Research News - June 16, 2017

At last Thursday’s meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) National Institutes of Health an update on the recently proposed grant weighting formula called the Grant Support Index (GSI) was provided. The NIH agreed with the tremendous feedback from the research community that much more works needs to be done on the GSI as it does not adequately capture the complexity of modern day science. The NIH remains dedicated to increasing support for early and mid-career investigators as directed by the 21st Century Cures Act, and as outlined in their strategic plan. It has thus launched the Next Generation Research Initiative to address this goal.

Beginning immediately, the NIH is committed to redistributing an estimated $210M per year to support additional meritorious* early state investigators (ESI) and mid-career investigators, reaching a steady-state of $1.1B over the next 5 years. This new approach will rely on reprioritization of funds at the institute and center level. The NIH will also optimize approaches to measure and inform funding decisions, including the creation of a database of all ESI and mid-career investigators that fall within the fundable range to monitor their progress under this new mandate. More information can be found in the NIH Director’s Statement and the Presentation to the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director. The NIH and the ACD will continue to develop approaches to measure the influence of NIH funding and welcome any and all ideas about how this can be done. Feedback can be provided through the Open Mike Blog or send an email to publicinput@od.nih.gov.

 We would like to thank all of you who provided thoughtful comments and constructive feedback. We strongly endorse the NIH’s goal to increase support for early and mid-career investigators and recognize that these investigators are essential to the future of the research enterprise. We look forward to reports from the NIH on the progress of their efforts.

 *meritorious = ESI those who have been PI <=10yrs and fall within the 25th percentile (or a priority score of <=35 from RFAs)

We know how hard the New England Patriots players train to be ready for every game. We are focused, prepared and determined to win. By donating to the Disruptors, you can help us help you “DO YOUR JOB” so we can do ours!

Help the Disruptors research team raise money for the 2017 My Giving Helps (MGH Fund + United Way) employee campaign and give us a leg-up in this year's Operation game at the Employee Picnic on June 21. The team that raises the most dollars and the team that recruits the most individual donors will be rewarded with extra “operating” time on competition day.

Nine teams, led by MGH captains, will be competing to see who can get a head start on the Operation game.   With your help, we can make the Disruptors the hospital’s top fund raiser in both overall dollars and number of contributors, and get us off to a good start in the game. Even a $1 one-time contribution helps and makes you eligible to win an MGH Research Institute fleece.  You will receive one raffle entry for every dollar donated and we will raffle off one fleece for every $500 collected.  As an extra bonus, anyone who contributes will be entered into a separate raffle for a chance to be a part of our ninth competing team, captained by a special VIP guest.

The MGH Fund is the hospital's primary source of flexible funding, one that Dr. Slavin has used often to seed important research projects such as the circulating tumor cell initiative.  Thank you for being a generous member of the Mass General Research Institute; come watch us win at the picnic on 21 June!

There are several easy ways to contribute:
Credit Card on Website: https://because.massgeneral.org/team/120860
(Note: if you have trouble accessing the site, please copy and paste it into your browser. Thank you.)
Or, call or email Leigh Mueller at 617-643-4189,  lamueller@mgh.harvard.edu if you wish to give by:

• Credit Card over the phone
• One-Time Payroll Deduction
• Cash
• Check

Thanks!
The Disruptors Research Team – Peter Chelton, Anne Clancy, Maurizio Fava, Michael Fisher, Donna Jarrell, Tatiana Koretskaia, Katherine Kulig, Maire Leyne, Samantha Molle, Harry Orf (captain), Sue Slaugenhaupt, and Gary Smith

As a service to patients, visitors, and employees, Partners HealthCare provides complimentary shuttle rides to sites across the health system and the Greater Boston area. Partners serves 2.5 million riders each year, helping them to get the care they need, as well as reach educational sites and other offices.

Click here to find your ride!

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

Is there an innovation that is making work and life in the lab more productive or efficient? Or one that has allowed for an entirely new line of inquiry? We at The Scientist want to hear about it. Whether you work for a company that makes a new gadget that is poised to revolutionize life science or you use an innovation-driving tool or technology in your lab, your insight could help us recognize the hottest new products and earn them a coveted spot in The Scientist’s annual Top 10 Innovations list. But your tool, tech, or method can’t win if you don’t submit.

Last year, our judging panel highlighted single-cell Western blot platforms, new CRISPR reagents, a high-powered camera, a SMRT sequencer, and more. As we’ve witnessed from years past, winners don’t just make a splash when they come on the scene, they make a long-lasting and profound impact on research.

We can’t wait to see what products our readers bring to our attention, and with our streamlined submission process, we’ve made it even easier to submit an innovation.

Just make sure that the product you’re entereing was released after October 1, 2016, complete a brief questionnaire, and your submission will be entered in the competition.

Click here to submit!

To learn more about the history of our Top 10 Innovations competition, read all about previous years’ winners.

Tuesday, June 20, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, 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.

The final RCR Session of 2016-2017 academic year will discuss:
• Management of research data for publication and sharing
• Research integrity in collaborations and publications
• Perspectives of an HMS policymaker and a senior faculty member

Research Integrity & Data Management
Discussion Leaders:
Gretchen Brodnicki, JD, dean of faculty and research integrity, HMS
Dennis Brown, PhD,professor of Medicine, HMS, director, Office for Research Career Development

Please click here to register by Fri, Jun 16.

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. For more information on RCR training, click here.

