Research News
MEDICAL SCHOOL OFFICE OF RESEARCH
June 2014
EVENTS 

Monday, June 23 -

Thursday, June 26 

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Forum Hall,

Palmer Commons

 

Additional details, including registration information, available here. 

 

 

Catch the Wave of

the Digital Medicine Revolution

Wednesday, July 9

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Research Auditorium,

NCRC Building 10

 

Details and RSVP for this event here.

 

 

Transgenic Animal
Model Core
Mouse ES Cell Training

Monday, July 14 -

Friday, July 25

Room 2578, MSRB II

1150 West Medical Center Drive

 

Please contact Thom Saunders, Ph.D., Director of the U-M Transgenic Animal Model Core if you would like to reserve a place in this two-week class. 

 

Places are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a $1,400 fee to participate.

 

 

The Secrets of
Non-Disclosure Agreements
 

Wednesday, July 30

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

South Atrium,

NCRC Building 10

 

Details and RSVP for this event are located here.

 

 

Researchpalooza

Wednesday, August 27

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Circle Drive in front of Med Sci I Building

 

 

Your Research Project Route Map Workshop
for Faculty

Monday, September 8

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

BSRB Seminar Rooms

 

Free lunch will be included. Seats for this event are limited. Please RSVP to reserve your spot today.

 

This event is sponsored by U-M Medical School Faculty Development.

 

 

Developing Successful Scientific Papers for Publication for Faculty

Tuesday, September 23

Two sessions:

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM or

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

BSRB Seminar Rooms

 

 

Write Winning Grant Proposals from the Reviewer's Perspective for Faculty

Monday, November 10

7:30 AM - 12:00 PM

BSRB Seminar Rooms

 

Additional details, including registration information, available here

 

This workshop is co-sponsored by U-M Medical School Faculty Development and the UMMS Office of Research.

 

 

AAMC Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Program for Faculty

Six weekly workshops beginning Wednesday, November 12.

 

 

SAVE THE DATE! 

 

Protein Folding Diseases Symposium

Friday, September 19

8:30 AM - 6:30 PM

Kahn Auditorium and 

BSRB Seminar Rooms 

 

 

Health System Headlines Research Seminars & Events 

FUNDING + AWARD OPPORTUNITIES 

Internal Submissions

 

BMRC Bridging Support Program for Biomedical Research

Deadline: 

Friday, August 15

 

Continuing

Medical Education Innovation Grant Program

Deadline:

September 8

 

Subsidy funds are available on a rolling basis from the Nathan Shock Center for the Biology of Aging for subsidized use of U-M Research Resource Cores for problems in aging research.

 

Details here.

 

 

Limited Submissions

 

Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research Medical Research Award

Deadline:

Tuesday, July 1

 

 

Pilot Programs

 

Phil Jenkins Award

for Innovation in Depression Treatment

Deadline: 

Tuesday, July 15

 

Michigan Diabetes Research Center Pilot/Feasibility Study Grant Program

Deadline:

Monday, August 4

 

GI SPORE Development Research Program

Deadline:

Friday, September 5

 

MTRAC Kickstart Award

Deadline:

Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis until available funding has been distributed. 

 

 

UMMS

Competition Space

A new online platform for finding, and applying for, internal funding opportunities through the UMMS and limited submission grant opportunities from foundations.

 

Additional Resources

RESEARCH NEWS 
QUICKLINKS
Fact Sheets &
Hot Topics

Find UMHS facts and figures for your next proposal!

MBECT Resources 

 

UMMS Office of Research

 

U-M Medical School 

 

IN THIS ISSUE 
 
Leadership 
  •  Funding
  • Policies
  • Training and Professional Development
  • Announcements
  • BioShuttle
    Transport Your Research Specimens on the New Bio Research Shuttle

    Parking & Transportation Services (PTS) is pleased to announce the launch of the Bio Research Shuttle, a new pilot service for the safe transport of bio-specimens around campus.    

     

    The Bio Research Shuttle

    (a clearly-branded van)...

    • Replaces transport currently done on university buses and is available to all members of the university community with research transport needs
    • Travels at 30-minute frequencies along a route focused
      on core lab areas
    • Operates 8:00 AM - 5:15 PM (Monday-Friday) --

    How to ride...

    • Please board shuttle with properly packaged specimen(s)
      at signed stop locations
       (see image above)

    Please also note...

