Research News - April 1, 2016

The ORCD is sponsoring consultation meetings for faculty and research fellows to meet with Amy Robb, Assistant Director for Prospect Research and Funding Opportunities, Corporate & Foundation Relations, MGH Development Office, to set up personalized funding searches. Amy can meet with individuals or small groups who share funding goals. There are currently slots available in April 2016.

This consultation will help you:

• Set up search parameters designed to identify funding sources for your research program
• Receive a weekly report of updated search results
• Gain a greater understanding of how to use COS Pivot to conduct additional searches on your own

Please click here to register. If you do not see an available slot that works for you, please email orcd@partners.org to express your interest in meeting with Amy.

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2016/2017 Nikon Small World Photographic Competition and/or the Nikon Small World Image in Motion Movie competition. Photographs must be taken using a light microscope, and all types of light microscopy and specimens are acceptable. First prize is $3,000 and monetary prizes are also given to the top 20. Nikon Small World has grown to be the largest photographic competition in the world, with the winning images being displayed to over 500 million people worldwide. Learn More

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

April 6 & 7, 2016

The 69th Annual Meeting of the MGH Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) is being held on April 6 & 7, 2016. Please click here to view the agenda.

Day 1 - April 6, 2016

SAC 2016 Poster Session – Simches, Floors 2 & 3
This year’s poster session will feature 176 posters and for the first time ever we are going completely electronic! The SAC poster session will only feature electronic posters displayed on ePosterBoards. Be sure to stop by the SAC information table on the 3rd floor of Simches for a chance to win an iPad mini! Click here to view the SAC 2016 Poster Abstracts.

Celebration of Science – Simches 3.110 & Broadcast to CNY 149

• Announcement of the SAC 2016 Poster of Distinction Winners
• Announcement of the 2016 MGH Research Scholars
• Presentation by David N. Louis, MD, Chair, Executive Committee on Research
• Presentation of the Martin Prizes for Fundamental and Clinical Research
• Presentation of the Howard M. Goodman Award
• Reception to immediately follow event in the Simches Café

Click here to view the SAC 2016 Celebration of Science Book.

Day 2 - April 7, 2016

Thematic Centers at 10: Entering Adolescence – Simches 3.110 & Broadcast to CNY 149

• Keynote Address by Daniel K. Podolsky, MD, of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Presentation of the Thematic Center Survey Results
• Presentations by Directors of the five MGH Thematic Centers
• Wellman Center for Photomedicine
• Center for Systems Biology
• Center for Computational and Integrative Biology
• Center for Regenerative Medicine
• Center for Human Genetic Research

Wednesday, April 27, 3:00 - 4:00 pm, MGH Main Campus, details provided upon registration

The Center for Faculty Development's Office for Research Career Development presents a seminar for HMS faculty and trainees.

Research Integrity – It’s a Matter of Trust
This Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) seminar will discuss:

• Public perceptions of scientific research
• Integrity in collaborations and publications
• Integrity in data management
• Perspectives of an HMS policymaker and a senior faculty member

Speakers: Gretchen Brodnicki, JD, Dean for Faculty and Research Integrity, HMS
Dennis Brown, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Director, Office for Research Career Development

Please click here to register by Fri, Apr 22.

Note: This seminar counts as one of the four required lectures in part III of Partners RCR training. All are welcome, but space is limited and registration preference will be given to those with RCR training requirements
 

Tuesday, April 5, 4:00 - 5:00 PM, CNY 149, 2.204

Engineering human cardiac tissue for regenerative medicine and study of disease
Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, PhD
Professor of Medical Sciences
Columbia University
 

Wednesdays, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 2:00 - 4:00pm, Simches Research Building, Conference Room 3.120

This course is sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research and the Mongan Institute Health Policy Center.