Wednesday & Thursday, June 21 & 22, 1-4 pm, Ruth Sleeper Hall, Room 070, MGH main campus (corner of Parkman St. and Blossom St., across from the Wyndham Hotel)

The MGH Department of Biomedical Engineering’s Model Shop will be hosting an open house to showcase its capabilities in design, machining, and fabrication. MGH Biomedical Engineering offers highly specialized prototyping and fabrication facilities that provide custom designs and tooling to meet the needs of researchers and clinicians within MGH and Partners.

Our services include the manufacturing of one-of-a-kind products, design and development of models, product customization, CAD services, equipment repairs, and 3D printing.

Reservations are not required but RSVPs are encouraged: modelshop@partners.org

For more information visit our website: biomed.partners.org/modelshop

Thursday, June 29, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Garrod/Mendel Conference Room
Clinical Research Coordinators, What would you have liked to know when you started your job? What difficult and challenging situations have you encountered? Please come and share your wisdom to help the Division of Clinical Research create a course for future coordinators. Lunch will be provided.
Course Facilitators: Karen K. Miller, MD and Andrew A. Nierenberg, MD

Registration is required. Please contact Tiereny Morrison-Rolfs at tmorrison-rohlfs@partners.org with any questions.

Thursday, July 13, 10:00am – 12:00pm, Simches 3.120

Sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research and the MGH Office of Research Compliance

Pamela Richtmyer, Senior Research Compliance Associate, MGH Research Compliance

This presentation will provide a basic overview of clinical research billing.  Attendees will gain a general understanding of the clinical research billing process including:

• Developing a study budget that will cover all costs
• Epic research billing responsibilities
• Determining what is billable to insurance
• Routing charges appropriately
• Insight Patient Care Correction process
• Maintaining financial health of study
• Understanding relevant regulations and requirements
• Available resources

The Clinical Trial Billing Education Series is provided by MGH Research Compliance for the MGH Division of Clinical Research.

This course is geared towards investigators, research nurses, study coordinators, project managers, and all other study staff.

This program meets the requirements of the Board of Registration in Nursing, at 244 CMR 5.00, for 1 contact hour of nursing continuing education.

Registration is required. Contact Tiereny Morrison-Rohlfs with questions.

Wednesday & Thursday, July 12 - 13, The Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115

On behalf of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard, we would like to extend registration to our 18th Annual Symposium, which will take place in July. Please consider registering, as this is a very educational event to attend. Registration is free and we welcome everyone- students, physicians, community members, academic faculty, etc. Click here to register.

Contact: HarvardNORC@mgh.harvard.edu with any questions.

We hope to see you there!

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.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, September - October 2017, 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

Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials is an intensive thirteen-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. 

Enrollment is limited to facilitate interaction and individual attention. To ensure placement in the course, early application is recommended. All applications will be reviewed in mid-August.

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

The Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) is accepting applications for the August 1st deadline for the Deliberative Interim Support Funding.  August is the third of three standing deadlines for these awards in Fiscal Year 2017.  The next deadline will be December 1, 2017.   

What are they?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding
This is open to Principal Investigators during a lapse or delay in their research funding from the NIH or another Federal agency (e.g., the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense).  Investigators must have applied for independent, long-term support (R01, R21, U01 and P01).  The Deliberative Interim Support process is open to:

1. Investigators whose grants were not scored or whose scores were not translated into a percentile ranking.
2. Investigators whose grants received scores >20th percentile.
3. Investigators who have already received Formulaic Bridge Funding or Deliberative Interim Support for a previous submission of this grant and are now requesting support for the resubmission of the same grant.  Investigators in this category must apply through the Deliberative Interim Support process for this application regardless of the score they received.

When is the deadline?
Tuesday, August 1, 2017 - 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?
Deliberative Interim Support Funding - Click here

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.

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.

• Pediatric Early Phase Clinical Trials Network (UM1) – NEW!
• Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network on Infant Mortality (IM CoIIN) – NEW!
• Gabrielle's Angel Foundation
• NIAMS Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Centers (P30)
• Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (P30) – NEW!
• George M. O'Brien Kidney Research Core Centers (P30)

If there is a limited submission funding opportunity you do not see listed below or you have any additional questions, please let us know at ecor@mgh.harvard.edu.

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 6/16/17

• Research Grants in Prematurity (Prematurity Research Grants Program), AMAG Pharmaceuticals
• Nurse Researcher Grants:  Nurse Researcher Fellowship, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
• AATS Research Scholarship - Third Andrew Morrow Research Scholarship 2018 – 2020, American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS)/AATS Graham Foundation
• Focus Grants, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
• CONquer canCER Now Award, Concern Foundation
• Making a Difference in Real-World Bioethics Dilemmas, Greenwall Foundation
• Brian D. Novis Junior Research Award, International Myeloma Foundation (IMF)
• Brian D. Novis Senior Research Award, International Myeloma Foundation (IMF)
• Clinical Investigator Career Development Grant, Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants, Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF)
• Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF)
• Career Development Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• MTF Research Grant (OREF/Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Research Grant), Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• New Investigator Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• OREF/ASES/Rockwood Clinical Research Grant in Shoulder Care, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• OREF/Goldberg Arthritis Research Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• ORS/OREF Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• Prospective Clinical Research Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
• Informatics - Research Starter Grants, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation, Inc. (PhRMA Foundation)
• Pharmacology/Toxicology - Research Starter Grants, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation, Inc. (PhRMA Foundation)
• Scientific Meetings, Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation (PKD Foundation)
• Research Training Grant, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)/Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Foundation (SAEM Foundation)

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

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

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

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