Research News - July 25 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Visa Service Suspended at American Embassies/Consulates - Website Update

A major computer glitch continues to impact the U.S. Department of State's (DOS) ability to issue visas. The problem has affected operations worldwide and is not limited to any particular country or visa category. DOS is working on the problem but there is no indication when it will be resolved.

Updates: DOS has begun to post status updates about the problem on its website: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english.html Please refer to this site for official status notifications and any news about resolution.

Foreign Nationals who are already outside the U.S. and have a visa appointment: Appear as directed unless the Consulate notifies them that the appointment has been cancelled. We cannot rule out the possibility that DOS has the ability to issue visas in some cases.

Foreign Nationals planning travel abroad who will need to obtain a visa: Reevaluate travel plans after consulting with your intended consulate.

Please note: This DOS problem will NOT impact Foreign Nationals requesting an extension of a stay while in the U.S. or requesting new certificate of eligibility (DS-2019, I-797, etc.) from Partners HealthCare.

2. Core of the Week: MGH Pathology Flow Cytometry Core and Flow Image Analysis

MGH Pathology Flow Cytometry Core and Flow Image Analysis
Director: Frederic Preffer, PhD
Location: Simches 3.434 & CNY 6.307

The cell sorting and analysis lab provides access to the most sophisticated flow cytometers presently available. The core is able to analyze and physically separate cells based upon features detectable with fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibodies. The Amnis technology combines flow with fluorescent and bright field image based analysis.

To learn more about the MGH Pathology Flow Cytometry Core and Flow Image Analysis, please click here.

3. Syncplicity, a New Collaboration Tool for Research

Syncplicity is the new enterprise online file sharing service that provides secure and automatic file synchronization, mobile access and sharing. It is approved for research and external collaboration at Partners and affiliate institutions (BWH, MGH, MCL, SRH).

Partners has procured an initial pool of 1200 Syncplicity licenses for the research community. These 1200 licenses include 100GB of cloud storage and are available at no cost until August 2016. After the 1200 licenses have been consumed, additional licenses can be purchased at $50/year. After August 2016, the service is expected to remain at $50/year. All individuals have the option to double the amount of storage from 100GB to 200GB for $165/year.

For more information or to request a license, click here.

4. Partners Research Management Message - July 24, 2014

Please click here to read the Partners Research Management Message.

• Research Navigator Launches August 1st
• Delay in NIH Transition to LOC Subaccounts
• Salary and Payroll Deadlines for August
• Enroll in an RM Training Class

5. New PCORI Funding Initiative Supports Events; Upcoming Webinar and Board Meeting

Please click here to read the latest news from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

EVENTS

1. Chester Pierce Research Society: “Nanosensors and Cancers: Miniaturized means towards a lofty end”

Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 4:30 - 5:30 PM, Trustees Room (BUL 225A)

Cesar M. Castro, MD, MMSc
Attending Physician in Medical Gynecology Oncology
Director - Cancer Program, Center for Systems Biology
Instructors of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Please RSVP: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HL2GTHF 

Cesar Castro is an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Attending Physician in Medical Gynecology Oncology at the MGH Cancer Center. Dr. Castro is a translational oncologist with experience leveraging nanotechnology and molecular imaging for solid tumor detection and serial profiling. He is currently chair of the In Vitro Diagnostics Working Group with the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer. Dr. Castro graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where he received both a BA in Psychology and MSc in Health and Medical Sciences. He received his medical degree from UCSF School of Medicine where he also completed his Internal Medicine residency training. Dr. Castro completed an adult oncology fellowship from the Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care program. During this period, he also received a MMSc from Harvard Medical School.

The Chester Pierce Research Society (CPRS) is sponsored by the MGH Multicultural Affairs Office. CPRS is a bi-monthly speaker series named in honor of MGH's Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry Chester Pierce, the first and most senior African-American physician-scientist at MGH. CPRS is designed for researchers to present their clinical, basic science and health services/policy research to the MGH community.

2. eIRB Training: A Hands-On Introduction to eIRB

Tuesday, August 12, 3:00pm - 5:00pm, 165 Cambridge Street, 2nd floor, Computer Lab 235

Trainer: Nilda Amado, IRB Applications Analyst

This training is a hands-on workshop for users that need to submit to the Partners IRB. The workshop will focus on the basics of how to navigate, track, and submit common submission types using eIRB.
The eIRB/Humans module within the Insight Research Portal allows users to electronically prepare, submit, sign and track their human-research protocol submissions to the Partners Intuitional Review Board (MGH, BWH, and Faulkner). This course is limited to 11 participants.

Registration is required. Contact Jillian Tonelli with questions.

3. Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials

September - October 2014, Yawkey 2 Conference Rooms, Mondays, 5:30 - 6:45pm, Thursdays, 5:00 - 6:15pm

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program, the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Psychiatry

Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials is an intensive fourteen-session course offered from early-September through late October. Physicians with a serious interest in clinical trials will be introduced to theoretical and practical issues facing clinical researchers. Course participants will learn how to envision, plan, develop and execute effective clinical trials. Study content includes research designs, protocols, ethical patient recruitment, informed consent, regulations, and clinical trial management.

