Research News

Research News- March 14,2014

March 14, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Core of the Week: MGH Research Informatics Core
2. PHS Government Affairs Update - March 11, 2014

EVENTS

1. Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) 2014: April 2 & 3, 2014
2. Epigenetics: An Introduction and Applications

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. MGH Physician and/or Scientist Development Award 2014
2. Partners HealthCare Innovation and Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI)
3. Global Clinical Scholars Research Training (GCSRT) program
4. Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
5. Private Funding Opportunities
6. NIH Update for Week Ending March 14, 2014
7. PCORI Funding Opportunities
8. The Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC) Launches PILOT and DRIVE Grants

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Core of the Week: MGH Research Informatics Core

MGH Research Informatics Core

Director: Misha Pivovarov
Location: Simches Research Center, 5th floor, 185 Cambridge St., Boston

Our objective is to provide software application development and hosting services. We would like to utilize our expertise and the software modules we have created to help others organize, store, analyze and share scientific data.

To learn more about the MGH Research Informatics Core, please click here.

2. PHS Government Affairs Update - March 11, 2014

Please click here to read the most recent Government Affairs Update.

EVENTS

1. Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) 2014: April 2 & 3, 2014

The 67th Annual Meeting of the MGH Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) is being held on April 2 & 3, 2014. The agenda for SAC 2014 is now available online! We hope that you will be able to attend at least part of the SAC events on April 2 & 3!

2. Epigenetics: An Introduction and Applications

Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 1:00pm -4:15pm, Simches 3.110
The MGH Clinical Research Program and the Harvard Catalyst are sponsoring this nanocourse focused on epigenetics.

This course is intended for clinical research investigators at the fellow and faculty level. Distinguished faculty from MGH will provide introductory lectures defining epigenetics and its effect on gene regulation and disease.

Schedule
1:05pm - 2:05pm
Introduction to Epigenetic Mechanisms
Robert Kingston, Ph.D., Chief, Department of Molecular Biology, MGH

2:05pm - 3:05pm
Drafting the epigenome through reading, writing and erasing
Johnathan Whetstine, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, HMS, Cancer Center, MGH

3:15 - 4:15pm
What Can the Epigenome Teach Us About Cellular States and Disease?
Bradley Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Pathologist, MGH, Professor of Pathology, HMS

Please register here. Contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. MGH Physician and/or Scientist Development Award 2014

Four Year Award for Investigators who are underrepresented in Academic Medicine*

*Basic, Clinical, Translational, and Health Services investigators are all eligible

Applications for grants are invited by the MGH Multicultural Affairs Office (MAO) and the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR).

What is the Award?
The MGH Physician/Scientist Development Award is part of the MAO's Minority Faculty Development Award Program. This Award is designed for MD and/or PhD investigators at MGH who are considered underrepresented in academic medicine (URM). This Award is intended to provide transitional funding for support in the development of physicians and scientists underrepresented in academic medicine, and thereby increase opportunities for URM researchers to advance to senior positions in academic medicine at MGH. The MAO will evaluate the need for this Award on a regular basis.

URMs in academic medicine include Hispanics, African Americans, Alaskan Natives and American Indians, among other underrepresented racial/ethnic groups in medicine. The MAO's mission is, in part, to promote the careers of outstanding clinical, translational, basic and health services investigators who are underrepresented in academic medicine at MGH, and to build a more diverse workforce.

How much is the award?
A maximum of $120,000 will be awarded to be spent over a three or four-year period, with a maximum of $40,000.00 per year of funding in direct costs, plus 15% for indirect costs.

When is the deadline?
Friday, March 21, 2014 - 4:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Click here to read more and apply online. Visit the ECOR website: http://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/

2. Partners HealthCare Innovation and Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI)

Partners HealthCare Innovation and Pfizers Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) are pleased to announce a Partners-wide call for proposals of translational projects involving the development of bio-therapeutics for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes and associated conditions. In partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), CTI will support research in focus areas of immune tolerance, diabetic nephropathy and beta cell health. The 2-3 page pre-proposal submission deadline is Friday, March 14, 2014. The pre-proposal outline can be downloaded here.

