Research News

Research News - April 24, 2015

April 24, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Core of the Week: Human Immune Monitoring Core
2. PIPS is Prohibited from Providing DS-2019 Scans/Copies
3. MGH Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) Animal Ordering Web Site – Scheduled Maintenance
4. Navigating the Grant Process - NIH Progress Reports (Part 3)
5. PCORI Update: Board Approves $120 Million in Research Funding and New Advisory Panel Members

EVENTS

1. MGH Research Council
2. Join the Research Technical Lunch
3. Don't forget to register for the 5th Annual Research Administrators Retreat!
4. ORCD's Annual Research Fellows Poster Celebration on May 27!
5. Call for Abstracts: Center for Skeletal Research Symposium
6. MGH Research Core Day
7. Call for Abstracts: Present your poster at the Connected Health Symposium
8. Good Clinical Practice in Research at an Academic Research Institution

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Awards
2. The Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research: A program of the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation
3. Private Funding Opportunities
4. Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
5. NIH Update for Week Ending April 24, 2015

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Core of the Week: Human Immune Monitoring Core

The Human Immune Monitoring Core (HIMC) is designed to be a comprehensive source for immune monitoring services in the greater Boston area, to immunophenotype patient samples to allow valid comparisons across cohorts and time.

The mission of this core is to provide a comprehensive source for standardized state-of-the-art immune monitoring services for clinical, observational and translational studies. The aim is to provide laboratory resources for investigators and to create a large multi-cohort, multi-disease human immune data repository that will allow future large-scale analyses to help us understand the human immune system in health and disease.

To learn more about the Human Immune Monitoring Core please click here.

2. PIPS is Prohibited from Providing DS-2019 Scans/Copies

The U.S. Department of State's recently updated J-1 Exchange Visitor regulations now prohibit international offices from distributing scans/photocopies/faxes of DS-2019s.

As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure Partners institutions' compliance, PIPS can no longer distribute scanned or photocopied DS-2019s to hospital administrators, including Human Resources and any other departments. Nor will we be allowed to provide non-PIPS staff with access to DS-2019 copies stored in Visa Manager.

If your department needs DS-2019 copies for business purposes you may collect them directly from the J-1 Exchange Visitor. Based on responses to date, the Department does not prohibit the Exchange Visitor from providing copies of his/her DS-2019. But it does consider such copies an inherently forgeable liability. Please securely store any DS-2019 copies.

The Department of State has always discouraged visa staff from distributing DS-2019s to anyone other than Exchange Visitors and/or their dependents, but the new rules that went into effect on January 5, 2015 (22 CFR Part 62 Exchange Visitor Program - General Provisions; Final Rule) explicitly forbade international offices from forwarding copies to any "unauthorized party." The Department of State clarified that "(i)n light of current technologies that make it easy to create counterfeit copies of documents, the Department does not wish for there to be any electronic or paper replicas of Forms DS-2019 to be available to anyone, hence, the only authorized [third] parties are the Departments of State and Homeland Security."

For more information, visit http://pips.partners.org.

3. MGH Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) Animal Ordering Web Site – Scheduled Maintenance

On Friday, 5/1/15, CCM will be performing scheduled maintenance to the Animal Ordering Web Site (http://ccm.partners.org).

The downtime will begin at 6:00pm on 5/1/15 and end on Saturday 5/2/15 at 6:00pm.
This maintenance is part of the Partners Healthcare project to relocate the CNY Data Center to the all-new Marlborough Data Center (MDC).

Please do not attempt to access the application during this maintenance window. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. If you have any questions or problems, please email us at MGHCCM@PARTNERS.ORG

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

This is Part 3 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:

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

Reduction of PI Effort
The PI's effort commitment is a condition of the award, and a substantive reduction requires NIH prior approval (See D.2.a. Level of Effort). When preparing the RPPR, you must determine if the next budget period will result in either:

1.A reduction of 25% or more in the level of effort from what was approved by the agency for the PD/PI(s) or other senior/key personnel designated in the Notice of Award; or
2.A reduction in level of effort below the minimum amount of effort required by the Notice of Award

Reductions are cumulative, so the 25% threshold may be reached by multiple successive reductions that total 25% or more. Once agency approval has been given for a significant change in the level of effort, all subsequent reductions are measured against the approved adjusted level. Selecting 'Yes' constitutes a prior approval request to the agency and the issuance of a subsequent year of funding constitutes agency approval of the request. Remember that prior approval is not retroactive!

5. PCORI Update: Board Approves $120 Million in Research Funding and New Advisory Panel Members

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

EVENTS

1. MGH Research Council

Monday, May 4, 2015, 12:00-1:00 pm, Simches Auditorium (3.110), Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

Join us as we launch the Mass General Research Institute

Introduction to the Research Institute
Harry W. Orf, PhD, Senior Vice President for Research
Research Institute Steering Committee

Susan A. Slaugenhaupt, PhD, Scientific Director, Mass General Research Institute
Research Institute Steering Committee

Special Guest Speakers:
• Jordan W. Smoller, MD, ScD, Co-Director, Partners Biobank at MGH
“How Investigators Can Utilize Biobank Data”

• Mason Freeman, MD, Director, Translational Medicine
“Update on the Progress of the Translational Research Unit”

• Sydney Cash, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology
“MGH Success Stories: Partnering with Philanthropy”

• Rox Anderson, MD, Director, Wellman Center for Photomedicine
“MGH Success Stories: Partnering with Industry”

All MGH Researchers welcome!

