Research News - April 29, 2016

The Mass General Research Institute is conducting a scientific review of the core services at MGH. We are interested in hearing from you to find out what you know about the core services on campus, how you use them and what services we might be missing. The ultimate goal of the review and this survey is to better support MGH core services, our investigators and the research community. Please take a few minutes to fill out this brief survey so your voice can be heard!

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched an online platform to enable the research community and the public to submit ideas on the National Cancer Moonshot efforts. Ideas can include clinical trials, data sharing, immunotherapy, combination therapy & immunoprevention and more. Ideas can be submitted at CancerResearchIdeas.cancer.gov. For more information, please visit the Moonshot Initiative website.

Is there an innovation that is making work and life in your lab more productive or efficient? Or one that has allowed for an entirely new line of inquiry? The Scientist wants to hear about it. Your insight could help us recognize the hottest new products and earn them a spot in The Scientist’s annual Top 10 Innovations list. Just make sure the product you’re submitting was released after October 1, 2015, complete a brief questionnaire, and your submission will be entered in the competition. Learn More

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

Monday, May 2, 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Simches Auditorium (3.110)
Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

Help Us Tell the World About Your Science
Misty Hathaway, Senior Director (MGPO) for The Center for Specialized Services &
Susan Slaugenhaupt, PhD, Scientific Director, MGH Research Institute

Elected Representatives will be available 30 minutes after this meeting in Simches 3.120

(Lunch available at 11:45 AM)

All MGH Researchers welcome!

Thursday, May 5, 10:00am - 12:00pm

Do you have an idea that you believe has commercial potential? Reserve a session at B-BIC Pitch Day. Join Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC), at Pitch Day on Thursday, May 5th between 10am and 12pm, at Boston Children’s Hospital, Karp Research Building, 4th Floor Atrium, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA. Reserve a 20-minute session one of our industry experts. Your ideas are protected by your organization’s IP policies. You will also learn if B-BIC funding is a good fit for your research. B-BIC funds device, diagnostic, HIT and therapeutic solutions that address heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, with potential for commercialization, conducted in collaboration with our member organizations.

To reserve a 20-minute session, please sign up at: https://b-bic-pitch-day-bch.eventbrite.com

Tuesday & Wednesday, May 3 & 4, 4:00 - 5:00 pm, CNY 149, Room 2.204                                              

Tuesday, May 3: Mechanisms underlying the blastema niche during axolotl limb regeneration
Jessica Whited, PhD
Assistant Professor
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Wednesday, May 4: Intravital Imaging of the Beating Heart at Cellular Resolution
Aaron Aguirre, MD, PhD
MGH Cardiology

Wednesday, May 25, 2016, 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 25, 2016. 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 16.

Mondays June 13, 20, 27 & July 11, 1:00pm - 4:15pm, Simches Room 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research, 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 I: June 13: 1:00pm – 4:15pm

• Keynote Address
• Introduction to Good Clinical Practice & Case Study
• Regulatory Requirements & Human Subjects Research & Genetic Research
• HIPAA, Privacy and Security

Session II: June 20: 1:00pm – 4:15pm

• FDA Regulations: IND/IDE
• Process of Informed Consent
• Drug and Device Accountability
• Essential Documents, REDCap Regulatory Binder, Demo

Session III: June 27: 1:00pm – 4:15pm

• Unanticipated Problems including Adverse Events
• Study Monitoring
• GCP for Coordinating Centers
• Study Audits and Case Study
• Special Considerations for Pediatric Studies

Session IV: July 11: 1:00pm – 4:15pm

• Research Compliance and Examples of Noncompliance
• Research Misconduct
• Conflict of Interest
• Potpourri of IRB Issues

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.
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.

Registration is required. Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

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.

May 18, 25, June 2, 9 & 16, Simches 3.110

Speaker: Ruslan Sadreyev, Director of Bioinformatics

This introductory mini-course is intended for experimentalist who would like to get oriented in basic Bioinformatics concepts and tools. It is intended as a primer that would allow you to better understand general ideas and approaches and to start asking the right questions about your data. If you want to drill very deeply into a specific question or to get hands-on experience, this probably isn't a course for you. However, we are open to organizing more in-depth courses and workshops in the future.

This course will consist of five seminars with basic introduction to specific topics.
Session 1: Basic Statistics & Introduction to R
Session 2: Protein/gene sequence analysis and protein structure prediction
Session 3: Microarray expression analysis and gene set enrichment analysis
Session 4: Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis: part 1
Session 5: Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis: part 2

Registration is required. For registration or additional information on the course please visit the course page: Introduction to Bioinformatics

Contact Kelsey Gay at kgay1@partners.org with any questions.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016, O’Keeffe Auditorium and Foyer

All members of the MGH and Partners Research Community are invited to the events scheduled for Nursing Research Day.

