December 19,2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. New Biographical Sketch Format Required for NIH and AHRQ Grant Applications 

NIH and AHRQ encourages applicants to use the newly published biosketch format for all grant and cooperative agreement applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2015, and will require use of the new format for applications submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2015. Applicants may submit using the new biosketch format for due dates before January 25, 2015, if they wish. 

The revised forms and instructions are now available on the SF 424 (R&R) Forms and Applications page. The new format extends the page limit from four to five pages, and allows researchers to describe up to five of their most significant contributions to science, along with the historical background that framed their research. Investigators can outline the central findings of prior work and the influence of those findings on the investigator’s field. Investigators involved in Team Science are provided the opportunity to describe their specific role(s) in the work. Each description can be accompanied by a listing of up to four relevant peer-reviewed publications or other non-publication research products, including audio or video products; patents; data and research materials; databases; educational aids or curricula; instruments or equipment; models; protocols; and software or netware that are relevant to the described contribution. In addition to the descriptions of specific contributions and documentation, researchers will be allowed to include a link to a full list of their published work as found in a publicly available digital database such as MyBibliography or SciENcv .

Tool to Help Build the New Biosketch
The Science Experts Network (SciENcv), which serves as an interagency system designed to create biosketches for multiple federal agencies, will be updated and available within a few weeks to support the new biosketch format. SciENcv pulls information from available resources making it easy to develop a repository of information that can be readily updated and modified to prepare future biosketches. A YouTube video provides instructions for using SciENcv.

For additional information, please click here.

2. Core of the Week: PMB Microscopy Core

PMB Microscopy Core
Director: Dennis Brown, Ph.D.
Location: 185 Cambridge St., Simches Building, 8th Floor, Boston

The Microscopy Core of the Program in Membrane Biology (PMB) at MGH is equipped and staffed to provide a wide range of services to investigators from MGH and the Boston area scientific community in the area of light and electron microscopy. The Core is housed on the 8th floor of the Simches Research Center at MGH, and is directed by Dr. Dennis Brown, Ph.D. The Core will provide services ranging from complete performance of the technical procedures required, to full training of personnel. Among the techniques available are laser scanning confocal microscopy, spinning disk confocal microscopy, tissue fixation, sectioning, immunostaining and conventional immunofluorescence microscopy, image analysis, and all aspects of electron microscopy including immunogold staining. The Core facility provides a unique and important resource for members of the scientific community as they approach a variety of research problems that call for these advanced microscopy techniques.

For more information about the PMB Microscopy Core please click here.

3. Research Navigator now available in the Partners Applications menu!

You can now link to Research Navigator through the utilities folder in the Partners applications menu.

The Navigator team has preemptively granted access to most research community members prior to launch. You can log into Research Navigator from any web browser in any location with your primary email address and Partners username and password.

Please share these login instructions with your colleagues and portfolios if you haven’t already…
1. Click on the blue ‘Employee Login’ button from the public site.
2. On the Office 365 login page, enter your primary email address (this can be found on myprofile.partners.org) and make sure you check ‘Keep me signed in’ which will keep you logged in for 24 hours.
3. You will then be directed to a Partners login page and asked for your user ID, followed by a page for your Partners password.

Questions can be emailed to researchnavigator@partners.org.

4. PCORI Update: Advisory Panels Seek Applicants; What PCORI-Funded Research Looks Like

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

5. PHS Research Management 2015 Training Calendar

Partners Research Management's 2015 Training Calendar is now available on Research Navigator. Courses will be open for enrollment in PeopleSoft as of Thursday December 18, 2014. For registration instructions, see the bottom of the Training Home Page on Navigator.

6. No Research News on 12/26

Next Week, due to the holiday, the MGH Research News will not be sent out. Happy Holidays!

EVENTS

1. MGH Research Council Meeting 

Monday, January 5, 2015, 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Simches Auditorium (3.110),
Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

Come learn about a new funding opportunity, how to keep your research data safe and resources to better engage patients in the research process!

1. Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC)
2. Health Online for Patient Enrichment (HOPE)
3. IS Security Update

Lunch available at 11:45 AM

All MGH Researchers welcome!

2. Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) 2015 Poster Session

Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 110:00 am – 1:45 pm, SERI, Simches, 2nd Floor

ECOR is now accepting abstracts for the 2015 SAC Poster Session! 

Deadline for Submission: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - 5:00 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.

NEW for 2015!
This year, we will be featuring a limited number of electronic poster boards (ePosterBoards). We are looking for dynamic, visually interesting presentations for these ePosterBoards.

LOCATION, DATE & TIME
Schepens Eye Research Institute
185 Cambridge St.
Simches Building, Second Floor
Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 11:00am - 1:45pm

PRIZES
Twelve $1,000 Awards of Excellence for Scientific Meeting Travel

HOW TO SUBMIT
Please click here for more information and to submit a poster abstract!

Please note: Space is limited! Submissions will be closed before the deadline if we reach capacity.

QUESTIONS
If you have problems or questions, please email sac@partners.org.

3. MGH Core Day

Monday, December 22, 2014, 1:00-3:00 PM, Simches 3 Conference Area

Please join the MGH Research Community on December 22, 2014 starting at 1pm in the Simches 3 conference area to learn more about the Cores at MGH!

Light refreshments will be available as well as a raffle!

4. Considering the Research Subject's Perspective

Wednesday, January 7, 3:00pm - 4:00pm, Simches 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program

Enrico Cagliero, MD, MGH Diabetes Center, Associate Professor of Medicine, HMS

Advances in clinical medicine would not be possible if it were not for the thousands of subjects who volunteer and donate their time and frequently blood and tissues in clinical trials. For effective recruitment and good interaction with potential subjects it is crucial to understand their motivation, rights and insights. During this seminar we will review misconceptions about clinical research and tools to communicate with research volunteers. This course is geared towards investigators, research nurses, study coordinators and study staff.
RCR Eligibility: Completion of this course will fulfill one lecture/discussion requirement.

Registration is required. Contact Jillian Tonelli with further questions about this session.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards for Junior Faculty Women Investigators in Basic & Clinical Research

Applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards!

What are the Claflin Awards?
Although women scientists are recruited to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) programs, their advancement to senior faculty positions is still far less frequent than that of their male counterparts. In 1993, The Women in Academic Medicine Committee, originally chaired by Mrs. R. Morton Claflin, Honorary Trustee, was established to facilitate the academic careers of women in science at MGH. Recognizing that a significant obstacle to career advancement is the difficulty of maintaining research productivity during the child-rearing years, this Committee, with the sponsorship of the Executive Committee On Research (ECOR), established the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards. It is intended that this transitional funding will increase opportunities for women to advance to senior positions in academic medicine.

How much is each award?
These are two year awards for $50,000 per year in direct costs, plus 15% for indirect costs.

When is the deadline?
Tuesday, March 3, 2015 - 9:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Click here to read more and apply online!

2. NIH Update for Week Ending December 19, 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

MGH ECOR Formulaic Bridge Funding
Application Deadline: 7th day of each month

MLSC Cooperative Research Matching Grant Program
Application Deadline: February 13, 2015 

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

Introduction to Proteomics and Metabolomics - December 18

Clinical Trial Billing (Part 1):  Basic Overview  - January 5, 2015

Clinical Trial Billing (Part 2): Tracking Charges and Patient Care Corrections - January 22, 2015

Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Study Subjects - January 22, 2015 

Research Nurse Book Club - January 27, 2015

Save the Date! Research Administrators Retreat - February 10, 2015

Save the Date! SAC 2015 - April 1 & 2, 2015

2015 World Medical Innovation Forum - Neurosciences - April 27-29, 2015

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@mgh.harvard.edu