2. Join the Research Technical Lunch

Thursday, April 30, 12:00 -2:00 pm, WebEx or Prudential Center

This month, Shawn Martineau from the Partners Citrix team will discuss current initiatives highlighting the new "Storefront" and will field your questions and concerns. Mike Quinn from Cisco will co-present with EMC on the Vblock and UCS hardware being deployed in the new Partners Marlborough Data Center. The monthly Tech Lunch is an important forum for research IT administrators and managers to engage with ERIS, Partners IS and each other regarding IT services, technologies, security and infrastructure. RSVP Online by 4/28 and note if you plan to attend remotely so that details are sent. Visit the website and contact rcc@partners.org with questions about Tech Lunch.

3. 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.

4. ORCD's Annual Research Fellows Poster Celebration on May 27!

Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 9:00 am - 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 by Mon, May 18.

5. Call for Abstracts: Center for Skeletal Research Symposium

Wednesday, June 10, 2015; 1:00 - 5:00pm, O’Keeffe Auditorium, Blake 1

Abstract Submission Deadline: May 8th at 5pm EDT

The goal of this symposium is to bring together the Boston bone research community for an exciting afternoon of scientific exchange. The session will feature talks by talented invited leaders of the field and by young investigators who will describe the research they are conducting with the help of Pilot Grants awarded by the Center. An important feature will be a poster session with prizes, which we hope will be an occasion for informal interchange about new research ideas. Please register in advance due to limited seating.

To register for this event or to submit an abstract, please go to https://csr.mgh.harvard.edu/first-annual-symposium

6. MGH Research Core Day

Thursday, June 4, 2015; 1:00 -3:00pm, CNY 149 Atrium area

Please join the MGH Research Community on June 4, 2015 starting at 1pm in the CNY 149 Atrium area to learn more about the Cores at MGH!

Light refreshments will be available as well as a raffle!

If you or a representative from a Core would like to register to participate, please contact Samantha Molle (molle.samantha@mgh.harvard.edu)

7. Call for Abstracts: Present your poster at the Connected Health Symposium

October 29-30, Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center, Boston

As part of the 2015 Partners HealthCare Connected Health Symposium (Oct 29-30, Boston), we are pleased to announce a poster session in collaboration with the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Poster presentations offer an opportunity to share your work with an international audience interested in connected health. Poster presenters will enjoy free registration at the Symposium. Abstract submission deadline is May 14th.

With a focus on trends at the intersection of technology and new models of health care delivery, the Connected Health Symposium is a dynamic event that assists you to understand the rapidly-expanding connected health marketplace.

Partners employees can save even more on registration with the early-bird discount, available until July 31st. Visit http://symposium.connectedhealth.org

8. Good Clinical Practice in Research at an Academic Research Institution

Mondays: June1, 8, 22, 29, 8:00am - 12:00pm, Simches 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Clinical Research Program, Partners Human Research Committee and Partners Quality Improvement Program

Good clinical practice (GCP) is an international ethical and scientific quality standard for designing, conducting, recording and reporting human subjects’ research. GCP guidelines define the roles and responsibilities of the IRB, investigator, and sponsor throughout the clinical trial and also describe the essential documents needed for the conduct of a clinical trial. Compliance with GCP assures that the rights, safety, and welfare of subjects is protected and that the data produced from the research are credible. After completing this training the learner will have a comprehensive understanding of FDA Good Clinical Practices and be able to apply those Practices to the conduct of clinical research.

Session 1: June 11: 8:00am - 11:30pm

Keynote Address
Introduction to Good Clinical Practices
Regulatory Requirements & Human Subjects Protection
Privacy, Confidentiality and Security

Session 2: June 8: 8:00am - 12:30pm

Special Considerations for Pediatric Studies
Process of Informed Consent
FDA Regulations: IND/IDE
Drug and Device Accountability
Standard Operating Procedures
Case Study

Session 3: June 22: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Essential Documents
Source Documentation and Data Collection
Unanticipated Problems including Adverse Events
Study Monitoring
Case Study

Session 4: June 29: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Study Audits
Research Compliance
Research Misconduct
Conflict of Interest
Case Study

This is a highly interactive, four session course on the principles of GCP. In order to receive a certificate of completion a participant must attend all 4 sessions and successfully pass a post-course exam online.
To ensure placement in the course, early registration is recommended. Please contact kgay1@partners.org with any questions.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to: comprehend the principles of GCP; integrate the principles of GCP into the daily activities of research conduct; utilize the information provided during the course to make decisions about research conduct relating to study management, protocol adherence, collection of data, reporting study results and subject safety.

This program meets the requirements of the Board of Registration in Nursing, at 244 CMR 5.00, for 16.0 contact hours of nursing continuing education.

RCR Eligibility: Completion of all four sessions of this course will fulfill two lecture/discussion requirements.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

1. 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 is it?
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

2. 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 is it?
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

3. 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.

Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award, Harrington Discovery Institute
Life Sciences Breakthrough Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation
Patient and Family Engagement Early Career Investigator Awards, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF)
Mathilde Krim Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
Manpei Suzuki International Prize for Diabetes Research, Manpei Suzuki Diabetes Foundation
Accelerate Clinical Trials Grant, Free to Breathe

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

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:

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
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:

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. NIH Update for Week Ending April 24, 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