    • Live tracking to view shuttle location coming soon
    • The shuttle route may be adjusted in the future
      (with advance notice) as PTS learns more about
      customer demand
    • Campus bus service should be used for return trips
      where specimen transport is not required
       

    PTS will be collecting information during this pilot phase to determine how best to continue serving the research community

    at U-M.

     

    Click here for more information about the Bio Research Shuttle.

    MiChart
    MiChart Go Live: The First Five Days for Research

     

    At 4:05 AM on Saturday, June 7, MiChart went live in three primary hospitals including adult, pediatric and women's, infusion areas, 40+ hospital outpatient departments, and 74 operating rooms; 990 beds in all.

     

    Additionally, the go live has impacted the way 15,000 users who play a role in patient care at UMHS function. Research at UMHS has been part of this transformational change as well.  

     

    Here are some statistics regarding the cutover as it pertains

    to research at U-M: 

    • Starting on Thursday, May 15, 600+ Research
      Chemotherapy plans were loaded into MiChart-Beacon
    • 1000+ Chemotherapy Research treatment plans were built 
    • 60+ Non-chemotherapy Research order sets were built
    • ~100 Investigational medication doses have been prepared and dispensed from the Investigational Drug Pharmacy
    • The Michigan Clinical Research Unit (MCRU) has
      treated 
      10+ new research subjects on five studies

    This change will transform how research is conducted at UMHS.  Staff from MiChart, Medical Center Information Technology (MCIT), Pharmacy, Cancer Center, and MCRU have all pulled together to develop the system, prepare the organization, and orchestrate an incredibly smooth MiChart Go Live.

     

    To all who have contributed to this success; from our investigators, study teams, clinical staff, super users, and our technical and support staff; thanks and kudos for making this a success. Last but not least, we want to thank our research subjects; for without them new discovery would not be possible.

     

    Thank you again for your leadership and support during this journey. Go Blue!

     

    Questions?

    If you have issues related to MiChart Research, please speak to a Super User of At-the-Elbow (ATE) or call the MCIT Support Desk at (734) 936-8000. We are here to help!

    Biorepository
    UMHS Central Biorepository Inviting Applications for Pilot Program
    Applications for Second Round Pilot Program 
    due Friday, June 20

    The UMHS Central Biorepository (CBR), part of the U-M Medical School's Strategic Research Initiative, is expanding operations to include a second round of pilot projects.  

     

    The CBR is currently in the "build" phase, and working with four existing pilot programs to establish standardized operations and policy creation for the Biorepository.

     

    We are inviting additional researchers to assist us further in developing Biorepository policies and procedures. These new research programs will be considered a second wave of pilot projects, and will be limited in number. 

     

    Benefits of pilot participation include:

    • "Outsourced" management of biorepository operations
    • Dedicated, expert staff
    • Regulated, secure environment for storage of human biological materials
    • 24/7 monitoring of storage conditions
    • Standard operating procedures for sample processing
    • Standardized Quality Assurance and reports
    • Biospecimen chain of custody management
    • Detailed biospecimen annotation
    • Reduced recharge rates initially 

    To become a new pilot program, please apply to the UMHS Central Biorepository Pilot 2 Competition on UMMS Competition Space.

     

    Please review this webpage before applying.

     

    Questions?

    Please contact Leslie McCormick, who will route you to the appropriate person, via email or phone at (734) 763-2520.  

    Researchpalooza
    Mingle with the Med School Research Community
    Has YOUR Office Signed Up for a Table at Researchpalooza?

    Hosted by the U-M Medical School Office of Research and coinciding with the annual UMHS Ice Cream Social, Researchpalooza will take place on Wednesday, August 27.

     

    Last year, over 60 offices and labs staffed tables and took advantage of the opportunity to meet with 3,000+ of their customers among the Medical School's research community.

     

    Has YOUR office signed up for a table yet?

     

    Organizations which have already registered to exhibit include:

