Research News - August 8, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Important Message for MD Researchers!

Are you a physician who has relationships or interactions with industry that include payments and transfers of value? If so, this Fall the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will publish online public reports of this information - submitted by pharmaceutical and device manufacturers- under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. The information will cover August to December 2013.

CMS will post the data by September 30, but physicians can review it now and must dispute it by August 27.

A Quick Registration Guide is available now; please click here.

You have until August 27th to review and initiate disputes for any erroneous data. Click here for the excerpted instructions.

If you have questions concerning this issue please contact:
Rachel Ackman, rackman@partners.org
John Belknap, jbelknap@partners.org

Additional Resources:
CMS help desk line, (855) 326-8366
Complete Open Payments User Guide
CMS Open Payments
Partners Office for Interactions with Industries
Partners FAQ is also available

2. Do you access Partners email from an iMac, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

Partners is proposing to eliminate access to Exchange Web Services from outside of the Partners network. This is part of our ongoing effort to encourage the use of multi-factor authentication. This means that external access with a full-featured client, such as Microsoft Outlook, will only be available using remote access solutions such as VPN or GoToMyPC. While Exchange Web Services does provide encryption, it does not provide multi-factor authentication. With password breaches becoming common place, it is important to introduce additional controls that will help to ensure that only authorized individuals have Partners' email services. Email on mobile devices managed through ActiveSync will still function normally. If you access Partners email from a Mac, please take this brief, anonymous survey.

3. Core of the Week: Cancer Pharmacology Core

Cancer Pharmacology Core
Director: Jeffrey Supko, PhD
Location: 32 Fruit Street, Jackson Building, 10th Floor, Boston

The Cancer Pharmacology Core provides DF/HCC investigators with the necessary expertise and resources to design and undertake pharmacokinetic studies in phase I and phase II clinical trials and preclinical investigations. The Core can implement and validate established analytical methods to quantify drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids; it can also modify or develop entirely new assays when necessary.

To learn more about the Cancer Pharmacology Core, please click here.

4. NIH Update: Piloting Sustained Support for Innovation; Biomedical Workforce Update; NIH SBIR/STTR Conference

Please click here to read the NIH Extramural Nexus.

5. The Latest from PCORI: New Funding Cycle Opens, Upcoming Events

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

EVENTS

1. A Practical Guide to Biobanking for Biomarker and Personalized Medicine Research

Wednesday, October 1, 1:00pm - 4:30pm, Simches 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program and the Harvard Catalyst

The wide array of bio-specimens (including serum, plasma, and DNA) maintained in biobanks have become an important resource in genomic research, clinical translational research, and in the advancement of personalized medicine. This course will provide an introduction to the use of biorepositories for clinical research, a practical guide to banking, accessing, and using samples and phenotypic data, and an overview of relevant human subjects issues. The course is geared toward investigators and staff at all levels interested in the utility of biorepositories for their research. It will include a user-friendly practical introduction to the Partners HealthCare Biobank, a large-scale repository of biospecimens linked to the Partners electronic medical record that provides a powerful, low-cost resource for clinical and translational research.

Registration is required. Contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. The Stanley Center Psychiatric Genetics and Neuroscience Fellowship

The Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute, the MGH-McLean Hospital Adult Psychiatry Residency Research Concentration Program, and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Longwood Residency Program

Available through the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute, this award will provide a fellowship stipend for one to two years following residency training, effective July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. A total of 1-2 awards will be granted annually.

Award
To create opportunities for advanced study and research in Neuroscience, and to serve as a bridge between clinical training and the development of a research career, the fellowship will start in the Winter of the third postgraduate (PG3) year and extend through the PG5 year. During the PG3 and PG4 years, resident salary, up to 20%, is covered through the MGH/McLean residency (and an NIMH R25 grant) or the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Longwood Residency Program; therefore, the award will cover supply costs to the laboratory joined for each awardee during this time. During PG5, a stipend will be awarded to two eligible applicants (the 2015 stipend is $80,000 with total award no greater than $120,000 per year). A full award is considered to represent at least 70% effort. To allow increased flexibility with respect to project time, the reviewing committee will consider a request to extend an award over the PG6 year continuing at 70-100% effort, providing that the applicant and the mentor provide a clear rationale and information on the applicant's plan for completion over the additional year period. Applicants currently in their PG3 or PG4 year are still eligible to apply.

One mentor on the proposal must be a Broad Principal Investigator (PI) or selected from the list of participating mentors below. Additional mentors in active collaboration with Broad PIs may be considered as appropriate.

It is expected that recipients will update the Research Committee by submitting a three-page summary of progress statement on their funded research projects annually after beginning the fellowship and a final written report at the completion of the fellowship. Review criteria for second year stipends will focus primarily on the training plan, quality and extent of mentoring, and the candidate's potential to develop into a clinician-scientist.

Click here for more details on eligibility and the application process.

Any questions about the fellowship application process should be directed to Jennifer Moran (jlmoran@broadinstitute.org; 617-714-7660).

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 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.

• Nutrition Obesity Research Centers (NORCs) (P30)
• NINDS Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (R25)

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.

• Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
• Beckman Young Investigators (BYI) Program, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

4. NIH Update for Week Ending August 8, 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

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

Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC)
Application Deadline: August 15

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

eIRB Training: A Hands-On Introduction to eIRB - August 12

Research Subject Remuneration and Reimbursement: Policy Review and Navigating the Process - August 13

Minority Faculty Career Development Seminar - September 5-8

Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials - September - October 2014

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@partners.org