Research News - July 10, 2015

 

MGH Research News
Executive Committee on RESEARCH fostering Innovation at MGH RESEARCH MANAGEMENT. Mainstay ofMGH Innovation
 
July 10, 2015
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 

1. New Process for Managing the NIH Salary Cap
2. Core of the Week: PMB Microscopy Core
3. Partners Healthcare Government Affairs Update – July 8, 2015
4. PCORI Update: Advisory Panels Prioritize Topics; Applicant Webinar

EVENTS
 

1. Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards Informational Panel Discussion
2. HMS Faculty Seminar: Drafting Your Chief’s Letter

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
 

1. MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards
2. MGH ECOR Deliberative Interim Support Funding
3. Private Funding Opportunities
4. Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
5. NIH Update for Week Ending July 10, 2015

In Case You Missed It
 
Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
1. New Process for Managing the NIH Salary Cap

On August 19, 2015, we are rolling out an automated process to manage the NIH salary cap more efficiently.  A new feature has been built in PeopleSoft that will apply the appropriate salary cap for charges entered against Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) awards for Investigators whose base salary is higher than the cap. This new functionality will eliminate much of what is currently a manual and tedious process for many hospital administrators and will help ensure compliance by automatically managing the salary cap.
The PeopleSoft functionality will also ensure that salary in excess of the NIH salary cap is paid from unrestricted funds such as Physician’s Organization, Operating or Sundry.  Going forward, the system will be updated to properly reflect any changes the federal government makes to the Salary Cap.

Outreach and communication to Department Grant Administrators and Research Administrative Staff has begun.  Research Management Post-Award administrators are in the process of reaching out to departments individually with more information.  Training sessions are scheduled and staff responsible for entering research salaries into PeopleSoft are encouraged to attend.  Registration and enrollment through PeopleSoft is required for the training sessions listed below:

  • Wednesday, August 12, 2015,9:00 - 11:00 AM, Simches 3.120
  • Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 2:00 - 4:00 PM, Simches 3.120

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact your Post-Award Grant Administrator in Research Management with any questions.

Harry W. Orf, PhD, Senior Vice President for Research
Andrew Chase, Vice President for Partners Research Management and Research Finance

 
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. Partners Healthcare Government Affairs Update – July 8, 2015

Please click here to read the latest news from Government Affairs.

 
4. PCORI Update: Advisory Panels Prioritize Topics; Applicant Webinar

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

 
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EVENTS
 
1. Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards Informational Panel Discussion

Monday, July 27, 2015, Noon – 1:00 pm, Location provided with registration

Would you like to know more about the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards?  This panel discussion is designed for women who are considering or preparing an application for the 2016 awards.  In this session you will learn:

  • Eligibility requirements
  • Application tips
  • Resources to improve your application
  • How the award can advance your career

Panelists: Sharon Dekel, PhD (2014 Claflin Scholar), Markella Zanni, MD (2013 Claflin Scholar) and Karen K. Miller, MD (1999 Claflin Scholar and Claflin review committee co-chair)

To register:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ClaflinPnl2016

 
2. HMS Faculty Seminar: Drafting Your Chief’s Letter

Wednesday, August 26, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Location provided upon registration.

The Office for Clinical Careers presents a seminar for MGH faculty with HMS academic appointments:

Do you need help drafting the "Chief's letter" for your promotion?

This interactive session will focus on how to write a convincing letter for Harvard Medical School promotion committees. Learn how to help your chief understand and convey your story so that your promotion can move forward. Don’t let procrastination and anxiety get in your way!

Career Advancement Series: Drafting Your Chief’s Letter

Facilitator: Theodore Stern, MD, director of the Office for Clinical Careers, Ned H. Cassem Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Psychosomatic Medicine/Consultation at HMS, and chief of the Avery D. Weisman, MD, Psychiatry Consultation Service

Faculty with HMS academic appointments click here to register. If you have any questions please email clinicalcareers@partners.org.

 
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
 
1. MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards

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, October 13, 2015 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Click here to read more and apply online! For additional information, attend the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards Informational Panel Discussion.

 
2. MGH ECOR Deliberative Interim Support Funding

The Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) is accepting applications for the August 1st deadline for the Deliberative Interim Support Funding g.  August is the second of three standing deadlines for these awards in 2015. The next deadline will be December 1, 2015.  

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. Investigators who have already received Formulaic Bridge Funding or Deliberative Interim Support on their A0 grant application and are now requesting support for their A1 or A0 resubmission.  Investigators in this category must apply through the Deliberative Interim Support process for their A1 and A0 resubmission regardless of the score they received on their resubmitted grant.

When is the deadline?
Saturday, August 1, 2015 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding - 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.

  • Bridge to Independence Award, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI)
  • Psychosocial:  Family Impact Grants, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
  • Research Grants, Whitehall Foundation, Inc.
  • General Grants:  Career Development Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
  • PRF Seeks Proposals for Research on Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS, or Progeria), Progeria Research Foundation (PRF)
  • Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF)
  • Psychosocial: Launch Grants, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
  • Discovery Grant:  Independent Nurse Researcher, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
  • WFH Clinical Research Grant Program, World Federation of Hemophilia

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.

  • Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (U19)
  • Career Development Program in Emergency Care Research (K12)
  • Career Development Programs in Diabetes Research for Pediatric Endocrinologists (K12)

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 July 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

 
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In Case You Missed It
 
Reminders of recently posted funding opportunities, deadlines and events

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

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

Clinical Research Spotlight Series: Study Coordinator Discussion Group – July 15

Research Subject Remuneration and Reimbursement: Policy ReviewAugust 4

Looking for something you saw in a previous Research News release? Check out our archive!

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