Research News - September 5, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. MGH Research Council - slides available!

The Research Council, sponsored by ECOR, meets once a month as a town meeting of the MGH investigator community and is open to the entire research community. If you missed the meeting earlier this week, you missed presentations on "International Travel Guidance for Researchers" and "How to Succeed at In Vivo Research at MGH: Compliance and Support Services". However, you can access the slides from these presentations and from previous Research Council meetings on the ECOR website. The following link will bring you to the directory for these slides: http://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/Default.aspx?node_id=215.

2. Core of the Week: Human Immune Monitoring Core

The Human Immune Monitoring Core (HIMC) is designed to be a comprehensive source for immune monitoring services in the greater Boston area, to immunophenotype patient samples to allow valid comparisons across cohorts and time.

The mission of this core is to provide a comprehensive source for standardized state-of-the-art immune monitoring services for clinical, observational and translational studies. The aim is to provide laboratory resources for investigators and to create a large multi-cohort, multi-disease human immune data repository that will allow future large-scale analyses to help us understand the human immune system in health and disease.

To learn more about the Human Immune Monitoring Core please click here.
 

3. NIH Update: Laboratory Safety, Genomic Data Sharing, Women in Biomedical Research, Loan Repayment Program Accepting Applications

Please click here to read the NIH Extramural Nexus.

EVENTS

1. Invitation to submit abstracts for MGH Clinical Research Day

On Thursday, October 9, MGH will celebrate the 12th Annual Clinical Research Day. The Clinical Research Program invites investigators from across the hospital to submit abstracts at https://crp2014.abstractcentral.com/ by the September 9th deadline.

Please note that submissions must be about clinical research conducted at MGH and include manuscripts accepted for publication and/or published after September 1, 2013.

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, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, Ob/Gyn, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pathology, Pediatrics, Performance Analysis and Improvement/Practice Improvement, Psychiatry, Radiology, Surgery

Clinical Research Day will begin at 8 a.m. with the keynote address delivered by Katrina Armstrong, MD, MSCE, Physician-in-Chief, Department of Medicine.

For further information please visit our website. Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

2. Maintaining Research Subject Privacy and Information Security: What Clinical Researchers Must Know

Tuesday, September 30, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, Simches 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program, Health Information Services, and Partners IRBs

Paula Moran, MGH Privacy and Security Manager, Health Information Services
Rachel Olsen, MGH Privacy and Security Specialist, Health Information Services
Doug DeMio, MGH Information Security Officer

With federal and state agencies holding all covered entities to new standards for securing personal and protected information, Paula Moran and MGH's Privacy and Security team will discuss the importance of applying these regulations within the clinical research setting. This presentation will include real life examples, and ways to prevent potentially damaging privacy and security breaches from occurring. Ms. Moran and team will also discuss security standards and how staff should implement required technical and physical solutions.

This lecture is strongly recommended for new and experienced clinical investigators, research nurses and study coordinators.

Registration is required. Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.
 

3. Orientation Program: Clinical Research Resources at MGH

Thursday, September 25, 11:15am - 4:00pm, Simches 3.120

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program

Are you new to clinical research or planning a research project at MGH? 

Orientation Program: Clinical Research Resources at MGH will provide valuable information about the clinical research system at MGH. New investigators and research coordinators/assistants are invited to meet with representatives from Research Management, Partners Clinical Research Office, Partners Human Research Committee, Partners Quality Improvement Program, Clinical Research Program, Clinical Research Center, Research Compliance, Investigational Drug Service and Clinical Research Laboratory Core.

It is highly recommended that attendees complete the CRP's "Introduction to Clinical Research" and "Good Clinical Practice and Study Management Basics" online modules before attending this course. Topics covered in the online training courses will be reviewed during this session. Please come prepared with your questions. Lunch will be provided.

