Research News - April 10, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Core of the Week: Cancer Pharmacology Core

Cancer Pharmacology Core
Director: Jeffrey Supko, PhD
Location: 32 Fruit Street, Jackson Building, 10th Floor, Boston

The Cancer Pharmacology Core provides DF/HCC investigators with the necessary expertise and resources to design and undertake pharmacokinetic studies in phase I and phase II clinical trials and preclinical investigations. The Core can implement and validate established analytical methods to quantify drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids; it can also modify or develop entirely new assays when necessary.

To learn more about the Cancer Pharmacology Core, please click here.

2. RISC is moving to a new, responsive website

Starting April 15, 2015, you will be redirected to a new website when you visit the Research Information Services & Computing (RISC) Website, http://rc.partners.org. The new website will be fully responsive to improve your experience when browsing or searching on mobile devices, including smartphones, iPads and other tablets. Ahead of the switch, we invite you to visit the beta version of the new site and familiarize yourself with the layout, and give feedback. Visit http://rc.partners.org/New_RISC_Website for the beta website login information and additional details.

3. Navigating the Grant Process - NIH Progress Reports (Part 1)

Partners Research Management’s "Navigating the Grant Process" is a series of tips and guidance for Principal Investigators and Department Administrators. Each post in the series will feature a relevant and current topic around research administration. 

This is Part 1 in a four-part series about NIH Progress Reports.

More than half of our NIH Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR) are due between March and May each year. Accurate, complete, and compliant progress reports are extremely important to ensure continued funding. NIH will not approve your new funding until ALL compliance requirements are met. We find that the biggest sticking points for progress reports are:

• Public Access to Publications (more information provided below)
• Unobligated Fund Balances (coming soon)
• Reduction to PI Effort (coming soon)
• Patient Enrollment Tables (coming soon)

Public Access to Publications (NCBI database)
All of your publications resulting from the project under review must have a PMCID number (Pub Med Central ID). NIH’s Public Access policy requires that publically funded research must be available to the public. Your Pre-Award Grant Administrator can provide information on the steps in the process and can confirm if papers resulting from the research (as determined by the PI) are in compliance. Verify that all your published papers have a six-digit PMCID number or are in process to receive the number. The lead author must initiate the process with the publisher and this can cause additional delays, so check now.

No PMCID number means no funding!

See RPPR sections C.1 & 5.10. Public Access Policy: http://publicaccess.nih.gov

For more detail on the NIH RPPR, see their official guide: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/RPPR/rppr_instruction_guide.pdf

4. How to Meet the New Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) Renewal Requirements

Last week BORIM sent out a notice to all licensed physicians in Massachusetts about two requirements for renewal and caused some confusion. The two requirements are proficiency in electronic health records (EHR) and training for reporting suspected child abuse. The EHR requirement began April 1, and the suspected child abuse training is a one-time requirement that has been in place for several years.

Here´s what physicians need to do if their license is up for renewal:

1) Proficiency in electronic health records. Physicians must attest that they meet one of four criteria demonstrating proficiency. Thanks to all the work on meaningful use of health IT in the past few years, most MGPO physicians meet three of the four.

1. On the Electronic Health Records Proficiency page, click the first option “I have demonstrated proficiency in the use of EHR.”
2. In the next screen, click on the second option, “Employment with, credentialed to provide patient care at, or in a contractual agreement with an eligible hospital or critical access hospital that has a CMS Meaningful use program.”

2) Training for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect. This is not a new requirement, so it is very likely that most physicians have already done this. For more information, click here. The MGPO is working to clarify this requirement and to identify internal resources to complete it.

1. If you think you have already completed the training, click “Yes.”
2. If you think you haven´t yet done this training, click “No.” You cannot proceed with the online license renewal and will need to take a training. BORIM suggests the Middlesex Children´s Advocacy Center´s program “51A Online Mandated Reporter Training: Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation” at www.middlesexcac.org/51A-reporter-training.

For more information about how to attest, contact Shaina Druy, (617) 726-3680. To learn more about the specific law and requirements, click here.

