As part of our ongoing Partners 2.0 initiatives to increase efficiency and support our community, Partners HealthCare and Staples are implementing a $35 order minimum on all Staples orders, effective Wednesday, December 5, 2018. This change was part of a comprehensive purchasing agreement that will generate substantial cost savings on all our office product purchases.

By consolidating administrative efforts and combining multiple orders, our teams will save time on ordering supplies and managing incoming packages.

This initiative will also result in the additional benefit of reducing our carbon footprint by using fewer cardboard boxes, less packing materials, requiring fewer deliveries and lowering fuel consumption.

Orders submitted less than $35 beginning on December 5, 2018 may incur an additional service fee on their account. To assist staff in ordering purchases through Staples, the Partners HealthCare Supply Chain Client Services Department will be available to answer your questions and may be contacted at 617-726-2142.

Additional information can be found on the Partners HealthCare Supply Chain Management intranet site by clicking here.

Monday, December 3, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Simches 3.110 with streaming to CNY149, 7th Floor, Isselbacher Auditorium

Meeting Chair: Steven Grinspoon, MD

AGENDA
Annual Conversation with the Research Community – Peter L. Slavin, MD, MGH President

(Lunch available at 11:45 AM)

All MGH Researchers welcome!

Tuesday, December 4, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Conference Room A, Building 149

Dr. Andi McClatchey
Center for Cancer Research
“Relationship between RTKs and the actin cytoskeleton in development and cancer”

Dr. Cammie Lesser
Division of Infectious Diseases
“Bacterial protein delivery systems from agents of pathogenesis to vectors for novel therapeutics”

Pizza, cookies, and soft drinks will be served

Sponsored by The CNY Quality of Life Committee, MGH Research Institute, and ECOR

Contact: Susan Smith, Molecular Pathology Unit, 617-726-5695

Tuesday, December 4, 1:00 – 2:30pm, Simches 3.110

Sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research and the Partners Human Research Committee

Speakers: Pearl O’Rourke, MD, Director, Human Research Affairs, Elizabeth Hohmann, MD, Physician Director and Chair, PHRC, Roslyn Gray, Director, Human Research Review and Compliance, PHRC
The federal government has made changes to the Common Rule which will take effect on January 21, 2019.  Join us to learn about these changes, how they will be implemented at Partners and the impact they will have on researchers.

Topics to be covered include:

• What is the final/revised rule?
• When does it apply?
• What are the big changes?
  • Redefinition of “NOT research”
  • Scheduled reassessment of “identifiable”
  • Limitation of continuing review
  • Expansion of the exempt category
  • Informed consent changes
  • Posting of clinical trial consent forms
  • Single IRB mandate
  • Grant review no longer required

This program will be offered as a webcast and recorded. Please register to receive the course link and login information.

Register Here. Please contact Tiereny Morrison-Rohlfs with questions.

Friday, December 7, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Simches 3.110

A Joint Seminar of the Center for Genomic Medicine and the Department of Molecular Biology  

Speaker: Nancy Kleckner, PhD
Topic: Meiosis, Aneuploidy and Evolution

Nancy Kleckner is the Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Biology at Harvard University. She is credited with fundamental contributions to our understanding of bacterial DNA transposition, chromosomal structure, DNA replication, and meiosis. She worked with a pioneer of genetics and lambda phage, Matt Meselson, as an undergraduate at Harvard. She would continue working on lambda as a Ph.D. student at MIT, in Ethan Signer’s lab. As a postdoctoral fellow with David Botstein, she elucidated the mechanism of bacterial transposition, having purified the elements required for transposition of the tetracycline resistance transposon Tn10. Kleckner returned to Harvard as a member of the faculty in 1977, where she discovered the mechanism by which bacteria limit their chromosomal reproduction, thus ensuring that only one copy of the genome is passed to each daughter cell. She also turned her attention to meiosis, where she illuminated the central role of double-strand breaks in recombination and crossing over. Kleckner’s research interests have broadened to include chromatin dynamics and homologous chromosome pairing, among other fields. Kleckner is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of many honors, including the 2016 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for lifetime achievement in genetics.