    • Akadeum
    • Bioinformatics Core
    • Biomedical Research Core Facilities (BRCF)
    • Biomedical Research Council (BMRC)
    • Biomedical Research Store
    • Biorepository
    • Calendar Review & Analysis Office
    • Center for Chemical Genomics
    • Center for Molecular Imaging
    • Center for Oral Health Research
    • Center for Structural Biology
    • Center for the Discovery of New Medicines
    • Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center
    • Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program
    • Coulter Translational Research Project
    • CVC Clinical Research Group
    • CVC Research Core
    • CVC Research Recruitment
    • DNA Sequencing Core
    • Faculty Development
    • Fast Forward Medical Innovation
    • Flow Cytometry Core
    • Foundation Relations
    • Grant Review & Analysis
    • Honest Broker Office
    • Injury Center
    • Institutional Review Boards (IRBMED)
    • MCubed
    • Medical School Information Services (MSIS)
    • Mental Health Research
    • Metabolomics & Obesity Center
    • Metabolomics Core
    • Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care
    • Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR)
    • Microscopy & Image Analysis Laboratory
    • Physiology Phenotyping Core
    • Proteomics & Peptide Synthesis
    • Public Relations
    • Research IT
    • Taubman Health Sciences Library
    • Transgenic Animal Model Core
    • Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM)
    • Vector Core

    Learn more about the benefits of exhibiting at Researchpalooza and register for a FREE table for your U-M research organization by visiting the Researchpalooza webpage.

     

    If you have questions, please contact Ann Curtis at [email protected]

    OoRMove
    UMMS Office of Research Relocates in Medical Science Building I
    Dr. Steven Kunkel's Office Now Located in Dean's Office Suite of Med Sci I

    Looking for the Office of Research and Steven Kunkel, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean for Research in the C Wing of the Medical Science Building I (Med Sci I)?

     

    Dr. Kunkel has moved across the hall to office 4120 within the Dean's Office suite.

    In addition, when they are working out of Med Sci I, Teri Grieb, Ph.D., Senior Director for Research in the Medical School Office of Research, and Jessica Durkin, Associate Director of Administration for Research in the Medical School Office of Research, can be found in 4116.

     

    Dr. Michael M.E. Johns, interim executive vice president for medical affairs and interim CEO of the U-M Health System, and his team have moved into the former Office of Research space in 4107 of the Med Sci I Building.

     

    We look forward to seeing you in our new home!

    MICHRColorLines
    Registration Now Open for MICHR's "Coloring Outside the Lines" Symposium
    Symposium to be held Wednesday, October 1

    Please join the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) for our 2014 symposium, "Coloring Outside the Lines: Innovating and Collaborating in the Changing World of Health Research," featuring keynote speaker Pawan Sinha, Ph.D., Professor of Vision and Computational Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

     

    The symposium runs from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM on Wednesday, October 1, with a keynote speaker and three breakout sessions featuring three themes. The breakout session themes reach broadly to community engagement, innovation, global, and patient practice-centered outcomes research.

     

    In addition, a morning poster session will be held from 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM. Poster awards, MICHR's annual Distinguished Mentor Award, and a new Team Science Award will be presented during the extended lunch break.

     

    Clinical & translational research faculty and staff from throughout the university, as well as community partners, are invited and encouraged to attend. 

     

    Learn more or register now.

    MICHRScienceAward
    Nominations Sought for New MICHR Exemplary Team Science Award
    Deadline for Nominations: Monday, July 14

    The Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) will present its inaugural Exemplary Team Science Award at the 2014 MICHR Symposium"Coloring Outside the Lines: Innovating and Collaborating in the Changing World of Health Research," to one extraordinary research team that demonstrates innovative mechanisms to achieve effective leadership and team functioning, communication, and career advancement for all team members.

     

    The award focuses on teams conducting translational research at any point along the translational spectrum. The award-winning team will receive $2,500 to be used for team development activities such as workshops, conferences, or site visits.  


    Criteria for the Exemplary Team Science Award 

    Teams should have more than one investigator sharing scientific ownership and decision-making.

     

    Nominations will characterize the team dynamics and should include a discussion of topics such as: 

    • Effectiveness of team communication
    • Fairness of leadership, duty, and credit sharing
    • Innovation in conflict resolution
    • Successful advocacy and advancement of team
      members' careers
    • Success in reaching scientific goals

    Multidisciplinary teams and teams with complex compositions will receive preferential consideration.   

    Nominations will consist of the following components: 

    1. Nominator information:
      Name, departmental affiliation (teams may self-nominate) 
    2. Team information:
      Name, departmental affiliation, discipline, team role of each member (including key and non-key personnel)
    3. Biosketch for all key personnel
    4. Brief description of the team's research project
      (no more than 500 words) 
    5. Detailed account and description of the team environment, team structure, challenges and successes, including team formation and synergistic opportunities
      (no more than three pages)

    The MICHR Exemplary Team Science Award nomination is due on Monday, July 14.