5. PCORI Update: Latest Call for Pragmatic Study Proposals, Applicant Webinars, & Next Board Meeting

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

6. NIH Update: Give Input on Optimizing Research Sustainability; Revised Grants Policy Statement Available; Register for the Regional Seminar

Please click here to read the NIH Extramural Nexus.

EVENTS

1. Don't forget to register for the 5th Annual Research Administrators Retreat!

Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, reception to follow, Simches Research Building, 3rd Floor 

Please join us for the 5th Annual Research Administrators Retreat. All MGH Department Administrators and Partners Central Administrators are invited to attend as well as any interested investigators.  The retreat will be equally beneficial to those who are new to research administration and those who have been in the field for years, and will be a great opportunity to network with your colleagues.

Please note that everyone must register for the Retreat in May, even if you had registered for the original date in February.   Please click here to register.

If you have any questions regarding the retreat, please email researchmanagement@mgh.harvard.edu. 

2. SAVE THE DATE! 2015 Research Fellow Poster Celebration

Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Location provided upon registration

The Center for Faculty Development’s Office for Research Careers (ORCD) presents its annual poster celebration for MGH research fellows.

The ORCD's Research Fellow Poster Celebration will take place on May 27, 2015. The Poster Celebration highlights the excellent research being done by MGH postdoctoral fellows. The morning program includes lectures on the 'Trends in Biomedical Science' and 'Research Career Development.' Posters are on display all day.

Please click here to register early.

3. Research Billing Discussion Group

Wednesday, May 27, 2:00pm - 3:30pm, Simches Room 3.120 

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program and MGH Research Compliance

Speaker: Pamela Richtmyer, RN - MGH Research Compliance

Please join us for a discussion group on Epic and clinical trial billing. Pam Richtmyer from MGH Research Compliance will lead the discussion and answer questions on:

• Charge review
• Patient Care Corrections
• Escalation process
• Common errors
• Outstanding Epic issues
• Patient Care Detail
• Remuneration and reimbursement

Bring your questions! Click here to register. Contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

4. D3 (Drug Discovery and Development) Project Simulation 

Tuesday, June 2, 1:00pm - 5:00pm, and Wednesday, June 3, 8:30am - 4:30pm, Simches Research Building, 2nd Floor, Garrod/Mendel Conference Room

Sponsored by Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and the MGH Clinical Research Program

This is an interactive and group discussion course in which participants will be assigned roles in a project team tasked with the discovery and development of a new medicine. Participants will encounter and make decisions about various scientific challenges and possible research paths. The team will choose a therapeutic area and drug target, search for potential chemical leads, optimize and progress those leads through preclinical research, demonstrate the resulting drug candidate is safe and effective in patients, advance the drug through subsequent clinical trials, and ultimately submit the drug for registration with the health authorities.

Target Audience:  Individuals with an MD and/or Ph.D., who wish to gain an understanding of drug discovery and development, and exposure to the scientific strategies and decision-making a pharmaceutical company’s research organization may employ to develop safe, effective, and innovative medicines. A basic understanding of life sciences (biology, physiology, pathophysiology) will be assumed.

Participants should have a genuine desire to learn about what it takes to discover and develop a novel therapy, or are currently, (or expect to be) collaborating with a pharmaceutical company on some aspect of pharmaceutical research/clinical trials. Participants must be able to commit to 2 full days of coursework and simulation.

Only complete applications will be considered.  All completed applications will be reviewed before acceptance. Course is limited to 8 participants.

Registration is required. For questions contact Jillian Tonelli.

5. Orientation Program: Clinical Research Resources at MGH

Thursday, May 7, 11:15am - 4:00pm, Simches 3.120

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program

Are you new to clinical research or planning a research project at MGH?
Orientation Program: Clinical Research Resources at MGH will provide valuable information about the clinical research system at MGH. New investigators and research coordinators/assistants are invited to meet with representatives from Research Management, Partners Clinical Research Office, Partners Human Research Committee, Partners Quality Improvement Program, Clinical Research Program, Clinical Research Center, Research Compliance, Investigational Drug Service and Clinical Research Laboratory Core.