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

Sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research and Partners Human Research Quality Improvement Program

Speaker: Pamela Richtmyer, Director, Partners Human Research Quality Improvement Program
Please join us as Pamela Richtmyer discusses findings from recent FDA inspections and sponsors audits at MGH, lesson learned from those inspections and how we can prevent citations moving forward.

Register here. Contact Tiereny Morrison-Rohlfs with questions.

Thursday, December 13 from 3-5p.m., Assembly Row Training Room 2W30

The Scientific Computing team is offering the second ERISOne Linux Cluster course to familiarize researchers with our working environment. The class will emphasize common strategies and best practices in utilizing Computational Resources and high-capacity storage systems provided by ERIS. This hands-on session provides the audience with an opportunity to log onto the system, check out its software stack and use the scheduler for job submission. Each hands-on course has limited space, and registration is required.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 10:00 am – 1:30 pm, Simches Building, 185 Cambridge St., 2nd Floor (SERI)

Now is the chance to exhibit your research!
ECOR is now accepting abstracts for the 2019 SAC Poster Session
Deadline for submission:  Tuesday, January 22, 2019

The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Poster Session gives researchers the opportunity to create a compelling visual display of their work and present it to some of the best scientific minds in the nation. The poster session is an essential part of the two-day meeting, which highlights excellence in research at MGH. Twelve Posters of Distinction will be chosen to receive a $1,000 travel award. A review panel will select a group of finalists from the submitted abstracts. Those finalists will be required to present their poster in order to be considered for the travel award. Awards will be restricted to junior faculty and trainees (i.e. Assistant Professors, Instructors, Fellows, and Graduate Students).

Please click here for more information and to submit a poster abstract!

QUESTIONS
If you have problems or questions please email sac@partners.org

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). 

December is the first of three standing deadlines for these awards in Fiscal Year 2019.  The next deadline will be April 1, 2019.  

Application Deadline:  Monday, December 3, 2018 – 5:00 PM
Faculty Type: 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.

To learn more about Deliberative Interim Support Funding or to apply, please click here.

Provides funding for female junior faculty to sustain research productivity during their child-rearing years

Application Deadline:  Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - 5:00 PM
Faculty Type: Instructors, Assistant Professors who are within 10 years of first faculty appointment at the time the award is initiated.
Award Amount: $50,000 per year in direct costs for two years, plus 15% for indirect costs
Award Start: July 1, 2019
Apply Online: https://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/GrantManager/Grants/Claflin2019

Internal Deadline: December 21, 2018

Brief Description:
The W. M KECK FOUNDATION’S MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM strives to fund endeavors that are distinctive and novel in their approach.  It encourages projects that are high-risk with the potential for transformative impact.  "High-risk" comprises a number of factors, including questions that push the edge of the field, present unconventional approaches to intractable problems, or challenge the prevailing paradigm.  In all of its programs, "transformative" may mean creation of a new field of research, development of new instrumentation, technologies or methodologies enabling observations not previously possible, or discovery of knowledge that challenges prevailing perspectives. Funded projects cannot focus on clinical or translational research, treatment trials or research for the sole purpose of drug development.

This is a restricted opportunity with concept papers limited to FOUR and proposals limited to ONE PER INSTITUTION.

