Research News - May 19, 2017

The NIH is soliciting feedback and comments on the proposed grant weighting formula called the Grant Support Index (GSI), which aims to provide support for more investigators by limiting access to funds to traditionally well-funded Principal Investigators (PIs).

At this time, the primary mode for providing feedback is to comment on the Open Mike blog post (scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Leave a Reply” option). We strongly encourage individual investigators to do so, as the number of individual comments is just as valuable to the NIH as responses from large organizations and coalitions.

In addition, the SVPs are collecting comments for a Partners-wide compilation of issues and concerns. Thank you to all who have done so; we welcome all of your thoughts and concerns and hope to hear from many more of you.

Partners is working with other AMCs and professional organizations to explore various venues that will effectively communicate our concerns to key stakeholders in Washington, D.C. We have also alerted members of our Congressional delegation to our concerns and will continue to follow-up with them.
We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide you with updates through email and postings on the Research Navigator as more information becomes available.  If you have any questions, feedback, or additional insights please contact your research SVP.

We have implemented a new "Help" mechanism for transactional support to better serve the PHS research community. Clients can now contact phsinnovationsupport@partners.org or 857-282-7444 for assistance. All inquiries will be reviewed and responded to by an experience team member by the following business day. Please note, depending on the complexity of the reported issue, a longer turn-around time may be necessary for full resolution. The same contact information will also be posted on the Research Navigator, our annual survey and Innovation website.

Customers will have the ability to create tickets for issues arising within the procure-to-pay continuum, including, but not limited to order statuses, invoice payments and expense reimbursement problems. This new process will be in lieu of the current Client Services email box (mmclientservices@partners.org). Please note, customers will still have the ability to contact the Client Services call center for all issues.

Added benefits:

• Similar model/system as the PHS IS Service Desk utilizes to manage their tickets
• Submitters ability to track/monitor tickets
• Provides Partners Supply Chain the ability to analyze trends to improve our services

Important things to note:

• Specific instructions for how to use the new ServiceNow system will be sent out prior to go-live
• Please do not hesitate to call Client Services with any high priority or urgent situations as inquiries sent via the ticketing system will follow the standard response time of 1 business day
• The Client Services Call Center will still be available at 617-726-2142 with the following times:
  • Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 8:30am to 4:30pm
  • Thursday: 8:30am to 3:30pm
• Following the ServiceNow implementation, the Client Services email box will phased out

We look forward to consistently delivering the highest level of customer service and addressing your inquiries through the utilization of the ServiceNow ticketing system starting on May 15th, 2017.

If you have any questions about this change, please contact Client Services at 617-726-2142.

Tuesday, May 23, 4:00 – 5:00 PM, CNY 149, Rm. 2.204

Experimental insights into post thrombotic syndrome
Peter K. Henke, MD
Associate Chair of Research
Leland Ira Doan Professor of Vascular Surgery
University of Michigan

Thursday, May 25, 2017, 12:00 PM, CNY 149, 7th Floor, Isselbacher Auditorium

 “Translational research in vitiligo: a window into mechanisms of autoimmunity”
John Harris, MD, PhD, University of Massachusetts

Will be broadcasted MGH Bulfinch 165
Contact Person – Fiona Chen (617/726-1527)
http://www.massgeneral.org/ciid/ourseminars/seminarseries.aspx

Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 2:00-4:00PM, Haber Auditorium
(located in area D on MGH map, across the hall from O'Keefe Auditorium)  

Topics include:

• H-1B eligibility
• Posting public notices required for an H-1B hire
• Wages and Labor Condition Application requirement
• Unannounced on-site audits by Fraud Detection and National Security officers
• Trends in H 1B Adjudications, including RFEs, premium processing suspension, and scrutiny of computer-related positions.

Click here to register

Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 2:00-5:00pm – Simches 3 Conference Rooms

Please join the MGH Research Community in learning more about the Cores at MGH!  MGH Research Core Day will feature a new symposium portion, as well as some light refreshments and a raffle!

2:00-3:30pm – Core Symposium – Room 3.110
3:30-5:00pm – Core Day Informational Fair – Rooms 3.120 and 3.130

Please contact researchmanagement@mgh.harvard.edu if you have any questions, or if you would like to register your core.