Schedule:
Lunch & Welcome (11:15 - 11:30am) Stacey Grabert
Investigational Drug Pharmacy (11:30 - 11:45am) Alan DiBiasio
Clinical Research Center (11:45 - 12:00pm) Kathy Hall
Clinical Research Program (12:00 - 12:10pm) Stacey Grabert
Research Compliance (12:10 - 12:35pm) Pamela Richtmyer
Break (12:35 - 12:50pm)
Partners Human Research Committee (12:50 - 1:50pm) Maria Sundquist
Partners Quality Improvement Program (1:50 - 2:50pm) Michele Gomez & Angela Savlidis
Partners Research Management (2:50 - 3:10pm) Stania Augustin
Partners Clinical Research Office (3:10 - 3:30pm) Maureen Lawton
Harvard Catalyst Research Subject Advocacy Program (RSA) (3:30 - 3:55pm)
Certificates and Evaluations (3:55 - 4:00pm) Stacey Grabert

Lunch will be provided. Registration is required. Please contact Kelsey Gay with any questions.
 

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Stress and Health Disparities: Merging Laboratory, Clinical, and Population Scientific Approaches

Applications due: May 14, 2015

The goal of this funding opportunity is to work collaboratively to generate new evidence, methodologies, or tools that will contribute to translational research fostering deeper understanding of the roles of psychosocial stress response in human health and health disparity.

Up to $75,000 is available for cutting-edge, interdisciplinary translational research that enhances our understanding of the fundamental biological mechanisms involved in disease conditions that disproportionately affect health disparity populations. The ultimate goal is to develop therapies or interventions that can directly or demonstrably contribute to the reduction or elimination of health disparities.

Research priority areas include:

• Stress Biology and Disease Pathways
• Measuring Stressors, Stress Response, and Resiliency

These topics were addressed at the “Stress and Health Disparities: Merging Laboratory, Clinical, and Population Scientific Approaches” symposium held in October 2013.

Applications are due by May 14, 2015.

Please review the RFA and apply on our website. Contact us if you have any questions.

The Harvard Catalyst Health Disparities Research Program increases the prominence and impact of research on health disparities at Harvard, and promotes health equity by facilitating new collaborative research, and providing education and training opportunities in health and healthcare disparities research.

2. Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Awards

Preliminary applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Awards

What are they?
The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides funding to young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health. The program makes grants to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding individuals who are in their first few years of their appointment at the Assistant Professor level.
MGH is eligible to nominate one candidate.

When is the deadline?  
MGH internal preliminary applications: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Awards - Click here

3. The Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research: A program of the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation

Preliminary applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research.
 
What are they?
The mission of the Awards Program is to launch the careers of newly independent biomedical researchers with the ultimate goal of achieving medical breakthroughs. The three‐year Award supports newly independent faculty engaged in basic biomedical research. Investigators in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry and engineering) whose projects focus on biomedical science are also encouraged to apply. Clinical trials are outside of the scope of this program however, basic research using human specimens is eligible. In recognition of the importance of research collaboration by the scientific community, collaboration is an additional, but not required, positive ancillary factor. These projects may involve researchers within and/or outside MGH.
MGH is eligible to nominate two candidates.

When is the deadline? 
MGH internal preliminary applications: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 – 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
The Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research - Click here

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.

• Pathfinder Awards, Wellcome Trust
• Peter G. Pentchev Research Fellowship, National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation (NNPDF
• Research Scholar Awards (RSA), AGA Research Foundation

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

5. 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:

• Name of the Principal Investigator with appropriate contact information 
• A descriptive title of the potential application
• Brief description of the project 
• 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.

• Charles H. Hood Foundation Major Grants Initiative to Advance Child Health – NEW!
• NIAMS Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Centers (P30)

The two awards below are offered in addition to those that follow the LOI process mentioned above and will require a full preliminary application be prepared:

• Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences
• Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research

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.

6. NIH Update for Week Ending April 10, 2015

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

Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard
Application Deadline: April 22

National Comprehensive Cancer Network Request for Proposals
Application Deadline: April 27

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

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

New Biographical Sketch Format Required for NIH and AHRQ Grant Applications Submitted - May 25

A Primer on Complex Trait Genetics: Principles for the Beginning Investigator - May 26

Register for the Employee Alert System (EAS) today!

Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) Massachusetts General Hospital

50 Staniford Street, Suite 1001, Boston, MA 02114

ecor@mgh.harvard.edu