In this edition:

(Scroll down for more info and click on the links for additional details)

Funding Opportunities

• NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards
• K12 Investigator Award
• MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute Spark Grant 2024
• Andrew L. Warshaw, M.D, Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research 
• MGH Screening Technologies in Primary Care Innovation Fund
• Limited Submission Funding
• Foundation Funding Opportunities

Announcements:

• NEW Support for Early Career Investigators at the TCRC
• NEW Research Support Services 
• NEW Faculty Parental Wellness Program
• MGH Ode to Joy - Celebration of the Arts
• SAS License Renewals
• Health Care Data & Delivery Science Certificate Program
• NVivo portal license 
• Summer Digital Internships available

Events:

• Fun Friday
• Qualitative and Mixed Methods
• 2024 Anne Klibanski Visiting Lecture Series 05
• Faculty Transition Webinar 
• NEW MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute: Monthy Speaker Series
• NEW Research Tech Talk
• NEW Annual Musculoskeletal Research Symposium
• Fourth Annual Conference on Precision Psychiatry
• Two Meditation Sessions available every week

NEW FY 2025 Innovation Award to Catalyze Military-Connected Research

Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, is providing catalyst funding to be used toward innovative, military-focused research. The purpose of this funding is to stimulate new ideas and exciting approaches to research designed to yield meaningful impact for Veterans, Active-Duty Service Members and Military-Connected Families. 

We plan to provide 2 grants of $75,000 each, inclusive of 20% indirect costs. The project period for your proposal can be either 1 year or 2 years. To be eligible to apply, the Principal investigator(s) must hold an MGB faculty appointment in any department.  The application deadline is Friday May 31, 2024 at 5:00 pm. 

NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards

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 for the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award.

When is the deadline?  

MGH internal pre-proposal: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 – 5:00 PM

K12 Investigator Award

The Harvard Catalyst K12 Investigator Award (formerly KL2/CMeRIT) provides advanced training in clinical and translational research to senior fellows and junior faculty from all health professions represented by Harvard Catalyst, including medicine, dentistry, and nursing.

Awardees will pursue a mentored research project in their area of expertise. It is expected that the research performed within the K12 program will provide the basis for a subsequent NIH award (e.g., K23, KO8, or RO1).

The K12 Investigator Award program provides two years of salary support at 75% of the awardee’s institutional salary base, up to the K12 NIH salary cap of $160,000 (i.e., $120,000 would be covered). Surgeons may request salary support of between 50% and 75%. Educational programs within Harvard Catalyst will be tuition-free. Funding for awardees begins October 1, 2024.

Applications are due May 24.

MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute (GCTI) Spark Grant 2024



The GCTI Spark grant 2024 is now open! The Spark grants fund projects that can demonstrate tangible advancements towards clinical applications as well as commercialization outcomes including licensing, commercial partnerships, or new spinoff companies.

Deadline - Friday, April 19, 2024

Andrew L. Warshaw, M.D, Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research 

The Andrew L. Warshaw, M.D., Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research invites applications for pilot grant funding from MGH investigators. Applications are welcome from new investigators, established investigators in the field of pancreatic cancer, as well as senior investigators who have not previously worked in this area.

Up to three pilot grants will be funded for one year at $60,000 plus the applicable indirect cost rate.

Deadline - Friday, May 3, 2024, at 5:00PM

MGH Screening Technologies in Primary Care Innovation Fund



There is great promise for the development of new technologies to detect disease or disease risk factors at an earlier stage in the primary care setting. However, innovative screening technologies are frequently difficult to get off the ground due to challenges conducting research in the primary care setting and difficulties translating and commercializing technologies that need to be implemented in a cost-effective manner and on a large scale.

Award: One pilot grant will be funded for one year at $50,000 (direct costs) + 20% (indirect).

Due date for proposals: April 30, 2024

Limited Submission Funding Opportunities

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. 

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES:

See full details for all awards on our website.

Assessment of Climate at Institutions (Act) Award (RC2 – Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

MGH LOI Deadline: 4/01/24

Learn more

Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) (T32)

MGH LOI Deadline: 4/08/24

Learn more

Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1 – Clinical Trial Optional)

MGH LOI Deadline: 4/11/24

Learn more

Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

MGH LOI Deadline: 4/22/24

Learn more

Foundation Funding Opportunities

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 opportunities. Note that proposals are still routed through the standard InfoEd/Research Management process.

For all open foundation funding announcements, see the MGB Innovation External Funding Database



CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES:

See this week’s full foundation funding announcements (including eligibility, RM deadlines, and IDC) on our website.

