Research News - September 15, 2017

If you would like to submit a question for Dr. Slavin to address at the October 2 Research Council meeting, where he will be conducting his “Annual Conversation with the Research Community”, email your question to us at ecor@mgh.harvard.edu.

The MGH Youth Programs team is seeking volunteers to mentor Boston middle school students through their science fair projects. Mentors meet with students at MGH or the Charlestown Navy Yard on two Friday mornings each month, October through January. No particular expertise in mentoring or science fair projects needed! The MGH Youth Programs team provides ongoing mentor training and support. For more information, please contact Caroline Hone at chone@partners.org or 617-643-6287.

We invite you to take the 2017 Partners HealthCare Innovation (now including Partners HealthCare International) Annual Service Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JNRRJ8T

Your thoughtful and candid input will help us improve all aspects of our service to the PHS community and collaborators worldwide.  Your responses will remain anonymous unless you choose to share your name at the end of this survey.  If you do, you will be eligible to win a ticket to the 2018 World Medical Innovation Forum, April 23-25, 2018.  For more information on the Forum and its Artificial Intelligence focus, please visit: https://worldmedicalinnovation.org/

Would you be interested in purchasing EndNote Software if offered at a discounted rate? Please take a brief survey to help us understand the volume of licenses needed in hopes to better secure a discounted rate for researchers across Partners HealthCare affiliates. EndNote is the industry standard software tool for publishing and managing bibliographies, citations and references on the Windows and Macintosh desktop. Each EndNote license allows the software to be installed on up to three computers, Mac and/or Windows. Read more about EndNote and other software licenses available through the Research Computing Core: https://rc.parnters.org/EndNote.

Over the past year malware, like WannaCry, Petya, etc. has caused interruptions to services, held people/companies ransom and created a major headache for those people impacted and working to combat these viruses. Based on this current threat environment and data collected through our simulated phishing education program over the last two years, we are requiring additional HealthStream training (15-20 mins) for users who are especially susceptible to phishing based on repeatedly “falling” for our phishing training messages. The course acts as a refresher on how to identify and report malicious phishing emails.

Some users will be notified today via email and give a HealthStream assignment: “PHE Phishing 101.” You must complete the assignment no later than October 15, 2017. Failure to complete the assignment by the due date will result in loss of your Partners network access.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact your Institution’s Information Security Officer or CISPO@partners.org To learn more about IS&P visit: https://pulse.partners.org/isp_awareness

Department of Pathology Research Core at Charlestown Navy Yard (CNY) is now offering services in mass cytometry with the latest generation of CyTOF (Cytometry by Time Of Flight) instrument - Helios. Primary services offered at the core would be running samples prepared with Maxpar metal-labeling technology, guidelines to panel design, data transfer after the analysis, basic data processing such as normalization and de-barcoding of the FCS files.

Helios, a CyTOF system, aids in comprehensive understanding of single cell phenotypes, signaling pathways and functions of a cell by simultaneously measuring ~35 parameters for millions of cells. Mass Cytometry employs analysis of heavy metal tagged antibodies bound to the cellular targets of interest thereby allowing for the evaluation of the immunophenotypic and functional complexity of a cell.

Researchers are encouraged to follow the website for further information (https://researchcores.partners.org/flow/about). In order to request for the service or for further information on mass cytometry at MGH Pathology, please contact Dr. Ravi Mylvaganam (RMYLVAGANAM@mgh.harvard.edu),   Hiranmayi Ravichandran (HRAVICHANDRAN@mgh.harvard.edu), or Dr.Frederic Preffer (PREFFER@helix.mgh.harvard.edu).

Look for upcoming seminars in the next few months using this exciting new technology!

Tuesday, September 19, 5:00 – 7:30 PM, BWH Bornstein Amphitheatre

The Innovation Symposium Series is a five-part speaker series focused on navigating the commercial innovation lifecycle. The Symposium Series is open to any PHS-affiliated investigator, clinician and administrator working on, or considering, research that has the potential to be a commercial product. There is no charge to attend. Each symposium will conclude with a networking reception.

The first session will be held Tuesday, September 19th from 5:00 PM–7:30 PM at the BWH Bornstein Amphitheatre. Details and a registration link are below:

Filling The Gap: Translating Your Research Via Disease Foundation Support

This September 19 session will focus on hands on strategies for obtaining translational research funding from disease-focused foundations. Faculty and employees seeking increased insights into disease foundations and their support for translational research will find this session particularly helpful.