Pre-Proposal Process: 2-3 page pre-proposals are to be submitted via email to Partners Innovation. Innovation will conduct a review of each pre-proposal to ensure that no confidential information has been included, prior to forwarding them to CTI-JDRF. A CTI-JDRF Joint Steering Committee (JSC) will make the decisions on which pre-proposals to advance to the full proposal stage. Invitations will then be sent to the PIâ€˜s to submit confidential full proposals, developed together with CTI personnel. Funding decisions on full proposals will be made by both the CTI-JDRF and CTI-Partners JSC.

If you have additional questions, please contact Rekha Paleyanda.

3. Global Clinical Scholars Research Training (GCSRT) program

The Global Clinical Scholars Research Training (GCSRT) program (hms.harvard.edu/gcsrt) is a groundbreaking one-year program of blended learning at Harvard Medical School intended for clinicians and clinician-scientists who desire rigorous training in the methods and conduct of clinical research.

The GCSRT program is accepting applications for the 2014/15 program, which begins June 21, 2014. The program's three main goals are to build skills in clinical research, provide knowledge in biostatistics, epidemiology, and clinical trials and develop a global network. For more information about the program, go to our website.

Apply HERE or register for an information session to learn more and with a presentation by program director and Harvard Medical School faculty member Dr. Ajay Singh: Secrets to Success in Clinical Research.

LONDON, UK: March 17, 9:00 - 10:00 am, University College London, Institute Of Child Health (UCL) Room PU2, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: March 18, 9:00 - 10:00 am, Novotel Brussels Centre - Tour Noire, 32, Rue de la Vierge Noire, 1000 Brussels

GCSRT web-based information sessions will be held on:

March 12, 2014 at 5:00 pm (EST)
March 26, 2014 at 9:00 am (EST)
April 1, 2014 at 5:00 pm (EST)
April 9, 2014 at 9:00 am (EST)

Scholarships are available from the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research (DHFMR), the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Harvard Medical School also has funds available to support a limited number of partial scholarships to the GCSRT program for nephrologists from anywhere in the world. The deadline for scholarship applications is March 15, 2014.

4. 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.

Breast Cancer Alliance 2015 Exceptional Project Grant
Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure FY 2014 (P2C) - NEW!
Botanical Dietary Supplement Research Centers (BDSRC) (P50)
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers 2014 (U54) - NEW!
Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers (P30)
Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (P50)
Charles H. Hood Foundation Major Grants Initiative to Advance Child Health
Diabetes Research Centers (P30)
Consortium for Food Allergy Research (U19)
Jointly Sponsored Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences (T32)
Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation Grant
Cystic Fibrosis Research and Translation Core Center (P30)
American Diabetes Association Pathway to Stop Diabetes Research Awards

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.

5. 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.

Reducing Health Care Disparities Through Payment and Delivery System Reform, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
Bridge Grants, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
Springboard Grants, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
Targeted Research Initiative for Morbidity and Mortality, Epilepsy Foundation of America
Established Investigator Grant, Scleroderma Foundation
New Investigator Grant, Scleroderma Foundation
Target Pipeline Program, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

6. NIH Update for Week Ending March 14, 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

7. PCORI Funding Opportunities

For latest newsletter from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), including funding opportunities, click here.

8. The Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC) Launches PILOT and DRIVE Grants

Pre-proposals are now being accepted on a rolling basis. Visit B-BIC.org for more information.

B-BIC provides support for the development of devices, diagnostics, and therapeutics related to heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. PILOT grants provide up to $50,000 for direct costs for 1 year and DRIVE grants provide up to $200,000 for direct costs for milestones achieved over 1½ to 2 years. It is recommended that you contact your institutional site miner before submission. B-BIC is a consortium of academia, government, venture capital, non-profit, and industry designed to accelerate translational research.