Research News - November 3, 2017

The MGH FY18 Fringe Rates were approved last week by MGH Finance.  The rates are as follows:

New MGH DHHS Rate Agreement
MGH has received the new DHHS Rate Agreement, dated 10/19/2017.  The rate agreement reflects the FY18 On-Site Provisional rate to 68.5%.   The rate agreement is available on Research Navigator.

Now is the chance to exhibit your research!
ECOR is now accepting abstracts for the 2018 SAC Poster Session
Deadline for submission:  Tuesday, January 9, 2018

The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Poster Session gives researchers the opportunity to create a compelling visual display of their work and present it to some of the best scientific minds in the nation. The poster session is an essential part of the two-day meeting, which highlights excellence in research at MGH. Twelve Posters of Distinction will be chosen to receive a $1,000 travel award. A review panel will select a group of finalists from the submitted abstracts. Those finalists will be required to present their poster in order to be considered for the travel award. Awards will be restricted to junior faculty and trainees (i.e. Assistant Professors, Instructors, Fellows, and Graduate Students).

SPACE IS LIMITED
Poster abstract submissions will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.  Authors must be MGH employees.  Abstracts on any type of research are eligible for submission and authors may only submit ONE abstract.  

SAC POSTER SESSION*
Simches Building, 185 Cambridge St., 2nd Floor (SERI)
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Session 1:  10:00am – 11:30am
Session 2:  12:00pm – 1:30pm

*Submitted posters will be placed in a session based on the selected category

PRIZES
Twelve $1,000 Poster of Distinction Awards will be awarded and are intended to help offset the costs of travel to a scientific meeting.

HOW TO SUBMIT
Please click here for more information and to submit a poster abstract!

QUESTIONS
If you have problems or questions please email sac@partners.org

Again, space is limited! Submit your abstract early!

The Global Heath Research Unit (GHRU) would like to circulate a survey to help inform the development of a seminar series regarding global health research at MGH.  The target audience for this survey is anyone who is currently, or wishes to become involved in global health research at MGH.

Here is the link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MGHGlobalHealthResearch

Monday, November 6, 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Simches Auditorium (3.110)
Videoconference to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

 Meeting Chair: David Milan, MD

AGENDA
Who’s running and why – come meet the candidates for your representatives to ECOR
PROFESSOR
Nicholas Dyson, PhD; Cancer Center
Jonathan Rosand, MD; Neurology
Stephanie Seminara, MD; Endocrinology

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Jodie Babitt, MD; Nephrology
Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD; Cancer Center
Laurence Rahme, PhD; Surgery

The Economic Impact of NIH Funding
Anne Klibanski, MD; Chief Academic Officer, Partners Healthcare
Joseph D. Alviani; Vice President for Government Affairs, Partners Healthcare

All MGH Researchers welcome!

Monday, November 6, 1:00 - 1:30 pm, Simches 3.120
 
You’re invited to join us for the Monthly Research Resource Room!

There will be 13 representatives from a variety of research resources on hand to promote the services that they provide to the research community.

• Have you ever thought about applying to use the Translational and Clinical Research Center, but you don’t know the proper steps?
• Are you a visa holder who would like to be better prepared before traveling abroad?
• Are you wondering what services the Employee Assistance Program has available for you?
• Do you want dessert?

All of these questions can be addressed during the Research Resource Room session – and dessert will be provided!

The following resources will be represented:

• Partners Office for International Professionals & Students (PIPS)
• Center for Faculty Development (CFD)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Enterprise Research Infrastructure & Services (ERIS)
• Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM)
• Research Space Management (RSMG)
• Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC)
• Isuggest
• Partners BioBank
• Partners CTO
• Research Patient Data Registry
• Translational and Clinical Research Centers
• Research Safety

We hope to see you all there!

Thursday, November 9, 12:00 – 1:00pm, Simches Building, 2nd Floor, Garrod/Mendel Conference Room

Speaker: Jo O'Driscoll-Davis, Assistant Director for Continuing Review and Administrative Chair
Per Federal Regulations, and Partners HRC policies, investigators and research staff are required to submit any new proposed changes to currently approved studies prior to implementing the change. Investigators must also report unanticipated problems (including adverse events) to the IRB. Jo O'Driscoll-Davis, of the Partners Human Research Office will review requirements and procedures for submitting amendments and unanticipated problems. The presentation will include how to avoid common errors when completing the amendment applications, what study documents need updating based on the proposed changes, and what kinds of changes to an approved protocol prompts review at full board. The presentation will also include defining Unanticipated Problems (UAPs) and Adverse Events (AEs) and when to report them to the IRB.

This session is limited to 25 participants to facilitate interaction.

Registration is required. Please contact Tiereny Morrison-Rohlfs with any questions.