Click here to learn more about the Innovation Symposium Series. ​​

Thursday September 21, 12:00 – 2:00 pm, WebEx, Prudential Center or Assembly Row

Members of the MGH Lab of Computer Science will discuss and demonstrate the clinical trials portal: https://clinicaltrials.partners.org. Alexander Turchin, MD and Shervin Malmasi, PhD from the BWH Department of Medicine will discuss and demonstrate Canary. Canary, is a free and open-source solution designed for users without natural language processing (NLP) or software engineering experience. It was designed to be fast and work out of the box via a user-friendly graphical interface. Please RSVP Online by Noon on 9/19. Contact rcc@partners.org with questions about Tech Lunch.

Tuesday, October 10, 9:30 – 11:00 am, Garrod/Mendel Room

Join us for this exciting technical training offered to investigators and study staff to provide the tools to navigate the ClinicalTrials.gov database proficiently and ensure compliance with current regulatory requirements.

The workshop will include a practical summary of current regulatory requirements and consequences of noncompliance, technical training to complete the registration and results reporting modules, and tips and considerations to avoid common errors. A live walk through a test record in the database will be included.

We will offer the same training session on Wednesday, November 1st. Please register only for one of the sessions.

This course is intended for individuals who are conducting clinical trials and need to register on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Registration is required. Please contact Cassidy Peters with any questions.

Thursday, October 12, 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 Cassidy Peters with questions.

December 4-6, 2017

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Applications due September 22nd  

This three-day course serves as an introduction to the developing field of network science in biology and medicine. http://catalyst.harvard.edu/services/networkmedicine/introduction.html

Please email for more information.

Applications are now being accepted by the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) for the MGH Research Scholars Program
What is it?
The Massachusetts General Hospital Research Scholars Program was established with the aim of supporting MGH research faculty who are pursuing either fundamental (basic) or clinical research at the level of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor.  The intent of these awards is to support the careers of outstanding MGH investigators doing cutting-edge research that is highly innovative and expected to result in fundamental scientific discoveries and/or clinical applications.  This year, we are asking applicants to choose one of three categories based on the research proposed in the application: Clinical research, Fundamental research, or Population and healthcare research.

How much is each award?
These awards are for $500,000 over 5 years; and will be funded at $100,000 per year, including 15% indirect costs.

When is the deadline?
Thursday, October 12, 2017 – 5:00 PM

How do I learn more and apply?

• Click here to read more and apply online.
• Click here to see a list of past recipients.
• Visit the ECOR website for other funding opportunities.

The Wellman Center for Photomedicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital is pleased to invite applications for the Bullock postdoctoral fellowship for research aimed at understanding and solving important biomedical problems. PhD, MD and MD PhD research fellows are eligible for this award.
This multidisciplinary fellowship was created to foster interactions between researchers from diverse fields of science and medicine. Combined mentorship and collaboration between two Harvard Medical School faculty members, at least one of whom is based at the Wellman Center, is required. An external collaborator is preferred. It is anticipated that the fellow will perform most their research at the Wellman Center. For additional information regarding the Wellman Center please visit http://www.massgeneral.org/wellman/

The Fellowship will provide one year of support. An award of up to $60,000 direct costs is anticipated. The award will be administered by the Wellman Center. Funds may be used for stipend (minimum effort 60%), fringe benefits and research supplies.  Recipients will be required to submit periodic progress reports, present their work at a noon lecture and submit a final written report

Criteria for funding are scientific quality, an enabling collaboration that might not occur otherwise, potential medical and scientific impact, and career development of the Fellow. 
Eligibility and other award information can be found by clicking here. 
Proposal deadline:  5:00 pm – November 1, 2017
 Award decision:  December 22, 2017

The Boston Area Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center
is now accepting Pilot and Feasibility Research Grant Award Applications
For studies of Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complications

The Boston Area Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Diseases (NIDDK) to support research in Diabetes and its complications.  Research grants up to $30,000 will be awarded for meritorious proposals from candidates whose eligibility is defined by one or more of the following three criteria:

1.            Junior faculty without past or current NIH support to conduct Diabetes research.
Not eligible if you have any support that is mandatory 100% effort where you cannot accept any federal funding.

