Research News - August 12, 2016

On Thursday, October 6, MGH will celebrate the 14th Annual Clinical Research Day. The Division of Clinical Research invites investigators from across the hospital to submit abstracts at https://crp2016.abstractcentral.com/ by the September 6 deadline.

Please note that submissions must be about clinical research conducted at MGH and may include manuscripts published after September 1, 2015.
MGH awards for best abstracts:

• $5,000 Team Award (Nominations by chiefs required)
• $1,500 Translational Research Award, sponsored by the Department of Molecular Biology
• $1,000 Individual Award
• Departmental Awards for clinical researchers in Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, Ob/Gyn, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Performance Analysis and Improvement/Practice Improvement, Radiology and more!
• A raffle sponsored by Mass General Research Institute

Clinical Research Day will begin at 8 a.m. with the keynote address delivered by Dr. Sandra Glucksmann, Chief Operating Officer, Editas Medicine

Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

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

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.

Partners HealthCare Connected Health, in collaboration with MedTech Boston and Medstro, are excited to announce our upcoming innovation challenge, “The Fit Mind: Supporting Cognitive Function as we Age.”

Advances in medicine have the promise to extend lifespan to 100 years or beyond, yet with age often comes cognitive impairment. The Fit Mind Challenge is an open call for solutions to support cognitive function in an aging population. These solutions can be technologies, apps, sensors, policies, awareness campaigns, education initiatives (including provider, patient and public education) or other connected health solutions.

The finalists of the online challenge will be invited to pitch their ideas in front of a live audience at the Connected Health Symposium on October 20. A panel of judges will grill the finalists “Shark Tank” style and then choose a winner. Submissions are now open—submit your idea today! The 13th Annual Connected Health Symposium will take place October 20 and 21 at the Boston Seaport World Trade Center.

Click here to see our full Connected Health Symposium agenda.

The NIH has published a request for comments re:

1. Guidelines for Human Stem Cell (HSC) Research and
2. The scope of a proposed NIH Steering Committee’s Considerations of Certain Human-Animal Chimera Research

 
The proposal can be found on the Federal Register website at:  https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-05/pdf/2016-18601.pdf
This website includes directions re: how to submit comments.  Please note that all comments are posted on a public site.
 
These proposals support NIH’s interest in funding more chimeric research that would allow “growing human tissue and organs in animals through the introduction of human pluripotent cells into early stage embryos of non-human vertebrate animals.”   Acknowledging the challenges of this area of research, NIH is proposing a new Steering Committee as well as changes to the NIH Guidelines on HSC Research.
 
A Steering Committee (members would be federal employees) would provide programmatic input to IC Directors re: funding requests for such chimeric research.  This input would be independent of and in addition to usual peer review.  This committee would also monitor trends in this area of research.  

Two changes to the HSC Research Guidelines are proposed: specifically to Section IV that lists research NOT eligible for NIH funding.

• Section IV. A. Currently does not allow introduction of human pluripotent stem cells into a non-human primate blastocyst – but it says nothing about the pre-blastocyst stage.  The proposal is to expand the prohibition to any time “up through the end of the blastocyst stage.”  

• Section IV.B. Currently does not allow breeding of an animal in which human pluripotent stem cells may contribute to the germ line.  The proposal is to expand this beyond pluripotent stem cells to ANY human cell.  

 
The comment period ends September 9, 2016.
 
As you can imagine, the topic of chimera research raises a number of sensitivities.
We encourage you to review these proposals. Let us know what you think and whether or not you have specific comments to submit. Comments can be sent to Melinda Abelman at mabelman@partners.org

Earlier this month, The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) launched its fifth annual BioArt competition. They welcome images or videos produced as part of everyday research from extramural researchers. The submission deadline is August 30, 2016. For more information, visit: http://www.faseb.org/BioArt

We are asking anyone who interacts with the Partners HealthCare Innovation office to take our 3rd Annual Service Survey.  It will help us to provide the highest quality service to the entire Partners HealthCare system.

The survey is open until Friday, September 30, 2016. To begin, please click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZBSMBWY

To thank you for your time, we are raffling off three registrations to the World Medical Innovation Forum.  The 2017 Forum will highlight state-of-the-art and emerging approaches to diagnose, treat and manage cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Last year’s forum had more than 1000 registrants from throughout the US, nearly 20 countries and staff from across the Partners Hospitals.  The 2017 World Medical Innovation Forum will take place May 1-3, 2017 at the Westin Copley Place in Boston. For more information, please visit our website at www.worldmedicalinnovation.org.

Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.  If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this survey, please contact innovations@partners.org.   

Please click here to read the latest update from the NIH Office of Extramural Research.

September 1 - October 20, 5:00pm – 6:30pm, Potts Conference Room

Sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research, the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Psychiatry

Applications Due: August 15

Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials is an intensive fourteen-session course offered from early-September through late October. Physicians with a serious interest in clinical trials will be introduced to theoretical and practical issues facing clinical researchers.  Course participants will learn how to envision, plan, develop and execute effective clinical trials. Study content includes research designs, protocols, ethical patient recruitment, informed consent, regulations, and clinical trial management.
The course is ideally suited for clinical fellows starting their research years, junior faculty pursuing careers in clinical research, and physicians with an interest in becoming more actively involved in clinical research.  All participants are expected to use the course curriculum to develop and present a trial design at the final session of the course. 

To submit an application and/or view a course schedule, please go to: Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials. Contact Kelsey Gay with any questions.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, MGH Main Campus (details provided with registration)

The Center for Faculty Development’s Office for Women’s Careers and Human Resources at MGH present a seminar for faculty with HMS academic appointments.

Perspectives from the Road Less Traveled with Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD

The annual lecture features a leader in academic medicine, sharing advice on career success and advancement. This year's speaker is Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD, H. Marvin Pollard Professor of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan.

Faculty with HMS academic appointments please click here to register by Tue, Sep 5.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016, 8:00am – 3:00pm, Simches Room 3.110

This event is sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research.

Are you able to keep up with the changing face of genetic research? Have you heard of disease areas that have seen explosive growth in genetic discoveries in the past year? This is an excellent opportunity to learn the essential elements of complex trait genetics and gain the latest insights from expert faculty from the Center for Human Genetic Research and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. This course is strongly recommended for experienced clinicians, clinical investigators, nurses, and other clinical research staff who wish to further expand their knowledge of modern concepts in genetics and genomics.
View course agenda here.

Applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards for Junior Faculty Women Investigators in Fundamental (Basic) & Clinical Research.

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 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 12, 2016 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Click here to read more and apply online!

Preliminary applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation 2016. 

What are they?
Margaret Q. Landenberger Foundation Award
The Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation is a non-profit private foundation which focuses its support on promising early stage medical researchers. The ideal candidate is affiliated with an outstanding medical research institution and works under the supervision of experienced mentors. The goal is to assist these individuals by funding their current research, with the hope of enabling them to acquire more significant funding. The Landenberger Foundation does not restrict our support to any particular disease or medical condition, although they are looking for research with broad impact.
MGH is eligible to nominate one candidate.

When is the deadline?  
MGH Internal Preliminary Application Deadline:  Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - 5:00 p.m.

How do I learn more and apply?
Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation 2016 - Click here

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.

• Cancer Target Discovery and Development Network (U01)
• Pediatric Centers of Excellence in Nephrology (P50)
• George M. O'Brien Kidney Research Core Centers (P30)

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.

• Grants, Ataxia UK
• Target Advancement Program, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF)
• Research Grants, Nutricia Research Foundation

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

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

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

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