     

    Submit your nomination via email to:

    [email protected]

    MICHRtoolkit
    Looking to Move Your Research Discoveries from Bench to Bedside?
    New MICHR Translational Science Toolkit has the Information You Need

    Are you looking to translate your basic science discoveries from bench to bedside but are not sure where to start?

     

    The Translational Science Toolkit, developed by the Research Development Core at the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), provides an overview of the necessary knowledge, resources, and connections that will help you transform research discoveries into applications that improve human health.

     

    Download the toolkit and get started on your journey into translational research.

    MInform
    It's Annual M-Inform Time!
    Deadline to Complete Annual M-Inform Update Thursday, July 31

    The Annual Outside Interest Disclosure period begins on Tuesday, July 1. All faculty members, house officers/fellows, executives, and management staff must disclose outside interests, activities, or relationships related to their work or position at UMHS.

     

    Even those with no outside interests are required to log-in to M-Inform to complete yearly training and attest that they have no outside interests.

     

    Students and others serving as key personnel on some types of federally funded research are also required to disclose. Staff members not otherwise required to disclose because they do not fall under the categories listed above must make a disclosure in

    M-Inform when they have a conflict of interest.

     

    The M-Inform Decision Tree (pictured above) is an easy guide to what should be disclosed. You can also email your questions.

    For technical assistance, please contact the ITS Service Center via email or phone at (734) 764-4357.

     

    SUPPLEMENTAL-SPACE PERMITTING THE FOLLOWING COULD BE INCLUDED:

     

    Definitions that may be helpful as you prepare to make disclosures include:

    • Outside Interest, Activity, or Relationship - Any paid
      or unpaid interest, activity, or relationship with an outside organization. Remember to include volunteer community health service. 
    • Related to Institutional Responsibilities - Any interest, activity, or relationship that relies upon the same expertise as does your ability to carry out your University responsibilities; as well as any interest, activity, or relationship that has the potential to influence the duties that the University considers to be part of your work. 
      In this regard, "institutional responsibilities" means your professional responsibilities on behalf of the University, such as research, teaching, professional practice, and institutional committee membership.
    • Outside Organization - An organization other than
      the University of Michigan or a federal agency. An outside organization can be domestic or foreign, public or private, for-profit or non-profit. Do not report salary or other support from research grants or contracts paid to the University.

    Information on the UMHS Policy on outside interests and conflicts of interest can be found here.

     

    Other U-M policies regarding conflict of interest are available in the U-M Standard Practice Guide and on the U-M Office of Research website.

     

    Information about U-M Medical School conflict of interest policies and review is available here.  

    MCIRCC
    MCIRCC Forms Partnership with NovoDynamics to Streamline Critical Care Diagnostics

    In a move to impact both patient health and the critical care industry, the U-M Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care (MCIRCC) has announced a new partnership with NovoDynamics, Inc. - a company that develops pattern recognition and predictive analytics solutions - to advance the efficacy of critical illness and traumatic injury.

     

    When treating a critically ill or injured patient, physicians and clinicians are confronted with a multitude of time-related variables including, but not limited to, heart rate, blood pressure, intracranial pressure, cerebral blood flow, brain tissue oxygenation, imaging scans, laboratory results, medical history, and patient feedback. And yet, as humans we can only determine the relationship between two variables unassisted. Furthermore, all this health data is typically stored and analyzed as separate, unrelated resources.

     

    Combined, these factors can lead to a delay in, or incomplete, diagnosis during the early stages of critical care and traumatic injury which directly impact patient treatment, outcomes and later, quality of life. To combat this information overload and enhance the situational awareness for critical care teams, MCIRCC has entered into a master collaboration agreement with NovoDynamics to accelerate the development and commercialization of the next generation of clinical decision support (CDS) solutions to improve patient outcomes, enhance the clinician experience, and reduce healthcare costs.

     

    Under the agreement, MCIRCC and NovoDynamics will develop real-time CDS solutions driven by adaptive learning algorithms operating on large datasets of patient information including medical images, real-time biosensor data, laboratory values, patient histories, and treatment outcomes. Ultimately, the development and commercialization of these cutting-edge technologies will provide critical care physicians and clinicians better tools to quickly diagnose traumatic injuries for the implementation of personalized, time-sensitive treatments.

     

    "This collaboration marries the strengths of MCIRCC/U-M's translational research, particularly critical care, predictive analytics, and signal processing, with NovoDynamics' expertise in advanced pattern recognition, image analysis, data mining and product commercialization," said Kevin R. Ward, M.D., Executive Director of MCIRCC. "We are pleased to join forces with NovoDynamics to aggressively tackle critical care trauma and the burden it poses on the patient, clinician, and healthcare system."

