Research News - June 6, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Core of the Week: PET Core

PET Core
Director: Georges El Fakhri
Location: Blossom St., Edwards Basement and White II, Boston

The PET Core Laboratory provides a full range of technical and professional services for the design and execution of programs using Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

The PET Core Facility provides the required facilities and personnel on a per study basis to allow investigators to use PET without requiring them to acquire the needed special expertise and equipment.

To learn more about the PET Core, please click here.
 

2. Important Information: Non-Standard Device Inventory Underway

With the help of MGH Research Management and MGH Research IS & Computing, MGH is performing a physical inventory of Non-standard Windows and Macintosh devices across the institution. MGH Research IS & Computing technicians will be stopping by to inventory all Non-standard Windows PCs, Macs and non-personal laptops. During inventory, the technician will do a very brief survey of the device to gather the technical specifics about the system (model, OS, manufacture etc). Inventory will take less than 5 minutes per device. MGH is conducting the inventory project to get a better understanding of the type of computers on the network. Please read this KnowledgeBase article for schedule information, and contact rcc@partners.org with any questions. 

3. Partners Research Management is seeking volunteers to participate in Research Navigator user acceptance testing starting June 30

Launching in August, the Research Navigator is a consolidation of Partners research sites, hospital research intranet sites, and administrative systems into a single portal for all research-related content at Partners. The Research Navigator (previously referred to as the Portal) project team is looking for volunteers to help test the platform prior to launch. More details can be found on the News & Announcements section of the RM internet. Please reach out to Keith Sather (ksather@partners.org) if you are interested in participating.

User acceptance testing (UAT):

Why? the goal of UAT is to validate that the Research Navigator performs as specified in our written requirements, from an end user’s perspective

What? testing participants will be given access to the portal and asked to perform tests (in the form of written scenarios, based on our requirements documentation); issues identified will be submitted via a simple web form so they can be reviewed and prioritized by the project team

Where? testing participants can log into the portal and conduct tests from any web browser (e.g., your workstation, home computer)

When? testing will begin on June 30 and extend through July 25 (4 week duration); testing effort should not exceed a few hours per week and can be conducted as your availability allows

Who? we are looking for as many as 30 participants across central offices and hospitals
 

4. NIH Update: Maximizing Fairness in Peer Review, Changes to the Biosketch, Inclusion Data Management System

Please click here to read the NIH Extramural Nexus. 

5. PCORI News: $30 Million Fall-Related Injuries Prevention Award; Regional Meeting in Minneapolis

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

EVENTS

1. CNY Faculty Lunch Seminar Series: Science BITES

Tuesday, June 10, 2014, 1:30pm - 2:30pm, CNY Building 149, Conference Room A, behind Eat Street Café

“Dynamin oligomerization: novel therapeutic target in chronic kidney diseases”
Sanja Sever, PhD
Nephrology Division

Bring your lunch!

Come learn about the exceptional and remarkably diverse research going on within MGH East. Feed your brain with cool science and meet “the faces behind the names” in our scientific community.

Contact: JLFuller@partners.org
 

2. MGH Research Core Day

Thursday, June 12, 2014 , 1:00 - 3:00 pm, CNY Building 149 - 1st Floor Atrium and Conference Room A

All members of the MGH and Partners Research Community are invited to learn more about the research core services available at MGH.

Light refreshments will be provided, along with a raffle!

If you have any questions regarding this event or if you are interested in registering your core to participate; please contact Samantha Molle.

We hope to see you all on Thursday, June 12!
 

3. MGH EPIC Training: Workshop on Registering Research Participants using EPIC

Multiple Sessions - 1 hour; Location: Garrod-Mendel Conference Room, Simches 2nd Floor

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program and the Partners eCare Research Team

If you have subjects in one of the research studies on the list, we strongly recommend you attend one of the workshop sessions. Experienced staff from Partners eCare Team will assist you with enrolling subjects in a research study using EPIC. They will also be available to answer any questions you may have related to this process.

*EPIC will go live at MGH on July 12, 2014, enrolling your active subjects in EPIC will facilitate the process of identifying upcoming appointments, linking those visits to the study and initiating the correct billing process.*

Registration is required. Contact Jillian Tonelli or Kelsey Gay with questions. Please complete all the information requested on the registration form. Incomplete registration forms will not be accepted. Walk-ins will not be permitted.
 

4. Informed Consent Process

Thursday, June 12, 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Garrod/Mendel Conference Room

Speaker: Charlene Malarick, RN, BSN, CCRC, Partners Human Research Quality Improvement Program

Informed consent: it’s more than just a document. Do you know the ethical considerations that factor into obtaining truly informed consent? If your study involves vulnerable populations, such as children, are you knowledgeable of the special protections afforded to them, and the Partner’s policies governing their consent? In this session, Charlene Malarick, RN, BSN, CCRC of the Partners Quality Improvement Program will discuss these issues and how to fulfill the Partner’s policies for documenting the informed consent process. She will describe the informed consent process, review vulnerable populations, the special protections afforded to them, and how these apply to the informed consent process, and discuss how to effectively comply with the Partners policies for documenting informed consent.

Registration is required. Please contact Kelsey Gay with any questions.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Center for Skeletal Research Pilot and Feasibility Grants

The Center for Skeletal Research (CFSR), based in the Endocrine Unit at MGH, and funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (NIAMS) is announcing a request for Pilot and Feasibility Research proposals. Two grants ($30,000/year) will be awarded this year, one of which will be renewable for an additional year. Awardees will be expected to present progress to CFSR members biannually and provide a written annual report.

Submission deadline is Thursday June 26, 5pm EST. Funding is anticipated to start on or before September 1, 2014. For more information on eligibility and requirements, click here.
 

2. 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:
1. Name of the Principal Investigator with appropriate contact information
2. A descriptive title of the potential application
3. Brief description of the project
4. 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 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.

• American Heart Association Summer 2014 Strategically Focused Hypertension Research Network
• NEI Center Core Grant for Vision Research (P30)
• Nutrition Obesity Research Centers (NORCs) (P30)
• Silvio O. Conte Digestive Diseases Research Core Centers (P30)

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.
 

3. 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.

• Scientist Development Award, Rheumatology Research Foundation
• ALS Clinical Research Fellowship, ALS Association & American Brain Foundation (ABF)
• Fellowship and Research Grants, Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation, Inc. (BEBRF)
• Vasculitis Foundation (VF) Research Program, Vasculitis Foundation (VF)
• Research Grants, Migraine Research Foundation (MRF)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.
 

4. NIH Update for Week Ending June 6, 2014

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

2015 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine
Nominations are being accepted through August 15, 2014

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

MGH Research Core Day - June 12

Submitting Results to ClinicalTrials.gov: Practical Helpful Hints - June 25

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@partners.org