Research News
FROM THE MEDICAL SCHOOL OFFICE OF RESEARCH
Monthly Newsletter
June 2013
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES 

Calendars at Health System Headlines 

 

To find seminars throughout campus on basic, clinical and translational research, view the "Research Seminars and Events"...

 

Announcement Category - Subscribe to the feed for this category to receive emails containing complete information.

 

Calendar 

 

FUNDING + AWARD OPPORTUNITIES 
View additional resources.

 

External Limited Submissions

(Require an internal competition because the sponsor limits the number of proposals allowed from U-M.)

 

Searle and Pew Scholars Program Awards

Internal Deadline: Friday, July 5, 2013 (5:00 PM)

 

W. M. Keck Foundation - Programs in Medicine and Science & Engineering - Call for Concept Papers

Internal Deadline:   

July 19, 2013

 

External Open Submissions

 

Arthritis Foundation

Deadline: August 30, 2013

* Innovative Research Grant

* Investigator Award

 

UMMS AWARDED GRANTS + RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS 

Available through the SciVal Experts tool.

 
RESEARCH NEWS 

QUICKLINKS
MBECT Tips & Tricks 

 

UMMS Office of Research

 

U-M Medical School

 
 Links marked with a key can only be accessed via the U-M Ann Arbor campus network or VPN.

IN THIS ISSUE
progress-report

Office of Research Progress Report

Recent milestones to support your research

In the Office of Research, our mission is to focus on you (the research team), so you can focus on great science. Here are some of our most recent achievements to support you in your work:

  • Through the UMHS Strategic Research Initiative, funding will begin July 1 to "fast forward" research in three areas:
    • Protein Folding Diseases: Led by Henry Paulson, M.D., Ph.D., and Andrew Lieberman, M.D., Ph.D. This effort will focus on the study of how many different diseases arise from abnormal protein accumulation and disturbances in protein "quality control" within the body.
    • Host Microbiome: Led by Harry Mobley, Ph.D., and Vincent Young, M.D., Ph.D. This effort will focus on the study of bacteria and other microbes that live inside the human body and the health care environment.
    • Epigenetics Core: Funding will be used to create a new shared research resource to help UMMS scientists from all areas study why and how gene activity is turned "on" and "off" in different diseases.
  • IRBMED continues its efforts to address the needs of the research community:
    • Staff Edit Rights were implemented to allow IRBMED staff to update qualifying items in eResearch applications (e.g., address changes in Informed Consent documents) thereby providing time savings for research teams.
    • U-MIC (University of Michigan IRB Collaborative) presentations are available online as short (3-5 minute) overviews that provide just-in-time opportunities for the research community to learn about various aspects of human subjects research (see separate article below).
    • IRBMED is finalizing its process and procedures to provide PIs the opportunity to more readily cede IRB oversight to qualifying commercial or central IRBs.
  • Direct submission of PHS electronic proposals is now permanent. The Medical School Grant Review & Analysis Office had partnered with the Office for Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) in a pilot for the school to directly submit proposals to some federal agencies. The pilot was a success, and the arrangement has been made formal. This streamlines the review process and removes the last three stops for approval at ORSP. The school's Grants Office submitted over 800 proposals to NIH and sister agencies during the pilot.
u-mic

University of Michigan IRB Collaborative (U-MIC) Offers Quick-View Presentations Online

Compliance Corner - Human Research

The University of Michigan IRB Collaborative (U-MIC) is a joint initiative among the U-M IRBs that is designed to provide brief educational presentations electronically. These presentations address a variety of topics related to human subjects research, including regulatory and institutional practices.

 

View our most recent presentation, regarding expediting of umbrella applications (PowerPoint).

