Research News- January 31, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Windows 7/Office 2007 rollout/End-of-Support for Office 2003 applications

Effective April 8, Microsoft will no longer support Windows XP and Office 2003. After this date, Microsoft will discontinue all free security updates and other necessary support components for these operating systems and they will need to be removed from our desktop computers.

What does this mean for users at MGH/MGPO?

The current Windows 7 upgrade initiative includes Office 2007, and the migration of all users is anticipated for completion in April. Departments will continue to receive notifications regarding their upgrade timing, and users will then be able to convert old Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents into the updated format.

What does this mean for applications that use Word or Excel 2003?

Applications that have dependencies on Word and/or Excel 2003 will likely need to be upgraded.

If you own an application that has such dependencies, please provide these details to the MGH/MGPO IS contact below. This information will be used to help identify possible solutions for your upgrading needs.

What does this mean for Access 2003 databases?

It is expected that users/owners of individual or shared Access 2003 databases may require further assessment and consideration of conversion options to maintain full functionality and prevent loss of data. In the interim, there is a "virtual Access 2003" option that is a part of the Windows 7 image that will continued to be delivered to users during the upgrade and for a brief period of time after the Windows7/Office 2007 is complete.

The MGH/MGPO Information Systems department is looking to identify Access database owners/users that may be impacted by this end of support notification.

If you use an Access 2003 database, please provide the following details to the contact below. This information will be used to help source remediation options for how you move forward and address your upgrade needs:

-Access Database Owner/Contact Person

-Primary purpose for use

-User(s) of database

-How often is it used?

-Is it located on a single computer or shared drive?

Please send details for Access, Word, or Excel to Jina Yoo (617-726-9304) at jyoo6@partners.org by Friday, January 31.

We will provide testing areas where database owners can test their applications with Office 2007 and Office365. For databases/applications that need to be upgraded, we will work with the database owner to identify various upgrade options, including a referral to a number of software contractors with Office application experience should any departments need to purchase custom programming.

EVENTS

1. MGH Research Council

Monday, February 3, 2014, 12:00 -1:00 PM, Simches 3.110
with Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th floor), Lunch available at 11:45 AM

Tools & Technologies
COS Pivot: A tool to help you find more $$$ for your research!!!
Amy Robb, Assistant Director for Prospect Research and Funding Opportunities, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Office of Development

The MGH Research Internet Website
Harry W. Orf, PhD, SVP for Research

The ECOR Website
Deverie Bongard, Associate Director for Technology & Communication, ECOR

All MGH Researchers welcome!

2. Responsible Conduct of Research Seminar on February 13, 2014: Register Now!

Are you a Trainee, Postdoctoral Fellow, Student, or Career-Development Award recipient (e.g. T32, F32, K08)?

Or - Are you an NSF-Support Student or Postdoctoral Fellow?

If so, and you have not yet attended a Partners Responsible Conduct of Research Seminar, please register now for the February 13, 2014 Seminar held from 4:00PM-8:00PM in the Bornstein Amphitheater at BWH. The registration form and instructions can be found here.

The Partners RCR Program is required of all:
Trainees, postdoctoral fellows, students and career-development recipients under award mechanisms (e.g., T32, F32, K08) identified in the NIH notice dated November 24, 2009;
And NSF-supported students and postdoctoral fellows as identified in the Federal Register notice dated August 20, 2009.

Failure to complete the Partners program in accordance with the information contained on this web site may result in termination of support by the Partners hospital that has received the award. For more information, visit the Partners Research Compliance page on Responsible Conduct of Research.

3. Partners Innovators Forum - Corporate Collaboration: Getting It Right from the Start

Tuesday, February 4th, 2014, 5-7pm, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Bornstein Family Amphitheater

The Partners HealthCare community is invited to attend the Partners Innovators Forum, a monthly 5-part education series focused on contemporary issues in academic innovation. The Forum is free for the PHS community and is also open to the public. Sessions will rotate between MGH and BWH.

Corporate Collaboration: Getting It Right from the Start
Market and pipeline pressures have compelled many large companies to implement new approaches to finding, jointly developing, and acting on academic technology. Top leaders from J&J, Astra Zeneca and Boston Scientific will describe their perspectives on the future of academic-industry initiatives, the key requirements for success and how their company incorporates the outcomes of such collaborations.

Please join us!

To register go to: www.partnersinnovatorsforum.eventbrite.com

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

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Changes to the Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (S10):

Intent to apply due February 10, 2014

The MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) has again committed funding to provide institutional support of $50,000 (for up to 10 funded grants) this year. ECOR has made this commitment because it recognizes that institutional support greatly increases the likelihood that a SIG application will be funded.

Several required application components for submitting an S10 grant to the NIH have changed for this call and ECOR will be preparing this information and including it in your institutional letter of support.  The changes include:

• The institution must now explicitly state a commitment to provide financial support for the proposed financial plan should a shortfall be experienced due to a lack of other grant funding or chargeback/volume fluctuations (see Sect. IV).
   