The course is ideally suited for clinical fellows starting their research years, junior faculty pursuing careers in clinical research, and physicians with an interest in becoming more actively involved in clinical research. All participants are expected to use the course curriculum to develop and present a trial design at the final session of the course.

Enrollment is limited to facilitate interaction and individual attention. To ensure placement in the course, early application is recommended. All applications will be reviewed in mid-August.

To submit an application and/or view a course schedule, please go to: Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials. Contact Kelsey Gay with any questions.

4. RPDR Clinic for Health Disparities Research

September 4, 2014

The Harvard Catalyst Health Disparities Research and Biomedical Informatics Programs will host a clinic for investigators interested in using the Research Patient Data Registry (RPDR) for research on health disparities. Participants will receive an overview of RPDR, tutorial on how to conduct queries, and personalized feedback and assistance on submitting queries specific to their population and research question of interest. Attendance is limited. A faculty committee will base their selection on query feasibility, and the project's relevance to health disparities research.

Please review the eligibility criteria and apply by August 11 - http://catalyst.harvard.edu/services/dispevents/

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. MGH ECOR Deliberative ISF and Sequestration Relief Funding

The Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) is accepting applications for the August 1st deadline for the Deliberative Interim Support Funding & Sequestration Relief Funding. August is the second of three standing deadlines for these awards in 2014. The next deadline will be December 1st.

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:

1. Investigators whose grants were not scored or whose scores were not translated into a percentile ranking.
2. Investigators whose grants received scores >20th percentile.
3. Investigators who were awarded Formulaic Bridge Funding (grants with scores < or = 20th percentile), and are now requesting additional financial support (in excess of $75,000 for RO1s, and $37,500 for R21s).
4. A PI who has already received Formulaic Bridge Funding or Deliberative Interim Support on their A0 grant application must apply through the Deliberative Interim Support process for their A1 or A0 resubmission regardless of the score they received on their resubmitted grant.

Sequestration Relief Funding
This is open to Investigators that have experienced a funding shortfall as a result of sequestration and do not qualify for either Formulaic Bridge Funding or Deliberative Interim Support.
For eligible applicants:
a. The total funded amount, if awarded, will be sourced 50:50 with the Department. For example, if a PI applies for $100,000, then $50,000 will be sourced from ECOR funds and $50,000 will be sourced from Departmental funds.
. All applications for additional funds must include the Chief’s Letter of Support & Cost Sharing Authorization Form for ECOR Funding.

When is the deadline?
Friday, August 1, 2014 - 5:00 PM

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

2. 2015 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine

The Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine, presented by the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals - part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, honors the physician-scientist who has moved science forward with notable achievements in innovation, creativity and potential for clinical application.

This annual prize provides the awardee with:

• An unrestricted $20,000 honorarium
• The Harrington Prize Lecture, delivered at the ASCI/AAP Joint Meeting
• A review, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation

This prize requires Institutional Nomination; MGH is not limited in the number of nominees we can submit. If you are interested, please contact MGH ECOR at ecor@partners.org by August 1, 2014 to be considered. Please contact Erin McGivney if you have questions regarding this process.

Click here for more information about the Harrington Prize. Nominations are being accepted through August 15, 2014.

3. 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 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.

• The National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces the Outstanding Investigator Award (R35)
• Clinical Trial on the Effects of Interventions Aiming to Reduce Chronic Inflammation in Older Adults: Pilot Phase (U01)
• Nutrition Obesity Research Centers (NORCs) (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.

4. Private Funding Opportunities

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.

• Treatment Trials and Drug Development, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Stanley Medical Research Institute
• In-Cycle Grant Opportunities: Research Grant, Alpha-1 Foundation
• Mentored Research Award (MRA) Program, Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Research Society
• Charles H. Hood Foundation Child Health Research Awards Program, Health Resources in Action (HRiA) The Medical Foundation
• Translational Research Grant Program [HeART (Help Accelerate RTT Therapeutics)], Rettsyndrome.org (International Rett Syndrome Foundation)
• New Investigator Grant, Scleroderma Foundation
• Established Investigator Grant, Scleroderma Foundation
• Mentored Training Fellowship Program, Rettsyndrome.org (International Rett Syndrome Foundation)
• In-Cycle Grant Opportunities: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Grant, Alpha-1 Foundation
• Basic Research Grant Program, Rettsyndrome.org (International Rett Syndrome Foundation)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

5. NIH Update for Week Ending July 25, 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

Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC)
Application Deadline: August 15

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

Clinical Research Spotlight Series: Study Coordinator Discussion Group - August 4

Research Subject Remuneration and Reimbursement: Policy Review and Navigating the Process - August 13

Minority Faculty Career Development Seminar - September 5-8

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@partners.org