Both Senior and Early Career investigators are encouraged to apply.
Award Amount: Research grants are typically about $1 million.
Indirect Cost Rate: Indirect costs are not allowed

Eligibility/Restrictions: 

• Keck is looking for BASIC, FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH. Keck does not support clinically-oriented or disease-specific research. The ultimate application can be clinical, but the focus should be on basic underlying mechanism(s).
• Keck will only fund PROJECTS THAT FALL OUTSIDE OF THE MISSION OF PUBLIC FUNDING AGENCIES.  If a proposal is declined by federal agencies (e.g., NIH), include reviewer comments verbatim, especially if it was turned down because the project was considered too high-risk or outside-of-the-box.
• Applications must represent priorities of INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP and receive some INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT (including coverage of indirect costs). 
• Keck places value on MULTIDISCIPLINARY and INTER-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION as well as the use of novel technology in the project. 
• For Instrumentation and Methodology proposals, DESCRIBE QUANTITATIVELY THE IMPROVEMENT (BY ORDERS OF MAGNITUE) OVER EXISTING METHODS.  It must represent a quantum leap over the state of the art.  New tools and techniques should have broad applicability across disciplines.

For additional eligibility requirements and descriptions of previously funded projects, please see the program website, http://www.wmkeck.org/grant-programs/research/medical-research-grant-abstracts

Internal Submission Instructions:
Please submit a ONE-PAGE CONCEPT PAPER to ECOR at ecor@partners.org by December 21st, 2018 that includes the following sections:

• an overview of the proposed project emphasizing any unique aspects and pilot studies;
• a description of the methodologies and key personnel;
• a brief justification of the need for Keck support; and
• an estimated budget broken down, if possible, by major areas, e.g., personnel, equipment, consumable supplies (budgets can be rough approximations at this stage).

For questions or concerns about this opportunity, please contact Tristan Barako, Director of Development, at 617.724.5626 or tbarako@mgh.harvard.edu.

The Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is inviting nurse applicants for the newly established Connell Postdoctoral Fellowship in Nursing Research commencing in July 2019.  This is a unique opportunity for early-career nurse researchers within two years of completing a PhD degree (graduation year 2018 or 2019) to receive postdoctoral training at MGH, the leading independent hospital in NIH funding.

The fellowship provides developmental support and resources to advance nursing research in:

• Symptom Science, including the identification of symptoms and symptom management in the context of acute and chronic illnesses among diverse populations.
• Nursing Workforce Evaluation, including studies that focus on nursing workload assessment, clinical decision making, organizational culture, evaluation of the professional practice environment, and quality and safety.

Highlights of the Connell Postdoctoral Fellowship include:

• Salary support with benefits for up to 3 years.
• Expert mentorship from accomplished nurse scientists within the Munn Center and across MGH and associated institutions.
• Diverse training and research development opportunities within and outside of MGH, including Harvard Medical School and local nursing schools.
• Participation in opportunities offered through the MGH Research Institute: https://www.massgeneral.org/research/ including extensive support for professional development, research education and training, and communication.

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident/green card holder and a nurse who is a new or recent (calendar year 2018 or 2019) graduate from an accredited PhD program from a U.S. certified institution.

For detailed information, including requirements and application instructions, please visit: http://www.mghpcs.org/munncenter/connellpostdoc/     

For questions, please email MunnCenter@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.

• Data Coordinating Center for the Diabetic Foot Consortium (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Ancillary Studies to the NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (R01 – Clinical Trial Optional)
• Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) – NEW!
• Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) (T32)
• Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Diabetes Research Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional)

If there is a limited submission funding opportunity you do not see listed above 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 11/30/18

•  ASLMS Research Grant Program, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS)
• All Arthritis Research Grants, Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF)
• Ankylosing Spondylitis Research Grant, Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) 
• Arthritis & Aging Research Grant, Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF)
• Arthritis & Aging Research Grant, Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF)
• Research Grants, Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation
• Research Grants, Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation (DTRF)
• Career Development Awards, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT)
• Bridge Grants, National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF)
• Discovery Grants, National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF)

NIH Update for Week Ending November 30, 2018

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

Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards 2019
Application Deadline:  December 11, 2018

Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Call for 2019 Development Projects
Application Deadline: January 2, 2019

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

PCORI - Click here for the latest funding opportunities from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

MGH Research Equipment SharePoint Site

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