The UMHS Strategic Research Initiative was launched more than a year and a half ago based on a common vision to "fast forward" to tomorrow's cures. Please join us as we share our progress around building infrastructure and enhancing science for the research community.

Transformative change requires leadership, risk-taking, and a deep understanding of the strengths - and weaknesses - of an organization. Dr. William Kelley, former UMMS Chair of Internal Medicine, exhibited all those qualities as he built a premier research department throughout the eighties.

In his presentation, "Good to Great: An Insider's Reflections on the Transforming Roles of Two Great Presidents at the University of Michigan," Dr. Kelley will reflect on the challenges UMHS faced during that time, and how lessons learned can inform Medical School faculty and staff as we progress with today's Strategic Research Initiative.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

3:30 PM - Networking

4:15 PM - Presentation

5:15 PM - Reception

North Campus Research Complex

Building 18, Dining Hall

FREE!  RSVP required.

The collaborate! initiative at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) is sponsoring a day-long workshop on May 13, 2013 focusing on collaborative research in the academic environment. Consisting of speakers, interactive working sessions, and networking opportunities, this workshop explores the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration and team science in a successful research career. We will hear stories of successes and challenges from a diverse group of researchers, as well as current trends in collaborative research.

Monday, May 13, 2013

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

NCRC, Building 18, Dining Hall

A reception will follow the workshop.

View more details and RSVP online.

(RSVP by May 9.)

The Michigan Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (MICHR), part of the Medical School's Office of Research, recently posted a sneak peak of the newly redesigned umclinicalstudies.org. This enhanced web tool will allow potential volunteers to easily find studies and communicate with study teams, while at the same time allowing researchers to manage participants, all in a single one-stop-shopping web resource.

Over 12,000 volunteers are already in the pool of participants with their interests and health information in umclinicalstudies.org. When the site is launched later this spring, it will help U-M researchers recruit and track study participants more quickly and easily than ever before. Researchers will have the opportunity to create their own study-specific web pages to present information to potential volunteers, create screening questionnaires, interact directly with interested participants, and more - all in one easy-to-use web tool.

The Standard Informed Consent Template was updated on April 9, 2013. The current version posted on the IRBMED website includes modified help text related to the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) and ClinicalTrials.gov requirements, and new information regarding genetic sub-studies.

Additionally, the signatures section (Section 12) has been revamped entirely. The help text and consent language has been updated for clarity purposes, and new information regarding two-parent signature and genetic sub-study requirements have now been added.

 Per the USDA Animal Care Policy, PHS Policy, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, investigators are expected to use up-to-date, pharmaceutical-grade medications whenever they are available, even in acute procedures. The use of non-pharmaceutical-grade compounds should be limited to situations involving scientific necessity or unavailability of acceptable veterinary or human pharmaceutical-grade compounds, and requires specific review and approval by the UCUCA. Cost savings alone are not considered adequate justification for the use of non-pharmaceutical-grade compounds in laboratory animals. It is important to understand that these guidelines pertain to both active and inactive components of chemicals administered. Therefore, the vehicle used to facilitate the administration of a compound is just as important as the active ingredient in the compound.

The emphasis on use of pharmaceutical-grade compounds serves to ensure that substances administered to laboratory animals meet established standards of purity and composition, and ultimately, to assure animal welfare and scientific validity of experimental results. The use of lower grade chemicals or compounds containing higher levels of impurities or poorly formulated preparations may introduce research complications, unanticipated variables, and/or adverse effects. For more information on whether the substances you are using are available in pharmaceutical-grade, please consult the following databases:

• Butler Schein Compendium of Veterinary Products
• Facts and Comparisons - Electronic Drug Data
• Micromedex Gateway, Micromedex 2.0
• US Pharmacopeia Online
• Drugs at the FDA

By Chris Black, M.L.S., Assistant Director for Research Development Support, Office of Research

(One in a series of tips published in UMMS Research News about writing proposals.)

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) controlled vocabulary thesaurus. It consists of descriptor terms in a hierarchical structure that permits searching at various levels of specificity. MeSH is used by NLM for describing the content of articles from over 5,000 leading biomedical journals indexed in the MEDLINE®/PubMED® database, and for books and related materials used by NLM.

The staff members at NLM continually revise and update the MeSH vocabulary. Some new descriptors that were added in 2013 include terms from "Accelerometry" to "Zonula Occludens-2 Protein." In addition to receiving suggestions from indexers, the NLM staff collects new terms as they appear in the scientific literature or in emerging areas of research. Suggestions also are taken from researchers.

An article on the Washington University Scholarly Communication blog asks: Has your research resulted in a new term reflecting a new discovery, disease, process or concept? Or does your research expand upon an existing MeSH term? Is the term referred to in your journal articles or conference abstracts? Is the term being used by others? If so, consider submitting the term to NLM for consideration as an official MeSH term.

For this and other articles related to scholarly work, see the Washington University Scholarly Communication blog.

View more information about MeSH.

A strategic plan developed by the Office of the Vice President for Research targets a doubling of extramural research funding over the next five years, including clinical research (University of Michigan Health System - UMHS). The Administrative Modernization Research Subcommittee was charged by the Medical School Dean to improve the quality and timeliness of services to Faculty, Administrators, Chairs and the Dean.

A cross-departmental team was formed to look at existing processes of the current post award financial systems used in all Medical School departments. The Design Team mapped the current post award process and found that the Medical School does not use standard practices across departments or standard practices across divisions within the same department. After assessing these systems, an Implementation Team was formed to develop and implement best practices at the UMHS.

The Post Award Implementation Team will be working closely with Information and Technology Services and Financial Operations to improve financial reporting (Real-Time Financials) for post award management. Pilot testing will begin in selected departments or units from July-September 2013. During October-December 2013, staff who monitor post award expenditures will be trained. Implementation of the Post Award System will be activated throughout the Medical School on January 1, 2014.

If you have questions about this process or would like more information, contact Eugene Napolitan (napolit@umich.edu), Project Manager, Post Award Implementation Team.