1. ASH Bridge Grant Program, American Society of Hematology (ASH). $150,000 (No IDC). Application Deadline: May 1
2. NEW! Translational Bridge Award, Lupus Research Alliance. $450,000 (10% IDC). LOI Deadline: April 29
3. Career Development Award (CDA), National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF). $210,000 (Unspecified IDC). LOI Deadline: May 6
4. Judith Graham Pool (JGP) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF). $104,000 (Unspecified IDC). LOI Deadline: May 6
5. Career Transition Fellowships, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). $600,000 (10% IDC). Pre-Application Deadline: August 5
6. Faculty Starter Grants: Translational Medicine, PhRMA Foundation. $100,000 (No IDC). LOI Deadline: May 1
7. NEW! Biomarker Consortia: Disease Stratification and Progression, Target ALS. $1 million (No IDC). LOI Deadline: May 29

Do you want to learn more about identifying external funding opportunities? Please click here to request a research consultation with Amy Robb or see ECOR’s website for information on the Pivot database.

NEW Call for Applications: Support for Early Career Investigators at the Translational and Clinical Research Center

The TCRC at Massachusetts General Hospital will support two early career investigators each year to perform their pilot and feasibility studies or studies related to their early career awards on the TCRC. Learn More

Awardees will not be charged for nursing, nutrition, or sample processing time, the TCRC annual fee or the TCRC per visit fee for research conducted on the TCRC (for up to $10,000 per year for two years). Coordinator support will not be available through this program

NEW Research Support Services 

Are you having trouble managing your research activities and need some help? Do you have an upcoming leave or vacancy and could use coverage from an in-house, experienced Grant Administrator? Look no further than Research Support Services!

Research Support Services (RSS) provides experienced Grant Administrators to support and manage all aspects of the research grant life cycle for as long or short a time as you need. 

For more information, please email us at ResearchSupportServices@mgb.org​ or visit us on our Research Navigator page.

NEW Faculty Parental Wellness Program

The Faculty Parental Wellness Program is designed to improve the personal well-being and professional productivity of expectant and new parents who are faculty at MGB. The program started at MGH and is now expanding to include BWH, BWFH, and Mass Eye and Ear, with funding from the MGB Office of the Chief Medical Officer. Benefits for participants include the following: 

1. Feeding and lactation stipends
2. Parental Wellness Advocate (PWA) pairings: This is the opportunity to be connected to an experienced parent who provides guidance and practical strategies on navigating parental leave and the transition back to work
3. Opportunity to join virtual new parent groups
4. Access to lactation resources

MGH Ode to Joy - Celebration of the Arts

Submit your artistic talent by Monday, April 15

Share your talent at in-person celebration to recognize the incredible talents outside of your work at MGH. The Center for Faculty Development announces the first MGH Ode to Joy—a celebration of art created by our faculty and trainees. We want to convene our community to recognize the incredible talent that exists outside of and beyond the talent performed in clinic, in OR, and in labs, and revel together in the transformative power of artistic expression. Click here for more details. 

SAS license renewals

If you purchased a SAS icense through the Digital Research Computing Core, your license will renew this month, and the fund listed in your account will automatically be debited. The FY24 cost for Server/Citrix licenses was reduced to $204 per person, per platform; SAS Desktop licenses will remain at $300 per license. Invoices for your updated SAS license will be emailed on May 7th.  IMPACT: If you want to maintain your license no action is needed. To cancel your license, please go to rcservices.partners.org or contact rcc@partners.org for assistance. 

Accepting applications for the Health Care Data & Delivery Science Certificate Program

This 8-month Health Care Data & Delivery Science Certificate Program is hosted by the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in collaboration with the Harvard Catalyst program and will equip clinician scientists, early career researchers and/or health systems leaders with practical knowledge and fundamental skills in health care data and delivery science. Applicants are anticipated to have a master’s degree, medical degree, doctoral degree or prior research experience conducting research in relevant fields. View the program summary and curriculum. 

NVivo portal license 

Annual NVivo licenses expire each year on February 28th. Your license will automatically cancel, and you will need to order again at rcservices.partners.org (MGB login required). NVivo licenses are $350/year per User and new licenses can be ordered and accessed today.

NVivo is software that can be used for qualitative analysis of textual and audiovisual data sources. NVivo portal licenses require no installation and you may log into your account on any computer, to access the NVivo portal. For more information on NVivo go to the Research Computing Core's software page or order now at rcservices.partners.org (MGB login required). All questions may be directed to rcc@partners.org.

Summer Digital Internships Available

Do you have a college age student interested in a paid Summer Internship? Several Digital internships are available, including within the Research Computing Core/Research Applications group under Digital Research Operations. Internships can be found on the MGB career site, by searching with Keyword: Intern. The 10-week Internship Programs begins Monday, June 3rd and runs through Friday, August 9th.  

See these events and more on the calendar of events

Fun Friday: Painting Demonstration with Troods

April 9, 2024, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Zoom



Facilitator: Patricia Nolan-Brown, BA (aka Troods) is an artist, with a BA in art from Framingham State University. She has used her creative brain to launch many inventions, build businesses, publish a book about the creative process and raise her three daughters. She interprets and paints things she loves such as travel, nature, and family, working with oils in an expressive impasto style. She has been accepted and awarded the Denis Diderot Grant for a 4 week Artist-in-Residence at the Chateau d'Orquevaux [dork-VO] in France where her work will be part of the chateau's permanent collection.

