Research News- January 3, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Sign up for Partners Employee Alert System (EAS)!

The Partners Employee Alert System (EAS) is a new system used to communicate with you during times of severe weather or an emergency.

Example alerts may include:

• Weather emergencies
• MBTA closures
• Disaster situational awareness

The system is voluntary and subscriber-based, meaning you must "opt in" to receive these notifications. Notifications can be sent via text message to your cell phone, an email to the account of your choosing, or a call to your home phone. You will manage your own alert preferences and can make changes to how you receive these messages at any time.

To subscribe click here and click the "sign-up" link. Instructions are available on Partners Pulse here.

Please note: You will be asked to enter your own unique user name and password. This is NOT your Partners user name and password. If you have any difficulty signing up please contact the Computer Help Desk at 617-726-5085.

2. MGH Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) Animal Ordering Web Site - Routine Maintenance Scheduled

On Thursday, 1/9/14 from 3:30pm - 7:00pm CCM will be performing routine maintenance to the Bioware Animal Ordering Web Site (http://ccm.partners.org).

Please do not attempt to access the application during this maintenance window. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. If you have any questions or problems, please email us at MGHCCM@PARTNERS.ORG

EVENTS

1. Hands-on MORA Training: Managing Monitor Online Record Access

Friday, February 28, 2014, 10:00am- 11:00am, Computer Lab 230, 165 Cambridge Street, Floor 2

Greg Estey, Senior Project Manager, MGH Lab of Computer Science

Do you want an alternative to sitting with study monitors when they need to review electronic medical records or printing out piles of paper before the monitors arrive? At this session, you will learn how to grant secure, appropriately tracked electronic access to your study subjects' medical records to clinical trial monitors who are authorized to use the Monitor Online Record Access (MORA) system. The session will consist of a brief slide presentation providing an overview of the system, followed by a hands-on session in which you will learn how to connect monitor accounts to your protocols, link patient records to your protocols and teach monitors how to use MORA.

Prerequisites: To sign up you must have Manager permission on an active protocol listed in Insight.

This course is geared towards study coordinators and program managers working in sponsored research on trials reviewed at a Partners institutional IRB that uses Insight. Contact Greg Estey at gestey@partners.org if you are interested in MORA training for MGH cancer studies reviewed at the Dana-Farber IRB.

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

2. IRB Hot Topics: What Constitutes a Minimal Risk Study?

Thursday, February 4, 2:00pm - 3:00pm, Smirches 3rd Floor, Room 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program and Partners Human Research Committee

Melissa Frumin, MD Chair, Partners Human Research Committee

Specific categories of human subject research can be approved via the expedited review procedure if it presents no more than minimal risk to subjects. IRB Chair, Melissa Frumin, MD, will offer insight into what qualifies as minimal risk, the categories of research that are eligible for expedited review and the ethical issues surrounding minimal risk studies.

This roundtable series is designed for Clinical Research Coordinators, Research Nurses and Project Managers, though all are welcome to attend. Please feel free to bring your lunch. To register for this course, please click here. Please contact Kelsey Gay with any questions about this course.

3. Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards Panel Discussion

Tuesday, January 14, 2014, 12:00-1:00 pm, Location will be sent upon registration.

Faculty Development Seminar: Career Advancement Series

Would you like to know more about the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards? These awards are designed to provide bridge funding for junior faculty to sustain research productivity during the child-rearing years with the intention of advancing women in academic medicine.

This discussion will cover:

• Eligibility requirements for the awards
• Tips on putting together your best application
• How the award can help advance your career
• Resources to help you apply

Panelists:
Tal Kenet, PhD, Instructor in Neurology - 2013 Claflin Award Winner
Pouneh Fazeli, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine - 2012 Claflin Award Winner
Kristin White, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology - Co-chair, Claflin Award Review Committee

Faculty with HMS academic appointments, please click here to register by Tue, Jan 7.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Harvard Medical School 2013-2014 Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award

Deadline: January 10, 2014

The Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award was established to recognize HMS/HSDM faculty (clinical, pre-clinical, research, administrative) who have made significant achievements in moving HMS/HSDM toward being a diverse and inclusive community.

Contributions might include:

•  developing models
•  achieving outcomes
•  increasing employment
•  supporting promotion
•  providing career development
•  identifying funding
•  assisting in producing scholarly work
•  addressing issues of recruitment related to diversity

   
The detailed information you provide us about your nominee is vital to the award selection process. Nominations should include an individual or a group of individuals who have demonstrated a significant commitment to enhancing diversity above and beyond their regular role or responsibilities.

Harvard Medical School is committed to the advancement of a work and educational environment that adds to diversity and sets the tone for inclusion. Through inclusion, we nurture diversity of thought, diversity in education and research, and diversity in areas such as culture, race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, age, and disabilities. In short, we raise the bar on excellence.

Eligibility for Award: Faculty (Professor through Instructor), who are in a clinical, pre-clinical, research, or administrative area, and who must be based at HMS/HSDM or an HMS-affiliated hospital or institution. Self-nominations will be accepted.

For information or to submit your nomination click here or cut and paste the following url into your browser http://www.mfdp.med.harvard.edu/awards/diversity/index.html

For questions contact Lyndi Milton at (617) 432-1083 or dcp at diversityaward@hms.harvard.edu.

2. 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.

• Signature Employment Grant, Kessler Foundation
• Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• DEBRA International Research Grants, DEBRA International

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

3. NIH Update for Week Ending January 3, 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

Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards - Nominations are now being accepted!
Nomination Deadline: January 10, 2014

Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research
Nomination Deadline: January 31, 2014

2014 Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award
Application Deadline: February 17, 2014

Subject Recruitment and Retention Series - 1/14, 1/28, 2/5

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

Audit Time: Is your Site Prepared? - January 23, 2014

Research Nurse Book Club: RN Roundtable - January 28, 2014

Welcome to the Genetic Code: An Overview of Basic Genetics - February 3, 2014