November 9, 12:00 PM, CNY149, 7th Floor, Isselbacher Auditorium

“Western lifestyle and associated diseases. The role of diet, metabolites, microbiome, and GPCRs”
Charles MacKay, PhD, Monash University

Location: Isselbacher Auditorium
MGH East, Building 149, 7th Floor
Charlestown Navy Yard
(shuttle bus leaves MGH and North Station every 15 minutes)

Will be broadcasted MGH Bulfinch 165 & Ragon Institute (400 Tech sq, Cambridge)

Contact Person – Fiona Chen (617/726-1527)

http://www.massgeneral.org/ciid/ourseminars/seminarseries.aspx

Wednesday, November 29, 9:30 -11:00am, Simches 3.120

The REDCap Application Programming Interface, API, allows external applications to connect to REDCap remotely, and is used for programmatically retrieving or modifying data or settings within REDCap, such as performing automated data imports/exports for a specified REDCap project. Programmers can use the REDCap API to make applications, websites, apps, widgets, and other projects interact with REDCap. Programs talk to the REDCap API over HTTP, the same protocol that your browser uses to visit and interact with web pages.

The Data Entry Trigger, DET, provides a way for REDCap to trigger a call to a remote web address (URL), in which it will send a HTTP POST request to the specified URL whenever *any* record or survey response has been created or modified on *any* data collection instrument or survey in this project.

Main Objective: Provide support, best practices, and guidance to REDCap End-Users utilizing the REDCap API and DET

Target audience: Researchers that have evaluated and decided to use REDCap and/or have started a REDCap project. Researchers with basic level programming experience.

Registration is required. Contact Cassidy Peters with questions.

Tuesday, December 12, 2:00pm-3:30pm, Simches 3.120

Enterprise Research Infrastructure & Services, ERIS, has an enterprise license for LabArchives for all researchers to use at no cost. LabArchives is a web-based application designed for scientists to organize and share laboratory data with their study team, department, across Partners institutions and with external collaborators. Access rights are controlled by the notebook owner and can be modified to suit the individual needs of each researcher, educator, or contributor.

This session is for LabArchives users, new and current, to meet and discuss how sites/labs are using the application, lessons learned, and share knowledge.

More information and how to access LabArchives is available on the Research IS Computing website.
Registration is required. Contact Cassidy Peters with questions.

Wednesday, December 13, 1:00 – 2:00pm, Simches Room 3.120

Speaker: Zora DiPucchio, Sr. Clinical Research Coordinator, MGH Neurology

This course focuses on the “soft skills” needed when approaching potential research subjects, who are inpatients. Ms. DiPucchio will discuss the best practices for involving inpatients in research including how to approach the family of a potential subject, who is “comfort measures only (CMO),” and what information to look for in the progress notes before entering a patient’s room.

This program meets the requirements of the Board of Registration in Nursing, at 244 CMR 5.00, for 1 contact hour of nursing continuing education.

Registration is required. Contact Cassidy Peters with further questions about this session.

March 23 - 26, 2018, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

Application Deadline: January 31, 2018

Instructors:
Carl M. Cohen, Workshop Director 
Suzanne L. Cohen, Workshop Co-Facilitator
Marquita M. Qualls, Guest Instructor
See the roll of honor - who's taken the course in the past 

This is a highly interactive 3.5 day workshop in which you will develop the skills necessary to lead and interact effectively with others, in both one-on-one and group settings. The workshop will focus on techniques, situations, and challenges that relate specifically to leading and managing in the scientific workplace. It will emphasize learning by doing and will involve role playing, giving and receiving feedback, and group problem solving. Much of the learning will be peer-to-peer. Participants will be expected to discuss their own experiences and listen to others as they discuss theirs.

The workshop will help participants identify areas where they need guidance and growth, as well as how to capitalize on areas of strength. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences and challenges with others and to receive feedback and guidance from others with experience in leading scientists in a variety of settings. At the end of the course, participants will be linked through a unique on-line community in which they can continue learning from one another and from the course instructors.

Key focus areas of the workshop will include:

• Recognizing and understanding leadership in a science setting
• Using negotiation as a tool in scientific discussions and problem solving
• Identifying and resolving conflicts in the lab
• Dealing with difficult people and situations
• Communicating your ideas and plans in a way that engages others
• Leading effective and productive meetings
• Becoming effective citizen scientists

For more information, please click here. If you are planning to attend this workshop, please let us know at ecor@mgh.harvard.edu.

HMS has extended its internal application deadlines for the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award to 11/20/2017 and the Macy Faculty Scholars Program to 11/13/2017.  Please see the links below for details:
Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award: https://hms.harvard.edu/departments/office-academic-and-clinical-affairs/hms-foundation-funds/award-listing/damon-runyon

Macy Faculty Scholars Program: https://hms.harvard.edu/departments/office-academic-and-clinical-affairs/hms-foundation-funds/award-listing/macy-foundation

Please direct all inquiries to Clare Lamont, Office of the HMS Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs, 617-432-7463, clare_lamont@hms.harvard.edu

The Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) is accepting applications for the December 1st deadline for Deliberative Interim Support Funding.  December is the first of three standing deadlines for these awards in Fiscal Year 2018.  The next deadline will be April 1, 2018.  

