Research News - Nov. 8, 2013

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Save money on Stata software license purchases through a group buy

Enterprise Research Infrastructure & Services (ERIS) is coordinating a group buy of Stata/SE 13 for all MGH faculty and staff. To join the group buy, email rcc@partners.org with the name, email address and research fund number for each order by Friday, November 15, 2013.

2. Core of the Week: Vector Core

Vector Core
Director: Bakhos Tannous
Location: Building 149 13th Street, Room 6309, Charlestown

The Vector Development and Production Core provides viral vectors with custom-designed promoters and reporter genes and capacity for gene regulation.

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

3. Partners Research Management Message, November 7, 2013

Please click here to read the latest Partners Research Management Message.
• Partners Research Management Releases FY13 Research Financial Results Summary
• Upcoming RM Training Classes
• Update from Partners Government Affairs

EVENTS

1. MGH Research Core Day

December 2, 2013, 1:00 – 4:00 PM, Simches 3 Conference Area

Please join us for the 1st MGH Core Day event! Stop by the Simches 3 Conference Area immediately following Research Council to learn more about the Cores at MGH!

Light refreshments will be provided.

2. SAC 2014 Scientific Poster Session

Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 11:00 AM - 1:45 PM, Wyndham Beacon Hill, 5 Blossom Street, Boston, MA 02114

ECOR is now accepting submission of abstracts for the 2014 SAC Poster Session!

Deadline for Submission: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - 9:00 PM

The 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. It is an essential part of the two-day meeting, which highlights excellence in research at MGH. Presenters must be a MGH employee.

Twelve $1,000 Awards of Excellence
for Scientific Meeting Travel
-6 for Clinical Research
-6 for Basic Research

For Submission Form and Instructions Go To: https://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/SAC/SubmitPoster.aspx
 
Please contact sac@partners.org with any questions.

3. MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine 10 Year Anniversary Symposium

Friday, November 15, 2013, 8:00 -4:30PM, Starr Center, Simches 2nd Floor

The MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a symposium open to all on Friday, November 15 from 8 am to 4:30 pm. There will be a closing beer and wine reception after. The event will take place in the Schepens Starr Center Auditorium, accessible through the Simches Building (185 Cambridge St.) entrance on the second floor.

Speakers Include:
Bob Kingston, PhD; Massachusetts General Hospital
Haifan Lin, PhD; Yale University
Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD; Massachusetts General Hospital
Fiona Watt, PhD; Kings College, England
Len Zon, MD; Boston Children's Hospital
Jayaraj Rajagopal, MD; Massachussetts General Hospital
Sean Morrison, PhD; University of Texas, Southwestern
Harald Ott, MD; Massachusetts General Hospital
Richard Lee, MD; Brigham and Women's Hospital
Tom Rando, MD, PhD; Stanford University
Sridhar Ramaswamy, MD; Massachusetts General Hospital
Doug Melton, PhD; Harvard University
Konrad Hochedlinger, PhD; Massachusetts General Hospital

For more information please contact mmiklosik@mgh.harvard.edu.

4. CIMIT Lecture Series: Profiles in Innovation - “Medicine: Genetics Has an Answer for Every Question”

Tuesday, November 26, 2013, 5:00-6:00 pm, Simches 3.110

“Medicine: Genetics Has an Answer for Every Question”
James F. Gusella, PhD

Topic: Human genetics provides a powerful approach to understanding disease through unbiased strategies that rely on the human patient as the primary experimental system. This tool can be applied in all areas of medicine to gain entrees into the biological basis of disease susceptibility, the process of pathogenesis, and the response to interventions. Using Huntington’s disease as an example, we discuss the concept of the Genetic Research Cycle, a paradigm for disease research that begins by comparing human phenotypes and genetic variation to identify genes of importance in human disease, then moves on to characterizing the mechanisms by which the underlying DNA differences lead to phenotypic differences in disease using models driven by human genotype-phenotype relationships, and is completed when the knowledge gained delivers benefit back to the patient population in the forms of improved diagnosis and prevention, disease management and rational treatments.

Speaker: James Gusella is the Director of the interdisciplinary Center for Human Genetic Research at MGH and is also Bullard Professor of Neurogenetics in the Department of Genetics at HMS. He has written more than 500 scientific articles. Aspects of Dr. Gusella's work have been recognized by several awards and honors, including, among others, the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Health, the National Health Council Award for Medical Research, the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award for Medical Research Lois Pope LIFE International Research Award, the Neuronal Plasticity Award of the IPSEN Foundation, the Robert S. Dow Award for Neuroscience, the King Faisal International Prize in Medicine, and the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine.

Please direct questions regarding the CIMIT Lecture Series to Cecile Davis at crdavis@partners.org

5. Study Electronic Data Capture: REDCap and StudyTRAX

Monday, December 16, 3:30pm- 4:30pm, Simches Room 3.130

The MGH Clinical Research Program is sponsoring this program.