Qualitative and Mixed Methods

Interpreting and Presenting Results

April 9, 2024, 10:00 – 11:00 pm, Zoom



Sponsored by the MGH Division of Clinical Research and the Mongan Institute

This one session course will assist clinical researchers in interpreting and presenting qualitative research data that they have coded using NVivo, other software, or by hand. We will address how to utilize the data to identify themes and overarching ideas, connections between themes, and ways in which themes may vary by attributes of individual interviewees, focus groups or other units of analysis. We also will address strategies for effectively reporting qualitative research results in presentations and manuscripts, and for integrating qualitative and quantitative research results in the context of mixed methods studies.

2024 Anne Klibanski Visiting Lecture Series 05

Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm, Zoom



The Anne Klibanski Visiting Lecture Series was created to support and advance the careers of women. These lectures bring together faculty from institutions that have hosted Anne Klibanski Scholars with MGH scholars, on topics that overlap both research areas.

Dr. Gillani will present on “Neuroinflammation causes neuronal dysfunction by destabilizing excitatory synapses.”

Dr. Hastermann will present on “Antigen specific T cells in autoimmune inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system.”

Faculty Transition Webinar 

Friday, April 12, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm, Zoom



This fourth session will have a panel from Human Resources, Professional Staff Benefits, and the Employee Assistance Program to cover where to begin the process of retirement, what it entails and what you should consider during the process.

Panelists:

Nicholas Martin, Human Resources Director

Ellen Nelson, Director, Employee & Labor Relations at Mass General Brigham

Virginia Rosales, Human Resource/Benefits Manager, Professional Staff Compensation and Benefits Office

Lisa Staffiere, LICSW, CEAP, RYT, Senior Employee Assistance Consultant and Certified Employee Assistance Professional 

Faculty Transition Webinar 

Friday, April 12, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm, Zoom



This fourth session will have a panel from Human Resources, Professional Staff Benefits, and the Employee Assistance Program to cover where to begin the process of retirement, what it entails and what you should consider during the process.

Panelists:

Nicholas Martin, Human Resources Director

Ellen Nelson, Director, Employee & Labor Relations at Mass General Brigham

Virginia Rosales, Human Resource/Benefits Manager, Professional Staff Compensation and Benefits Office

Lisa Staffiere, LICSW, CEAP, RYT, Senior Employee Assistance Consultant and Certified Employee Assistance Professional 

NEW MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute: Monthy Speaker Series

April 16, 2024, 8:30 – 12:00 pm, Zoom

Please join the Mass General Brigham Gene and Cell Therapy Institute’s monthly speaker series on Tuesday, April 16^th at 1:00 -2:00pm. This series discusses gene and cell therapy innovations and research throughout the MGB system. Fabrisia Ambrosio, PhD, MPT is the featured speaker this month. Dr. Fabrisia Ambrosio is the Atlantic charter director of the Discovery Center for Musculoskeletal Recovery at the Schoen Adams Research Institute. She is also a faculty member in the department of physical medicine & rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School

NEW Research Tech Talk

April 26, 2024, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, Zoom

Presentation: MGB Cloud Foundations presented by Jane Murray - Vice President of Digital Research Operations and Matthew Pratt - Manager, MGB Digital 

NEW Annual Musculoskeletal Research Symposium

May 6th, 2024, Assembly Row

Announcing the 9th Annual Musculoskeletal Research Symposium hosted by the Center for Musculoskeletal Research at MGH. Join MSK researchers from around Massachusetts for a great day of talks, posters and networking. Featuring renowned guest speakers Alison Boyce from the NIH and Sundeep Khosla from the Mayo Clinic, the symposium will be held at Assembly Row on Monday May 6. Lunch and snacks provided.

Fourth Annual Conference on Precision Psychiatry

September 26th and September 27th, 2024



The conference will feature Keynote addresses from Dr. Rosalind Picard and Dr. Isaac Kohane.

Students, fellows, interns, and trainees can register for FREE!

Save your spot and register today at mghcme.org/precision2024

Keep an eye on the CPP Conference website for accreditation information.

If you have any questions, please contact mghctrprecisionpsych@mgh.harvard.edu.

Two Meditation Sessions available every week 



SESSION 1: Meditation Mondays with Dr. Darshan Mehta 

Every Monday, 8:00 – 8:30 am, Zoom next session, Monday, March 4!

Co-sponsored by the Center for Faculty Development’s Office for Well-Being and the MGPO Frigoletto Committee

Join Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH, Director, Office for Well-Being, for a guided meditation session on the Monday morning. 

Register and add to calendar

SESSION 2: Midweek Meditation with Guest Leader 

Every Wednesday, 8:00 – 8:30 am, Zoom next session, Wednesday, March 6!

Sponsored by the Center for Faculty Development’s Office for Well-Being

Join guest leader, Jennifer Kurz, MD, Mass General Brigham, for next Wednesday’s guided meditation session.

Register and add to calendar

See these events and more on the calendar of events

Research Institute website

Bench Press Blog

MGH Research Intranet