Course Director: Karen Donelan, ScD, EdM

Course Description: This course is designed to prepare health professionals with an introduction to theory and practice in the design and conduct of surveys. Course topics will include all phases of the survey process: matching research design to data needs, understanding the role of qualitative research in survey development, probability and non-probability sampling methods, developing questions and questionnaires, choosing modes and methods of data collection, issues in analyzing and reporting survey data, and the effective presentation and reporting of survey findings to relevant audiences.

Session 1: April 27
2:00 – 3:00pm - Lecture: Overview of Survey Design and Methods
3:00 – 4:00pm - Mini Conferences (sign-up required)

Session 2: May 4
2:00 – 3:00pm: Lecture:Questions and Questionnaires
3:00 – 4:00pm: Mini Conferences (sign-up required)

Session 3: May 11
2:00 – 3:00pm: Lecture:Data Collection Methods
3:00 – 4:00pm: Judging the quality of survey studies: Journal Club

Session 4:  May 18
2:00 – 4:00pm: Lecture IRB: Rules and Regulations Regarding the Conduct of Survey Research

Register here. Please contact Kelsey Gay with any questions.
 

April 14 & 15, CNY149, Conference Room A

Hosted by Dr. Bhavana Priyadharshini
Presented by: Rula Barakat and Dr. Kevin Bittman

Energy Metabolism in Cell Fate and Function

Please join us and discover how measurements of cell metabolism reveal key aspects of bioenergetic function in disease. 

Cell fate decisions, activation, amplification, and effector function are driven by metabolism. To maintain the energy demands of the cell, the metabolic requirements for substrates (or fuels) that feed into the metabolic 'engines' are altered. Seahorse XF technology provides the capability to examine the effect of substrate utilization and dependency. Learn about the Seahorse XF Fuel Flex Stress Test.

Click here and to register.
 

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?
Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Awards
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 17, 2016 – 5:00 PM

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

The KL2/CMeRIT program offers advanced training through educational activities and mentored research for senior fellows and junior faculty in clinical and translational research. The award provides two years of salary support at 50-75 percent of the awardee’s institutional salary base within NIH guidelines. Please see the RFA for application instructions and detailed eligibility requirements.

Key dates:
February 10: Information session (HMS)
February 19: Applications open
February 29: Information session (MGH)
April 14: Applications due

"The program provides young faculty like me with a roadmap, resources, and mentoring to navigate the difficult transition to becoming an independent investigator." – Joseph Mancias, MD, PhD, a 2014 KL2 Catalyst Medical Research Investigator Training (CMeRIT) Award recipient.

Read the Spotlight to learn more about how the KL2 Catalyst Medical Researcher Investigator Training (CMeRIT) award helps investigators.

Information Sessions:
This information session will give prospective applicants and overview of the program and answer questions. 

• February 10, 1:00-2:00pm, Ballard Room, Countway Library, Harvard Medical School
• February 29, 5:00-6:00pm, Small Room (3130), Richard B. Simches Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital

Please see the RFA for application instructions and detailed eligibility requirements.

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.

• Medical Research Grants:  Reach Awards, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
• GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Scholar in Respiratory Health, American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)/CHEST Foundation
• Research Grant in Lung Cancer, American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)/CHEST Foundation
• CHEST Foundation Clinical Research Grant in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)/CHEST Foundation
• CHEST Foundation Research Grant in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)/CHEST Foundation
• Clinical Research Awards, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF)/Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT)
• Peter G. Pentchev Research Fellowship, National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation (NNPDF)
• Osteology Researcher Grants, Osteology Foundation
• TED Prize, Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED)

Please click here for further details on these 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.

• Consortium for Food Allergy Research: Leadership Center (UM2)
• Consortium for Food Allergy Research: Clinical Research Units (UM1)

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.

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
 

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

KL2 Catalyst Medical Research Investigator Training (CMeRIT) Award
Application Deadline: April 14

Heart Rhythm Society Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Quality Improvement Innovation Grants
Application Deadline: April 18

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

SAC 2016 - April 6 & 7

Responsible Conduct of ‘Omics’ Research – May 24

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