The goal of this presentation is two-fold. First, provide an overview of two electronic data capture (EDC) applications offered through Partners Research Computing, REDCap and StudyTRAX. Second, provide common reasons, factor and issues related to choosing between these two EDC applications. This presentation is intended for researchers considering the use of REDCap or StudyTRAX. Attendees will learn about and compare functionality in both applications and examine differences in application development, product roadmap, and support model. Attendees will also learn about common factors, issues and investigator interests related to selecting the best fit. Registration is required. Contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

6. Partners Innovation Forum

Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 5-7pm, Wyndham Beacon Hill, 5 Blossom Street, Boston, MA 02114

The Partners HealthCare community is invited to attend the newly launched Partners Innovators Forum, a monthly 5-part education series focused on key issues in academic innovation.

The first session "Protecting Your Invention in the New IP Environment" will feature David Kappos, the highly regarded former Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (2009 to 2013) and former head of IP for IBM (the industry leader in patents). Mr. Kappos will provide an overview of recent IP changes and their significance on healthcare innovation. In addition, CEOs of IP driven healthcare start ups will describe their response to the changes.

The Forum is free for the PHS community and is also open to the public. Future sessions will rotate between MGH and BWH

REGISTRATION - To register go to: https://partnersinnovatorsforum.eventbrite.com/

Walk-in registrations will be available on the day of the event. Reception will follow event.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Reminder: IDG Pre-Proposals are due 5pm on Friday, November 15, 2013

Partners HealthCare Innovation Development Grants Program (IDG) will accept Pre-proposal submissions until 5pm on Friday, November 15, 2013. Partners HealthCare established this $1 million grant program to accelerate the creation of new products from the innovations of all Partners employees and faculty.

Partners is committed to increasing the commercial outcomes of the innovations of the creative scientists, clinicians and employees everywhere across the Partners Healthcare System. Individual grants of up to $50,000 will be funded from the $1 million. Please visit idg.partners.org for additional background on the program and to access the grant application.

The IDG program is designed to engage innovators throughout the entire Partners system -- in traditional clinical and research fields as well as other important areas such as finance, human resources and information systems management. The goal of the IDG is to accelerate the commercialization of PHS innovations, draw out new innovators, identify areas of strength and improve patient health.

The IDG will fund prototyping, pre-clinical studies, software development and other approaches that can directly lead to a license and/or a spinoff company based on a device, drug, diagnostic, software or other product based on the PHS staff’s innovation. Only PHS faculty and employees are eligible to apply. We look forward to your application – we expect a large number of compelling proposals.

This new PHS program is managed by Research Ventures & Licensing, Partners innovation and commercialization arm. More information, the proposal application and background on the selection process are available online at idg.partners.org please contact Research Ventures & Licensing at IDGrantsRVL@partners.org or 617-954-9339 should you have any trouble accessing the site.

2. NIH NINDS Limited Submission Award

We ask that all MGH Investigators interested in applying for the award listed below submit a Letter of Intent (see detailed instructions below) to Harry W. Orf, PhD, Sr. Vice President for Research, and ECOR, by the deadline indicated for the award, to be considered to receive an institutional nomination.

Process
Submit a one- to two-page Letter of Intent (LOI) to Dr. Orf (horf@partners.org), Sr. Vice President for Research, with a copy to ECOR@partners.org. The deadline to submit your LOI is Friday, November 29, 2013.
The letter of intent should include:
1. Name of the Principal Investigator(s)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 investigator interested in applying any of these awards, the LOIs will be used to assess candidates and a review and selection process will take place.

NINDS Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (R25)

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The purpose of the FOA is to invite applications for mentoring and professional activities to advance the careers and neuroscience development of diverse neuroscience researchers. The goal of the NINDS Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (NDACDRW) is to support mission relevant development and/or implementation of programs to: (1) increase the pool of Ph.D.-level research scientists from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research who are neuroscience researchers- participation is limited to graduate, post-doctoral and/or junior-faculty career levels only; and (2) facilitate career advancement/transition of the participants to the next step of their neuroscience careers.

NINDS support for R25 program relies equally on scientific merit and programmatic considerations. Consequently, we recommend that potential applicants contact program officials at NINDS before preparing an application. NINDS will not support projects if they do not fulfill current programmatic priorities at NINDS.

MGH Letter of Intent Due Date: 11/29/13
NIH Letter of Intent Due Date: 12/24/13
Application Due Date: 1/25/14
Award Budget: Direct costs are limited to $250,000 per year.
Award Project Period: The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed 5 years.

3. Private Funding Opportunities

Please contact Corporate & Foundation Relations in the Office of Development at devcfr@partners.org 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.

• New Investigator Grants, Osteology Foundation
• Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
• Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
• Joint Grant Awards Program (JGAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
• Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Program, American Kidney Fund (AKF)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

4. 2014 Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award

Every year the possibility of major breakthroughs occurring as a direct result of clinical cancer investigation increases. And yet, every year the number of young physicians entering clinical cancer research decreases.