 

Access a complete list of U-MIC presentations.

town-hall

Register Now for July 12 Mentoring Town Hall

Mentoring in the Age of Budget Cuts

Friday, July 12, 2013

9:00 - 11:30 AM

Palmer Commons, Great Lakes Rooms (4th Floor) 

 

The Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) will present "Mentoring in the Age of Budget Cuts: A Town Hall" on July 12. James Kiley, Ph.D. (right), Director of the Division of Lung Diseases of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and University of Michigan faculty speakers will discuss how mentors can best support their mentees in a climate where funding is becoming more and more difficult to obtain.

 

How do we identify opportunity for mentees in the context of limited resources? What is the current guidance from NHLBI? What are practical strategies to move forward? What are the messages we give mentees launching their research careers?

 

Please come and join the conversation.

Register for this free event.

m-inform

Annual M-Inform Outside Interest Disclosures - Mark Your Calendar for July 1

As in previous years, UMHS Policy requires faculty members, house officers/fellows, executives, and management staff to disclose outside interests, activities, or relationships related to their work or position at UMHS, or, that they have nothing to disclose.

 

This year a conversion of the M-Inform Disclosure System is taking place from the existing Medical School platform to the new ITS/eResearch platform, effective 7/1/13. Watch for announcements with the new log-in address.

 

Staying the Same:

  • The name "M-Inform"
  • Wolverine Access log-in
  • Disclosure content

Changing:

  • URL - Sign-in Page
  • Faculty In-box
  • Overall look and feel

Additionally, in September, the IRB application will link to M-Inform and display disclosure status. All parties required to "accept their role" in the IRB application will be required to disclose in M-Inform.

 

In June and July, you will receive communications about disclosing outside interests, M-Inform training materials, and website updates. Stay tuned for complete instructions, FAQs, and important links.

mbect

Clinical Research Calendar Review & Analysis Office (CRAO) Offers Training on MBECT

Learn More about the Michigan Budget Enrollment Calendar Tool!

To all MBECT users: The MBECT team offers the opportunity for you to have an overview of what the financial modules can do for you and your study team! So far the response from training has been extremely positive, with users commenting on how the system gave them new abilities to track subjects, reconcile their trial invoices, save them from doing double entry, and cut down on juggling spreadsheets.

 

To have a member of the MBECT team come to your department, please contact the help desk to make arrangements by emailing [email protected] or calling 734-764-KNOW (5669).  View more information about MBECT. 

chemicals

Do You Work in a Lab with Hazardous Chemicals? New Chemical Hygiene Plans and SOPs Roll Out This Fall!

Occupational Safety & Environmental Health (OSEH) has written a new Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) for the University of Michigan. This CHP will mark a change in how U-M implements the MIOSHA Part 431 Hazardous Work in Laboratories standard. Previously, OSEH produced a template for each laboratory to download, print, and customize. The template was about 200 pages and had an 18 section work book for researchers to complete. The template only provided guidance to researchers on creating their own CHPs.

 

This new CHP will be an official U-M document and will apply to all non-clinical laboratories. The document is 82 pages and is focused on protecting researchers and meeting regulatory requirements. This CHP will be web-based and located on the OSEH website. Each lab will not need to print or customize the CHP. There is, however, a CHP Document Binder (6 sections, 10 pages). Each lab will be given a binder and will be required to maintain lab-specific records. OSEH has also written approximately 60 standard operating procedures (SOP) for commonly used hazardous materials. The previous CHP required each lab to write their own. Labs will still be required to write SOPs, but only for materials or processes not already covered.

 

The roll out for the new CHP is expected this fall. For more information about OSEH, visit www.oseh.umich.edu. For questions or comments on the CHP, call OSEH Research Health & Safety at 734-647-1143 or email Jon Lillemoen at [email protected].

mishare

Need to Send Sensitive Data? Consider MiShare

MCIT offers a secure collaborative electronic file exchange that has capacity to send data between UMHS/UMHS users or UMHS/outside users. Exchanges can take place either on an ad hoc or on a regularly scheduled basis. Large data files can be accommodated, but long-term storage is not provided. A level 2 password is required for access.

