Research News - May 26, 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 30, 4:00 – 5:00 PM, CNY 149, Rm. 2.204

Decoding the Resolution of Inflammation: Resolvins & Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators
Charles Serhan, PhD, DSc
Professor of Anaesthesia (Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology)
Director, Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury (CET&RI)
BWH

Monday, June 5, 2017, 12:00-1:00 pm, Simches 3.110
Videoconference to Broadcast to Isselbacher Auditorium (CNY-149, 7th Floor)

Meeting Chair: Korkut Uygun, PhD 

Partners 2.0 Update - Research
Anne Klibanski, MD, Chief Academic Officer, PHS

Partners Innovation Update
Phil Licari, Operations Lead
Roger Kitterman, VP, Venture Fund
Seema Basu, PhD, Market Sector Leader,Innovation 

Update on the Grant Support Index
Harry Orf, PhD, Sr. VP for Research

Following each Research Council meeting, there will be a Researcher Resource Room in Simches 3.120, adjacent to the auditorium. Representatives from: BioBank, CCM, CFD, EAP, ERIS, IACUC, Innovation, PIPS, RSMG and the Research Institute will be on hand to distribute materials and answer your questions.

All MGH Researchers welcome!

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.

Preliminary applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards.

What are they?
The NIH Director’s Early Independence Award Program supports exceptional investigators who wish to pursue independent research directly after completion of their terminal doctoral/research degree or clinical residency, thereby forgoing the traditional post-doctoral training period and accelerating their entry into an independent research career.

MGH is eligible to nominate two candidates to apply to NIH for this award.

When is the deadline?  
MGH internal preliminary applications: Monday July 10, 2017 – 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Click here to for more information and to apply for this award.

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.

Following two successful years with a total of 12 proposals funded at MGH and BWH under Sanofi Innovation Awards (iAwards) Program, we are pleased to announce the third (annual) call for pre-proposals under this program.

The Sanofi iAwards program, launched in 2015, 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.

Please click here for a flyer with more information and timelines.
Research Areas of Interest to Sanofi (including but not limited to):

• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Diabetes
• Oncology
• Immuno-Oncology
• Immunology
• Neurology/Neurosciences
• Infectious Diseases
• Rare Diseases
• Biologics

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

Pre-proposals:
Please submit your pre-proposal using this Pre-proposals Template and limit the total length to a maximum of 2 pages (excluding publications). All information in the pre-proposal should be non-confidential.

Deadline for submission: June 16, 2017
Please send pre-proposals by email to phsstrategicalliances@partners.org

Questions:  
Please contact Seema Basu, PhD, at Partners Innovation (ssbasu@partners.org) or Zongxi Li, PhD, at the Mass General Research Institute (zli9@mgh.harvard.edu)
We look forward to working with you in submitting highly innovative, early translation projects to be funded by the Sanofi iAwards Program!

The Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine, presented by the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development – honors a physician-scientist who has moved science forward with notable achievements in innovation, creativity and potential for clinical application.
This annual prize includes:

• An unrestricted $20,000 honorarium
• The Harrington Prize Lecture, delivered at the 2018 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting
• Participation at the Harrington Discovery Institute Annual Symposium
• A personal essay, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation

This prize requires Institutional Nomination; MGH is not limited in the number of nominees we can submit. If you are interested, please contact MGH ECOR at ecor@partners.org by July 15, 2017 to be considered.

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.

• 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 5/26/17

•  Joint Grant Awards Program (JGAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)/American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP Foundation)
• Research in Robotic Surgical Technology, American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS)/Research Foundation of ASCRS
• ADDF-AFTD Drug Discovery Grant - Accelerating Drug Discovery for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD)
• Beckman Young Investigators (BYI) Program, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
• Macular Degeneration Research Standard Award, BrightFocus Foundation
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund/ASTMH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tropical Infectious Diseases, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)
• Children's Prize, Children's Prize Foundation
• Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Gilead Sciences, Inc./Gilead Sciences Pty Ltd
• IOIBD Grants – Operating, International Organization For the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD)
• Career Catalyst Research (CCR) Grants, Susan G. Komen
• Independent Grants for Learning & Change: Request for Proposals (RFP) - Clinical Pathways in Breast Cancer, Pfizer, Inc.
• Fellowships, Prevent Cancer Foundation
• Grants, Prevent Cancer Foundation
• HTRS Mentored Research Award (MRA) Program, Thrombosis & Hemostasis Societies of North America
• THSNA Mentored Research Award, Thrombosis & Hemostasis Societies of North America
• Positive Action Challenges (PAC), ViiV Healthcare

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

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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