Practice Improvement, Radiology and more!
• A raffle sponsored by Mass General Research Institute

Clinical Research Day will begin at 8 a.m. with the keynote address delivered by Dr. Sandra Glucksmann, Chief Operating Officer, Editas Medicine

Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

Partners Research Management has opened enrollment for its fall trainings, now managed through HealthStream.  Trainings are open to all members of the research community. 

Registration will no longer be through PeopleSoft as was done in the past.  To Enroll for RM trainings, please log in to HealthStream, which can be found under Utilities in the Partners P link. 

Click here to view our list of courses and schedule (See 3rd Trimester).  View our Training Page on Navigator to learn more about the content of our trainings and view previous slides. 

Registration Instructions can be found at the bottom of the Training Home Page​, and are also listed below: 

• Log into HealthStream ​from your Partners Applications, under Utilities: 
• If directed to the "The new look for HealthStream is here!" page, hit Continue.
• In the top menu bar, click Catalog
• Type in PHSRM in the search bar to view all of our courses.  You can also search by individual course name from the course schedule
• Select the desired Course to view the details
• Once in the desired course's page, select "Choose Class"
• Select "Register" to enroll
• A pop up will appear confirming enrollment for the course. 

Please save the date in your calendars, as a reminder email will not be sent from HealthStream.  All registered participants will receive an email from Research Management Training several days before the course with further details on location, parking, handouts, and other pertinent information.  If you do not receive an email within 3 days of the course, please contact Stania Augustin (857-282-1668), saaugustin@partners.org. 

Tuesday, September 6, 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Simches Auditorium (3.110)
Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

New developments in Clinical Research Support at MGH: A discussion of the Clinical Research Center (CRC) & an introduction to the new Translational Research Center (TRC)

David Nathan, MD, Director, Clinical Research Center     
Mason Freeman, MD, Director, Translational Research Center

Elected Representatives will be available 30 minutes before and after this meeting in Simches 3.120 & Isselbacher Auditorium at CNY if you’d like to speak with them.

Mondays, 9/19 & 10/24, 3:00-5:00 pm, One Constitution Center, Charlestown, MA

The ERIS Scientific Computing team opened registration for the fall ERISOne Linux Cluster trainings. ERISOne is a computing cluster used for data processing and analysis available as a shared resource at no cost. Each hands-on course has limited space, and registration is required.

Visit rc.partners.org/events to register for the course that fits your experience level.

September 13, 2016, 1:30-2:30pm, Ether Dome, Bulfinch 4-430

Guest lecture sponsored by the MGH Learning Laboratory in conjunction with the Executive Committee on Teaching and Education (ECOTE)

“Medical Education Research as Translational Science”
William McGaghie, PhD
Professor in Medical Education & Preventive Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

All members of the MGH community are invited to attend.

Friday, September 9, 2016, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Location provided upon registration.

The Center for Faculty Development’s 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!

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, please click here to register by Tue, Sep 6. 

Accreditation
Partners HealthCare System is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Partners HealthCare System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

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, October 18, 2016 – 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 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 Tuesday, September 6, 2016.

Application Deadline: September 21, 2016

Preliminary applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation 2016. 

What are they?
Margaret Q. Landenberger Foundation Award
The Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation is a non-profit private foundation which focuses its support on promising early stage medical researchers. The ideal candidate is affiliated with an outstanding medical research institution and works under the supervision of experienced mentors. The goal is to assist these individuals by funding their current research, with the hope of enabling them to acquire more significant funding. The Landenberger Foundation does not restrict our support to any particular disease or medical condition, although they are looking for research with broad impact.
MGH is eligible to nominate one candidate.

When is the deadline?  
MGH Internal Preliminary Application Deadline:  Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - 5:00 p.m.

How do I learn more and apply?
Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation 2016 - Click here

The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University has launched an innovation challenge to solicit ideas and solutions for treating sleep apnea. The challenge is open to all members of the public, including researchers both in sleep medicine, and outside of this field – athletes, and anyone else interested in this topic. You do not need to be affiliated with Harvard to submit an idea.

Enter to win a cash prize that will be part of a total pool of $10,000 distributed among several winners. The minimum award amount is $1,000, and at least one award will be $5,000 or more.

Submit your big idea by September 21, 2016. Click here for more information.

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.

• Pediatric Centers of Excellence in Nephrology (P50)
• Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa):  Global Health Bioinformatics Research Training Program (U2R)
• George M. O'Brien Kidney Research Core Centers (P30)
• BD2K Research Education Curriculum Development:  Data Science Overview for Biomedical Scientists (R25)
• Centers for HIV/AIDS-Related Structural Biology (P50)
• Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) (U24)
• Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (U19)

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.

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.

• Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows Award Program, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
• Beckman-Argyros Award in Vision Research, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
• Pioneering Ideas Brief Proposals, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
• Established Investigator Awards, Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)
• Young Investigator Awards, Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)
• Established Investigator Academic-Industry Partnership Awards, Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)
• Geriatrics Project (Irma and Paul Milstein Program for Senior Health), 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)
• Research Grants, Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation (OHF)
• Collaborative Awards in Science, Wellcome Trust

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

MGH ECOR Formulaic Bridge Funding Support
Application Deadline: September 7; 7th day of each month

The MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards
Application Deadline: October 12, 2016

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

Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials September 1 - October 20

A Primer on Complex Trait Genetics - Principles for the Beginning Investigator September 13

Annual Women in Medicine Month Celebration September 14

Getting to Know PCORI: From Application to Closeout  September 19 & 20

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