What are they?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding
This is open to Principal Investigators during a lapse or delay in their research funding from the NIH or another Federal agency (e.g., the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense).  Investigators must have applied for independent, long-term support (R01, R21, U01 and P01).  The Deliberative Interim Support process is open to:

• Investigators whose grants were not scored or whose scores were not translated into a percentile ranking.
• Investigators whose grants received scores >20th percentile.

3. Investigators who have already received Formulaic Bridge Funding or Deliberative Interim Support for a previous submission of this grant and are now requesting support for the resubmission of the same grant.  Investigators in this category must apply through the Deliberative Interim Support process for this application regardless of the score they received.

When is the deadline?
Friday, December 1, 2017 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding - Click here

• Visit the ECOR website for other funding opportunities.

Grand challenge 1: Make diagnosis cost-effective and accurate, and guide individual clinical decisions based on real-time monitoring and massive patient data sets.

Award Types and Amounts:

• 5 (five) grants at $100,000 (total costs) per team (to be spent over 1-2 years)

Letter of Intent: A Letter of intent submitted via the ECOR Online Grant Management Portal is required by December 1, 2017 if you plan on submitting a proposal. Letters of intent should include the names of the principal investigators from both MGH and MIT and a brief description of the project. Please note: Write to: imes_rfp@mit.edu AND to ecor@partners.org

Full Proposal Submission Date: January 15, 2018

Project Start Date: April 15, 2018

Submission Information: Letters of intent and applications should be submitted onlinevia the ECOR Online Grant Management Portal. This user-friendly system will allow the MGH PI to submit on behalf of the MGH-MIT team.  Click here for instructions for submitting the application and letter of intent online.

Click here for more information.

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15504/nsf15504.pdf

MGH LOI Deadline: 11/10/2017
NSF Deadline: 1/10/2018

MGH may select up to 3 applications (1 for instrument development, 2 for instrument acquisition)

The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) provides organizations with opportunities to acquire major instrumentation that supports the research and research training goals of the organization and that may be used by other researchers regionally or nationally.

Each MRI proposal may request support for the acquisition (Track 1) or development (Track 2) of a single research instrument for shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use. Development efforts that leverage the strengths of private sector partners to build instrument development capacity at MRI submission-eligible organizations are encouraged.

The MRI program assists with the acquisition or development of a shared research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. The program does not fund research projects or provide ongoing support for operating or maintaining facilities or centers.

LOI Instructions:
Submit a 1-2 page Letter of Intent (LOI) to the MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) via email to ecor@mgh.harvard.edu.   In addition to your LOI, please include an NIH biosketch.

The letter should include:

1. Name of the principal investigator with appropriate contact information
2. Track number (Track 1 Acquisition or Track 2 Development)
3. Instrument Description
4. Justification of Need
5. Major Users
6. Estimated cost of equipment
7. Planned location of equipment
8. Will any renovations be required to install equipment?

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

If there is more than one MGH investigator 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.

• Mechanisms of Cancer Drug Resistance and Sensitivity: Coordinating Center (U24)
• NCI National Clinical Trials Network – Network Lead Academic Participating Sites (UG1)
• Diabetic Foot Consortium – Clinical Research Units (U01)
• Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1) (Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

If there is a limited submission funding opportunity you do not see listed below or you have any additional questions, please let us know at ecor@mgh.harvard.edu.

Please note that any grant that brings in less than 15% in indirect costs (IDC) will need to be supplemented up to the 15% equivalent by existing investigator or departmental sundry funds. Resolution of this issue must occur prior to submission of the 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.

Week of 11/3/17

•  CORE Grants:  AAO-HNSF Maureen Hannley Research Grant, American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF)
• CORE Grants:  AHNS/AAO-HNSF Translational Innovator Combined Award, American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF)
• Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship Program, American Society of Nephrology (ASN)/ASN Foundation for Kidney Research 
• William and Sandra Bennett Clinical Scholars Program, American Society of Nephrology (ASN)/ASN Foundation for Kidney Research
• ASTS-Astellas Faculty Development Grant, American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)
• Clinical Research Awards, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF)/Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT)
• Discovery Research:  Research Grants, Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) – USA
• SRF Research Awards:  Molecular Pathogenesis and New Interventions in Scleroderma Request for Application (RFA), Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF)
• SRF Postdoctoral Fellowship, Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF)

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

MGH ECOR Formulaic Bridge Funding Support
Application Deadline: November 7, 2017; 7th day of each month

Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center:  Call for 2018 Pilot Projects
Application Deadline: November 30

2019 Clinical Fellows in Dementia
Application Deadline:  July 1, 2018

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

PCORI - Click here for the latest funding opportunities from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

11/7       Clinical Research Program: Developing a Peer to Peer Auditing Program  
11/11     Community Research Symposium: Building Successful Research - Community Partnerships
11/16     Cognitive Interviewing

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