Thursday, October 5

On Thursday, October 5, MGH will celebrate the 15th Annual Clinical Research Day. The Division of Clinical Research invites investigators from across the hospital to submit abstracts at https://crp2017.abstractcentral.com/login by the July 10th deadline.

Please note that submissions must be about clinical research conducted at MGH and may include manuscripts published or submitted for publication between September 2016 and July 2017.

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 include: Anesthesia, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, Ob/Gyn, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pathology, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatrics, Performance Analysis and Improvement/Practice Improvement, Psychiatry, Radiology, and Surgery

Clinical Research Day will begin at 8 a.m. with the keynote address delivered by Dr. Daniel J. Rader, Seymour Gray Professor of Molecular Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Please contact Jillian Tonelli with any questions.

Tosteson & Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards
For Fundamental (Basic) and Clinical Research

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

What is it?
The Tosteson & FMD Awards are intended to support junior investigators (MD and PhD Research Fellows/Clinical Research Fellows) 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 will include a stipend of $47,500 plus applicable fringe benefits and 15% indirect costs.

When is the deadline?
Thursday, June 1, 2017 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?

• Click here to read more and apply online.
• Visit the Tosteson and Fund for Medical Discovery page on the ECOR website 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

If there is more than one MGH investigator 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.

• Centers for AIDS Research (P30)
• Developmental Centers for AIDS Research (P30) 
• Limited Competition: Data Coordinating Center for Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet (UC4)
• Cystic Fibrosis Research and Translation Center (P30)
• Gabrielle's Angel Foundation
• W.M. Keck Foundation Medical Research Program
• NIAMS Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Centers (P30)
• 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 note that any grant that brings in less than 15% in indirect costs (IDC) will need to be supplemented up to the 15% equivalent by existing investigator or departmental sundry funds. Resolution of this issue must occur prior to submission of the award.

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.

Week of 5/19/17

• Research Grant Program:  A-T Post Doctoral Fellowship Award, A-T Children's Project
• Research Grant Program:  Investigator Initiated Grants, A-T Children's Project
• Eliminating Barriers to Innovative Cardiovascular Therapies to Improve Patient Care and Outcomes, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)
• Request for Education (RFE): Immunotherapy mechanism of action and treatment response in head & neck cancer / Immune checkpoint inhibitors / Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and management, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)
• Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program in Liver Disease - The Americas, Gilead Sciences, Inc./Gilead Sciences Pty Ltd
• Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program in Cystic Fibrosis, Gilead Sciences, Inc./Gilead Sciences Pty Ltd
• FOP Competitive Research Grant Program, International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association (IFOPA)
• Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowships, JDRF
• Career Development Awards, JDRF
• Postdoctoral Fellowships, JDRF
• Early Career Patient-Oriented Diabetes Research Awards, JDRF
• KDA Research Grants, Kennedy's Disease Association (KDA)
• Novel Research Grant Program - New Research Grants for Novel Approaches to Lupus, Lupus Research Alliance
• Research Grants, Migraine Research Foundation (MRF)
• Young Investigator (YI) Award and Young Investigator (YI-SCA) Award for SCA Research, National Ataxia Foundation (NAF)
• Investigator-Initiated Research Grants, National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM)/National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation (NIHCM Foundation)
• Research Seed Money Grant for Malonic Aciduria, National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. (NORD) 
• Global Research Awards for Nicotine Dependence (GRAND), Pfizer, Inc.
• Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC): Track 2 - Call for Grant Applications (CGA) - Understanding Oncology Clinical Trial Outcomes and Comparative Assessment, Pfizer, Inc.  
• Independent Grants for Learning & Change: Request for Proposals (RFP) - Shared Management of Psoriatic Arthritis, Pfizer, Inc.
• Research in Transforming Health & Health Care Systems, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)

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

Pilot Grants on Nutrition Obesity Research
Application Deadline: June 1, 2017

MGH ECOR Formulaic Bridge Funding Support
Application Deadline: June 7, 2017; 7th day of each month

Center for Genomic Medicine Catalysis Awards
Application Deadline: June 15, 2017

HHMI Announces New Investigator Competition
Application Deadline: June 27, 2017

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

Epigenetics: An Introduction and Applications – May 23

Introduction to Qualitative Research Design and Methodology - June 1, 8, 15, 22

Spotlight Series: Delegation of Responsibilities in a Clinical Research Study – June 6

Center for Skeletal Research 3rd Annual Research Symposium – June 12

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