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

4. Postdoc Appreciation Ice Cream social

Monday, September 15, 3:00 - 4:00pm, Location provided upon registration

In honor of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, the ORCD would like to acknowledge MGH Research Fellows for their scientific contributions to the MGH research enterprise. The world-class research carried out at MGH would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of our 1100+ postdoctoral research fellows.

We invite all MGH postdoctoral research fellows to join us for an Ice Cream Social to thank you for your hard work.

Postdocs with HMS academic appointments, please click here to register by Mon, Sep 8.

5. HMS Faculty Seminar: 17th Annual Women in Medicine Month Celebration

Thursday, September 18, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Location provided upon registration

The Office for Women's Careers presents a seminar for MGH faculty with HMS academic appointments.

In commemoration of Women in Medicine month, the OWC announces the 17th Annual Women in Medicine Month celebrating women faculty.

Gender Equity in Academic Medicine: Insights and Innovations

Guest speaker: Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan Health System and Research Investigator in the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine

Dr. Reshma Jagsi will discuss recent evidence regarding the challenges faced by women pursuing careers in academic medicine, along with innovative, evidence-based approaches to promote gender equity and success in women's careers.

Faculty with HMS academic appointments please register by Wednesday, September 10: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/20140918WIM

6. Science BITES CNY Faculty Lunch Seminar Series

Wednesday, September 10, 12:00 - 1:00pm, CNY Building 149, Conference Room A (behind Eat Street Cafe

"Glioma exosomes: cargo, saboteurs and biomarkers"

Xandra O. Breakefield, Ph.D
Department of Neurology and Radiology
Molecular Neurogenetics Unit

Please Join Us! Bring your lunch and we'll provide cookies!

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

7. Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Workshop

Thursday & Friday, October 2 & 3, 2014, Harvard University, Sherman Fairchild, Rm 268, 7 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA

The two‐day workshop will provide attendees with an opportunity to gain detailed information on several current methods for single‐cell transcriptome analysis. The speakers have either developed a particular method or extensively used it in their own research. The workshop will focus on the theory and key technical elements of each method (including practical demonstrations) and discuss their pros and cons depending on experimental design. The data analysis part will include a hands‐on session on data quality assurance, differential expression analysis and subpopulation analysis steps.

Registration is required for this free event, and space is limited to the first 40 registrants. Attendance on both days is required!

To register, beginning Monday, September 8th, visit the webpage at:
http://hsci.harvard.edu/event/single‐cell‐rnasequencing‐workshop

Program includes a light breakfast and lunch on both days.

Faculty organizers:
Lev Silberstein (lsilberstein1@mgh.harvard.edu)
Peter Kharchenko (peter.kharchenko@post.harvard.edu)

8. The Commercialization Apprenticeship

Thursday, September 18, 4:30 - 6:30 PM, Armenise Amphitheater, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave, Boston

The Skills Development Center (SDC) of the Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC) is kicking things off with its inaugural event, The Commercialization Apprenticeship, featuring a faculty-led panel discussion on essential skills and support for the commercialization of innovative technologies.

Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-commercialization-apprenticeship-sdc-kick-off-tickets-12738401903

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. NIH challenges innovators with a half million dollars in prizes

The National Institutes of Health is challenging science innovators to compete for prizes totaling up to $500,000, by developing new ways to track the health status of a single cell in complex tissue over time. The NIH Follow that Cell Challenge seeks tools that would, for example, monitor a cell in the process of becoming cancerous, detect changes due to a disease-causing virus, or track how a cell responds to treatment.

The challenge aims to generate creative ideas and methods for following and predicting a single cell's behavior and function over time in a complex multicellular environment - preferably using multiple integrated measures to detect its changing state.

Although several grant-supported studies exploring these issues are underway, SCAP sought to stimulate efforts beyond academia among a more diverse community than researchers who typically apply for NIH grants. These include innovators and problem solvers from U.S. industry research and development and even from fields outside of biomedicine.