 

To get started go to: http://mishare.med.umich.edu

For questions go to: http://www.med.umich.edu/mishare/help

clinical-studies

New UMClinicalStudies.org Site Provides Innovative Recruitment Features for Study Teams

MICHR is pleased to report that the all-new UMClinicalStudies.org went live over Memorial Day weekend and is already connecting study teams with study participants in new ways.

 

Featured at the Research Town Hall in April, the new site has many new features that both study teams and potential participants will enjoy. Based on extensive feedback, this innovative new site facilitates communication between health researchers and volunteers - nearly 13,000 of them - based on the volunteers' interests and self-provided health information.

 

Study coordinators and other team members are encouraged to visit the new site, add/edit their studies as soon as possible, and consider UMClinicalStudies.org as their primary recruitment strategy. For more information, watch the two-minute UMClinicalStudies.org YouTube video or watch the full Research Town Hall presentation. Information on individualized training courses are available on the Recruitment Program website.

 

MICHR thanks study teams for your continued support of our centralized study participant recruitment efforts. Let them know if you have questions or suggestions by contacting the UMClinicalStudies.org team directly at 877-536-4243 or [email protected].

sharpening 

Find Your Research Niche

Sharpening the Focus: Tips on Grant Proposal Preparation

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.)

 

Your research niche is a specialized corner of your scientific field where you have potential to conduct research and create important, new knowledge for a significant period of time, e.g., a decade. You want to carve out a space where a few grants will be impactful and lead you toward your longer range goal. While you will want to stay away from crowded, overly competitive areas, keep in mind, some niches are untouched because they are inconsequential.

 

While identifying a niche is imperative for new investigators, it also is a sage strategy for experienced researchers who are changing/readjusting course.

 

Finding your own niche takes you on a quest:

  • Locate the most promising research needs and opportunities in your field.
  • Assess whether you have the skills to make an impact.
  • Look at the other players and judge whether you can compete.

In the Mentored Research Academy: R01 Boot Camp, we use the Research Roadmap for this task, i.e., a series of questions to assess the PI's readiness to embark in a scientific direction.

 

NIAID suggests networking early (e.g., conferences) to not only listen to the buzz and to brainstorm, but to get feedback on the strengths and skills necessary to compete. (Remember, this is a team effort - supplement your expertise with that of your collaborators.) Get opinions from people you respect (e.g., colleagues, mentors, NIH program officer) about research niches and opportunities.

 

This advice is adapted from the useful NIAID article, "Ten Steps to a Winning R01 Application."

supreme-court

Impact on U-M Inventors of Supreme Court Ruling on Genomic DNA

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling about whether DNA can be patented is not expected to significantly impact research being conducted at U-M, according to licensing officials at the university's Office of Technology Transfer.

 

The court's June 13 ruling in the case of Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. held that genomic DNA as it exists in nature - e.g., having the same nucleotide sequence as that within a person - is not patent-eligible subject matter. However, complementary DNA (cDNA) is eligible for patent protection.

 

The ruling was another in a line of decisions in the lawsuit relating to the validity of Myriad Genetics' patents covering BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic testing for certain cancers.

 

Myriad had identified the location of human BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes on two chromosomes, as well as the typical nucleotide sequence of those genes. This knowledge led Myriad to file a variety of patent applications in the mid-1990s, and the company later received patents claiming various DNA and cDNA compositions, methods, kits, primers, vectors, etc.

 

While the decision will force a change in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's policy of granting patents on "isolated DNA" gene sequences, the court agreed with Myriad that cDNA, artificially constructed DNA excluding certain sections (introns) of isolated genomic DNA, is patent-eligible subject matter.

 

What does this mean for the university? Because the ruling only impacts one type of patent claim ("isolated DNA"), "we do not foresee much of an impact to our research," says Robin Rasor, director of licensing for the Office of Tech Transfer.

 

Read more.

Office of Research
Our mission in the Office of Research is to foster an environment of innovation and efficiency that serves the U-M Medical School community and supports biomedical science from insight to impact.