The Damon Runyon Research Foundation seeks to help reverse this trend, and asks that you encourage eligible candidates at your institution to apply for its Clinical Investigator Award program, which supports the most promising young physician-scientists willing to devote their careers to the development and application of new diagnostic approaches and therapeutic strategies for cancer and cancer prevention through clinical investigation. Institutional nominations are not required and there is no limit to the number of applications that can be received from a particular institution, however, only one application will be accepted from a mentor (including co-mentorships) or investigator per review session.

The award will provide $450,000 over three years in financial support for the investigator’s scientific needs. In addition, the Foundation will retire up to $100,000 of any medical school debt owed by the awardee.

The 2014 application deadline is Monday, February 17. Detailed information about the award, eligibility criteria, application guidelines and forms are available on the Foundation’s website, www.damonrunyon.org.

If you have any questions, please call the Foundation at 212-455-0520.

5. Nominations Open for Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research

The Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research recognizes an exceptional scientist or a team of scientists whose work in MS research has demonstrated outstanding innovation and originality.

This annual prize, made possible by the generosity of the Charles and Margery Barancik SO Foundation, is $100,000 to be used at the discretion of the recipient. Read about the 2013 Recipient

The prize is administered by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A selection committee comprised of leaders in science, medicine, and MS advocacy will review nominees. The committee will evaluate:
• Exceptional innovation and originality in scientific research relevant to MS
• Impact and potential of the research to lead to pathways for the treatment and cure for MS
• Scientific accomplishments that merit recognition as a future leader in MS research

Deadline for nominations is January 31, 2014.

Read more about nominating criteria at www.nationalmssociety.org/BarancikPrize

6. FY13/14 DoD DMRDP Program Announcements

Detailed descriptions of the funding opportunity, evaluation criteria, and submission requirements can be found in the individual Program Announcements. The Program Announcements are currently available for downloading from the Grants.gov website (http://www.grants.gov). A listing of all United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) funding opportunities, including those executed by CDMRP, TATRC, and USAMMDA, can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.

Breast Cancer
Defense Medical Research and Development
Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury
Neurosensory Research Award
Neuromusculoskeletal Injuries Research Award
Regenerative Medicine Clinical Trial Award
Vision Research Program Hypothesis Development Award
Vision Research Program Translational Research Award

The Program Announcement documents are also available on the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/default.shtml) and the CDMRP eReceipt System (https://cdmrp.org). All CDMRP funding opportunities, both current and as previously released, are available on the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil).

7. NIH Loan Repayment Programs - Apply Now for 2014 Awards

The LRPs repay the outstanding student loans of researchers who are or will be conducting nonprofit biomedical or behavioral research. Participants in the NIH Loan Repayment Programs receive up to $35,000 annually to help repay student loans.

The application deadline has been extended through December 2, 2013. Supplemental materials from colleagues and supervisors will be accepted through December 16, 2013.

Benefits: New LRP contracts are awarded for a two-year period and repay up to $35,000 of qualified educational debt annually. Tax offsets also are provided as additional benefits. Participants may apply for competitive renewals, which are issued for one or two years. Undergraduate, graduate, medical school, and other health professional school loans qualify for repayment. An NIH grant or other NIH funding is not required to apply for or participate in the LRPs.

Eligibility: Applicants must possess a doctoral-level degree (with the exception of the Contraception and Infertility Research LRP); be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident; devote 20 hours or more per week to conducting qualified research funded by a domestic nonprofit, university, or government entity; and have qualified educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base salary.

Awards: Each year, nearly 1,600 research scientists benefit from the more than $70 million NIH invests in their careers through the extramural LRPs. Approximately 40 percent of new applications and 70 percent of renewal applications are funded.

Application Tips: For guidance on the application process and NIH Institute and Center (IC) research priorities, potential applicants should watch this webinar, review Tips for Completing a Competitive Application, and contact an IC LRP liaison.

Visit the LRP website for more information and to access the online application. For additional assistance, call or e-mail the LRP Information Center at +1.866.849.4047 or lrp@nih.gov

8. NIH Update for Week Ending November 8, 2013

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/11-8-13/

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

• Limited Submission Awards: Harry J. Lloyd Charitable Trust - Melanoma Research Grants
MGH LOI Deadline: November 15, 2013; Click here for more information

• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) Deadlines
-Innovation Award Letter of Intent, Deadline: Nov. 11, 2013 - Apply Now!
-Phase I/II Infrastructure Grant, Deadline: November 18, 2013 - Apply Now!
-Young Investigator Award, Deadline: December 16, 2013 - Apply Now!
-Epidemiology Grants, Deadline: December 16, 2013 - Apply Now!

• MGH ECOR Deliberative Interim Support Funding
Application deadline: December 2, 2013 - 9:00 PM

• Sequestration Relief Funding
Application deadline: December 2, 2013 - 9:00 PM

• The MGH Research Scholars Program
Application Deadline: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 - 9:00 PM

• Charles A. King Trust Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program
Application deadline: December 16, 2013

• HMS Faculty Seminar- Making the Most of Your MGH/MGPO Benefits - November 14

• 2nd Annual Brigham and Women’s Hospital Research Day - November 21

• Save the Date: Research Staff Appreciation Day - January 21, 2014