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM - Interactive Poster Session
View more than 40 posters featuring nursing research, quality improvement and evidence-based practice!

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM - Lecture and Awards
Beatrice J. Kalisch, RN, PhD, FAAN
Shirley Titus Distinguished Professor of Nursing and Director, Innovation and Evaluation School of Nursing, University of Michigan, presents her groundbreaking research, “Errors of Omission: Missed Nursing Care”

We hope to see you all on Tuesday, May 3, 2016!

For more information on Nursing Research Day contact:   
Meg Bourbonniere, RN, PhD, Director of Nursing Research and Innovation

Applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Tosteson and Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards for Fundamental (Basic) and Clinical Research!

What is it?
The Tosteson & FMD Awards are intended to support junior investigators (MD and PhD fellows/postdocs) at Massachusetts General Hospital pursuing either fundamental (basic) or clinical research.  
The ECOR Subcommittee on Review of Research Proposals (SRRP) reviews the applications and selects the awardees. The top three applicants will receive Tosteson Awards - named for the longtime Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Medicine - and the remaining awardees receive FMD awards.

How much is each award?
The awards are $40,000 for one year, plus applicable fringe benefits and 15% indirect costs.

When is the deadline?
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?

• Click here to read more and apply online.
• Visit the ECOR website http://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/ and specifically the Tosteson and Fund for Medical Discovery page under the ECOR Post Doctoral Awards section of the Awards and Grants tab of the site.

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

Letters of Intent are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation Award 2016.

The mission of the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation is to support early stage investigators who are engaged in basic biomedical research that has the potential to significantly advance understanding, diagnosis, or treatment of disease. 

The funds are designed to provide faculty members who hold an MD and/or a PhD, and who are in the first to fourth year of a tenure-track position (This includes Instructors, however the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation Award is highly competitive.  Instructors will need to demonstrate full independence and have their own established research laboratory) with support to move the project forward to the point where R01 or other independent funding can be obtained. Applicants with current R01 funding should not apply. 

MGH is eligible to nominate two candidates.

When is the deadline?  
MGH Internal Preliminary Application Deadline:  Tuesday, May 3, 2016 - 3:00 p.m.

How do I learn more and apply?
Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation Award 2016 - Click here

We are pleased to announce the launch of the 2016 Partners Connected Health Innovation Challenge. This challenge seeks to identify novel ideas addressing a current concern in preventive care or chronic disease management. We welcome proposals featuring technology-enabled solutions that facilitate and/or enhance the delivery of care beyond the clinical settings. The proposed idea may include a device, mobile-based application, or any other technology-enabled approach.

The iAwards Program:  Following the successful inaugural year (2015) with 8 proposals funded at MGH and BWH under the Sanofi Innovation Awards (iAwards) Program, we are pleased to announce the second call for pre-proposals.

The Sanofi iAwards Program brings together 7 top academic research institutions across the country and aims to support research ideas early in the translational path, at the transition between basic research and first proof of concept.

Successful projects have the potential to grow into sponsored research agreements with significantly increased funding levels and timelines. Additional information and timelines

Research Areas of Interest to Sanofi (including but not limited to)

• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Diabetes
• Immune Diseases
• Inflammation
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Oncology
• Rare Genetic Diseases.

Funding & Term: $125,000 (this is total amount including full IDC) for one year.

Pre-proposals: Please use this editable electronic document (link below) for pre-proposal and limit the total length to a maximum of 2 pages (excluding publications). All information in the pre-proposal should be non-confidential. Pre-proposal document template

Deadline for submission: May 13th, 2016 - Please send pre-proposals by email

Questions:  Please contact Rajesh Velagapudi, PhD, at Partners Innovation (857) 307-2413 and/or Zongxi Li, PhD, at the Mass General Research Institute

We look forward to working with you in submitting highly innovative, early translation projects to be funded by the Sanofi iAwards Program!

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.

• Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers (42)

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.

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.

• Postdoctoral Fellowships, Fondation FondaMental/FondaMental Foundation
• Magistro Family Foundation Research Grant (MFFRG), Foundation for Physical Therapy (FPT)
• Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation, Bank of America N.A., Trustee, Awards Program in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Research, Health Resources in Action (HRiA)/The Medical Foundation
• Research Grants, Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF)
• Pradel Research Award, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine/National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
• Research Grant Call for Proposals, Saving tiny Hearts Society (StHS)

Please click here for further details on these funding opportunities.

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

Application Deadline: May 7; 7th day of each month

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

B-BIC Pitch Day - May 5

Responsible Conduct of ‘Omics’ Research - May 24

Center for Skeletal Research Symposium - June 8

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