Phase 1 of the challenge, which begins today, seeks theoretical, written solutions, due by Dec. 15, 2014. Submissions will be screened by panels of outside and NIH staff experts prior to review by a three-judge panel consisting of the NIMH, NIBIB, and DPCPSI directors, who will award up to six prizes totaling $100,000, to be announced March 16, 2015.

Phase 1 winners and runners-up will be eligible to participate in Phase 2, a "Reduction to Practice" to provide proof of concept data related to their Phase 1 entries. These submissions will be due March 30, 2017. One or two winning solutions will receive prizes totaling $400,000, to be announced July 31, 2017.

For more information, please click here.

2. Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Pilot/Feasibility Study Grants

The Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (CSIBD) is a multidisciplinary program funded by NIDDK. Now in its 24th year, the CSIBD promotes the research of both basic and clinical scientists in a wide range of areas. These include, but are not limited to:

• Translational Human Immunology (including IBD, mucosal and immune responses)
• Immune and Inflammatory Responses (including mucosal immunology, innate immune recognition, antigen presentation and adaptive immunity, and novel immune cell subsets)
• Microbial Pathogenesis (including bacterial-epithelial cell interactions and host responses to commensal vs. invasive luminal flora).
• Epithelial Cell Biology (including regulation of stem cells, epithelial cell polarity, and membrane biology)
• Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Molecular Mechanism of Gastrointestinal Cancer

GOALS: Funds have been made available to support Pilot/Feasibility Study grants consistent with the overall goals of the Center. The goals of the CSIBD's Pilot/Feasibility Study Program are to support:

• Young investigators (senior fellows* or junior faculty) working in areas that will improve our understanding of basic processes relevant to inflammatory bowel disease.
• Established investigators initiating a new area of research in their laboratories relevant to mechanisms underlying inflammatory bowel disease.

The objective of a Pilot/Feasibility Study grant is to enable an investigator to complete sufficient preliminary studies to enable successful application for more substantial funding from other sources. Pilot/Feasibility Study grants are not intended to supplement ongoing or currently funded projects. Participation in another digestive disease center precludes eligibility for these grants.

FUNDING: The CSIBD will fund three grants of up to $35,000 each (direct costs) through this program. Pilot/Feasibility Study awards are made for a one-year period; a second year will be considered on a competing basis. Awards made to institutions other than MGH will not receive indirect costs.

APPLICATIONS: May be obtained from Lindsay Ware (617-643-2421 or lware@partners.org), CSIBD Administrative Office, located in the GI Unit, Jackson 7-706 at Massachusetts General Hospital or downloaded from www.massgeneral.org/CSIBD/grants. The deadline for receipt of applications is October 16th, 2014.

*Fellow must be in the final year of training and must have a documented commitment to a faculty appointment by the sponsoring unit or department.

3. 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.

• NINDS Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (R25)
• Neurological Sciences Academic Development Award (K12)

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.

4. 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.

• Research Grant to Prevent or Stop Lung Cancer Metastasis, Free to Breathe
• Hope APFED/ARTrust Pilot Grant Award, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI)
• Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Inc. (ACGT), Young Investigator Award (Note: Sep 16 Deadline)
• Large Pragmatic Studies to Evaluate Patient-Centered Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
• Global Treatment Sciences (GTSN) Challenge Award for Lethal Prostate Cancer, Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF)
• Reproductive Sciences - Preterm Birth Initiative, Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF)
• Innovation in Regulatory Science Awards (IRSA), Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF)
• Clinical Neuroscience Research Grant Program, Dana Foundation
• ARTrust Gail Shapiro Clinical Faculty Development Award, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI)
• Research Grants, Meningitis Research Foundation (U.K.)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.
 

5. NIH Update for Week Ending September 5, 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

ADA-BI Targeted Award in CKD 
Application Deadline: October 15, 2014

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

Minority Faculty Career Development Seminar - September 5-8

Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials - September - October 2014

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

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@partners.org