• The institution must also provide a Letter of Support that includes a table that provides information about instrument performance of all previous S10 awards for instruments awarded or installed within the past five years.
  • 
    To meet this new requirement, any recipient of an S10 award from 2009-present will be asked to provide specific details that will be used to support all shared instrumentation grants going forward. A separate email will be sent directly to the PIs to which this applies.

In light of these changes, we wanted to communicate our plan to handle these submissions to investigators as soon as possible to make sure those interested in requesting institutional support have adequate time to prepare their application as well as any additional coordination that may be necessary to meet the new requirements. A separate communication will be sent directly to department chiefs addressing the support of financial plans for submitted applications.

How to Apply

Due to increased administrative components required for these grants to be submitted for review going forward, we ask that any investigator who will be seeking institutional support to email their intent to apply to ecor@partners.org no later than Monday, February 10, 2014. This email should simply be a statement of intent to apply with your contact information and the appropriate administrator contact information.

If you have questions, please contact MGH ECOR at ecor@partners.org or call Erin McGivney at 617-643-6471.

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 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. 

• Ladies Auxiliary VFW: Postdoctoral Cancer Research Fellowship - NEW!
• NIH Coordination and Evaluation Center for Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-Funded Workforce Program (U54)
• NIH National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) (U54)
• Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and Training Program (P42)
• Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHS CC) (P30)
• Botanical Dietary Supplement Research Centers (BDSRC) (P50)
• Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers (P30)
• Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (P50)
• Jointly Sponsored Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences (T32)
• Cystic Fibrosis Research and Translation Core Center (P30)

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@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.

• Drug Discovery Call for Proposals, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
• Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN)
• Damon Runyon Fellowship Award (Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Research Fellowships), Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
• 21st Century Science Initiative - Studying Complex Systems Program: Scholar Award in Complex Systems (Scholar-CS), James S. McDonnell Foundation (JSMF)
• Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Fellowship Award, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
• LIFELINE Grant Program, Lupus Foundation of America (LFA)
• Young Investigator Awards, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN)
• ASF, Macquarie, Pedersen Family, KFOC Alport Syndrome Research Funding Program, Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC)
• Research and Development Grants, Promobilia Foundation

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

4. Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies

CAMTech's $100K Innovation Awards program is a request for proposals for innovative health technologies targeting pressing global health challenges. The awards look not only for innovative technical solutions, but also for solutions that will be sustainable and scalable in LMICs in the long term.

2014 Request for Applications (RFA)
With support from the Bacca Foundation and the Omidyar Network, we are pleased to announce the next round of Innovation Awards to accelerate innovative technologies to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. We are initially requesting a one-page letter of intent (LOI) due February 13, 2014 followed by a full proposal for those invited to apply.

• Request for Applications
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How much are the awards?
The awards provide US$100,000 for one-year of support for innovative technologies. Technologies are defined as devices and protocols, but excluding medicines and vaccines. CAMTech is agnostic to where the technology is in the product development process (e.g. prototyping, field-testing, market research for commercialization etc.) as long as the budget reflects the scope of work proposed.

What are we looking for?
CAMTech is looking for technologies that can strengthen the delivery of healthcare. Successful proposals demonstrate the applicant's technology will improve health outcomes specifically in LMICs; incorporate the value of co-creation throughout the process; have an interdisciplinary team with partners from LMICs; identify a business strategy that is sustainable; and be technologically feasible and innovative compared to what is currently available.

What is the process?
Innovation Awards are provided to a range of recipients, including academic researchers, clinicians, engineers and business students, as well as for-profit institutions and NGOs. During the proposal development process, CAMTech urges applicants to contact the CAMTech team to ensure proposals meet all of the identified criteria. For example, proposals that include one of our LMIC partners in Uganda and/or India are preferred in order to enhance the CAMTech network and build capacity at our international sites. Proposals are submitted to CAMTech's online platform - CoLab.

Please click here for more information.

5. NIH Update for Week Ending January 31, 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

Alex's Lemonade Stand: 2014 Pediatric Oncology Student Training (POST) Program
Application Deadline: February 10

The Eleanor and Miles Shore 50th Anniversary Fellowship Program for Scholars in Medicine
Application deadline: February 10

2014 Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award
Application Deadline: February 17

Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education
Application Deadline: February 28

MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards
Application Deadline: March 4

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

IRB Hot Topics: What Constitutes a Minimal Risk Study? - February 4

Subject Recruitment and Retention Series - February 5

Managing and Reporting Unanticipated Problems Including Adverse Events - February 12

K Writing Workshop - February 13

Study Electronic Data Capture: REDCap and StudyTRAX - February 26

Hands-on MORA Training: Managing Monitor Online Record Access - February 28

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@partners.org