2.            Established non-Diabetes researchers who have an innovative idea relevant to Diabetes.

3.            Established Diabetes investigators who have an innovative idea/approach relevant to Diabetes that represents a distinct departure from their established line of investigation.

4.            Co-PI’s are not allowed, and if you are not accepting salary and or less than 5%, please mention if there is cost sharing.

It is anticipated that up to four meritorious applications will be funded.                                  

Letters of Intent, Biosketch, Other support and Abstract due Monday, September 18, 2017
If proposal accepted, Applications due by Monday, October 23, 2017

                If you qualify based on one of the three criteria listed above, please email a letter of intent in MS Word that includes your name, degree, title and email address and a brief description of your research.  In addition to the LOI email, please include an abstract with the title of your project (NIH form page) of your research, a biosketch and OS page.    If your proposed research is deemed compatible with the goals of the BADERC, instructions for the preparation of a five-page application for a Pilot and Feasibility Research Grant Award will be forwarded to you.  The deadline for the Grant application will be October 23, 2017.  Funding will be effective April 1, 2018.

Please send Letters of Intent and abstract page with the title of your project in word
via (email) to       Prendable@molbio.mgh.harvard.edu

Partners HealthCare Innovation is pleased to announce the Fall 2017 call for pre-proposals (https://innovation.partners.org/about/special-programs) is now open for the Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) program. Pfizer CTI program collaborates with leading academic medical centers, the NIH and foundations to speed the translation of novel targets to the clinic.

Who should apply?
Researchers who are:

• working with validated drug targets tractable with biologic modalities including antibodies, ADCs, proteins and fusion proteins
• working in CTI’s therapeutic areas of interest
• interested in collaboratively developing a novel therapeutic agent to address an unmet clinical need

Pfizer offers access to its drug development capabilities and lab facilities and can fund up to 2 postdoctoral fellows. Projects are anticipated to run for several years and are aimed at achieving proof-of-mechanism.

Pre-proposals
Please use the CTI Template to prepare the pre-proposal (maximum length 3 pages)

How to submit
phsstrategicalliances@partners.org (Please submit pre-proposals only to Partners HealthCare Innovation at this email and not to any CTI contact directly)

Deadline for submission
Friday, October 13, 2017
Following Innovation Review and QC, pre-proposals will be submitted to CTI by October 20.

Town-Hall Meeting
Join us for an informational meeting to learn more about this opportunity:
Time: Tuesday, September 26th, 10am-12pm
Location: 125 Nashua St. Conference Room 2406, Boston, MA 02114
Featured Speaker: Nader Halim, PhD (External Science & Innovation, Pfizer)

Questions
We welcome questions from PIs regarding the program scope and are happy to facilitate conversations with CTI prior to submission - please contact Julian Peat at jpeat@partners.org or phsstrategicalliances@partners.org

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.

• Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Central Biochemistry Laboratory (U24)

• George M. O'Brien Kidney Research Core Centers (P30)

• Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program FY 2018 (P2C)

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 9/15/17

• AACR-Aflac Inc. Career Development Award for Pediatric Cancer Research, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
• AACN Impact Research Grant, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
• Distinguished Investigator Innovation Grants, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
• ASH Bridge Grant Program, American Society of Hematology (ASH)
• Research Proposals and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, Cystinosis Research Foundation
• Behavioural Insights Research Programme, The Health Foundation
• Childhood Cancer Research Seed Grants, Pablove Foundation 
• The Waterloo Foundation (TWF)

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

Partners Innovation Discovery Grant Program - Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cognitive Computation, and Machine Learning
Application Deadline: September 25

Tosteson & Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards
Application Deadline: October 2

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

MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards
Application Deadline: October 11

MGH Research Scholars Program
Application Deadline: October 12

The Football Players Health Study
Application Deadline: October 13

HMS Foundation Funds
Application Deadline: October 16

Howard M. Goodman Fellowship 2018
Application Deadline: October 25

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

Lab Management: Building Your Lab Team – September 18
Post Doc Appreciation Ice Cream Social – September 19
Qualitative Coding – September 20
An Introduction to the RPDR Query Tool – September 21
Introduction to the Partners Biobank Portal – September 21
MGH Clinical Research Day - October 5

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