     

    "Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 and critical care represents a yearly cost to the economy in excess of $260 billion, that's nearly 40 percent of total hospital costs," said David A. Rock, President and Chief Executive Officer at NovoDynamics.

     

    This partnership is just the first of many collaborative ventures with industry allies who share MCIRCC's patient-focused mission and vision for delivering evidence-based "personalized" medicine across the spectrum of critical care.

     

    Though there is currently no dollar value associated with this agreement and details will be worked out as the partnership evolves, if successful, the results will be invaluable to critical care support and patient quality of life. The idea is to go from "bench to bedside" and deliver real world solutions as quickly and efficiently as possible.

     

    For more information, please contact MCIRCC Managing Director Janene Centurione via email at [email protected].

    ListenConf
    Explore Patient Engagement in Clinical Trial Design with Upcoming Conference
    LISTEN Clinical Trials Conference to be held Tuesday, July 22

     

    Please join the Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials (NETT) Network for a free one-day conference exploring patient-informed clinical trial design for neurological disorders.

     

    Patients & Advocates - Learn about contributing to trial design; take the next step in advocacy.

     

    Investigators - Learn how and why to involve patient advocates in your clinical trial designs.

     

    The conference will include speakers, a networking lunch, and small group discussions focused on identifying and engaging patients, advocates, and investigators to develop clinical trials together.  

     

    Tuesday, July 22

    8:00 AM - 3:30 PM

    4th Floor, Assembly Hall

    Rackham Building

    915 E. Washington Street

    RSVP for this FREE event

     

    Although this is a free event, registration is required as space is limited.

     

    For more information, please contact Deneil Harney via email or phone at (734) 232-2142. 

    PFDI
    Protein Folding Diseases Initiative Celebrates Successful First Year

    It's been almost a year since the Protein Folding Diseases (PFD) Initiative, part of the

    U-M Medical School's Strategic Research Initiative, launched.

     

    Since its kickoff symposium on December 13, 2013, the PFD Initiative has supported monthly seminar series to present developing research by PFD investigators and visiting leaders in the field. PFD leadership recently met with the Research Board of Directors to look back at the milestones the PFD Initiative has achieved in a short amount of time.

     

    The four thematic Research Hub collaborations and milestones are especially significant to the efforts at the

    PFD Initiative: 

    • Endoplasmic Reticulum - Through two subgroups,
      the hub is continuing to explore both calcium and redox regulation in the ER. It (and its subgroups) are featured in two publications and have been awarded two grants. 
    • Targeting ChaperonesThe hub has made significant progress working with Hsp90/Hsp70 to better understand protein quality control. It is featured in four publications
      thus far and has been awarded two grants. 
    • Protein TraffickingUsing diverse experimental approaches, the hub is researching potential therapies centered on protein trafficking. It is featured in seven publications thus far and has been awarded five grants.
    • AD, Metabolism, and AmyloidThe metabolism
      subgroup of the hub is testing the effects of dietary manipulations on cognitive function in aged mice.
      The amyloid drug discovery subgroup has begun testing compounds in neurons. The combined subgroups are featured in four publications thus far and have been
      awarded three grants.

    After a very successful kickoff during FY13, the PFD Initiative is continuing to grow with very exciting ventures for FY14. In addition to recruiting new PFD affiliate investigators and establishing an ongoing partnership with the UMHS Development Office, the initiative will also continue to promote and develop the Resource Center and the Research Hubs

     

    The PFD Initiative will also host its first annual symposium, "Protein Homeostasis and Metabolic Diseases," on Friday, September 19. Stay tuned for more information! 

    SharpFocus
    11th Hour Shuffle: What if I Need to Send Late Grant Application Materials to NIH?
    Sharpening Your 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.)  

     

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) allows you to send only certain materials after you apply. These materials must be sent AT LEAST ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE of the study section meeting.
     
    Permitted materials include:
    • Revised budget page(s)
      (e.g., change in budget request due to new funding or institutional acquisition of equipment)
    • Biographical sketches
      (e.g., change in senior/key personnel due to the hiring, replacement, or loss of an investigator)
    • Letters of support or collaboration resulting from a change
      in senior/key personnel due to the hiring, replacement,
      or loss of an investigator
    • Adjustments resulting from natural disasters
      (e.g., loss of an animal colony)
    • Adjustments resulting from change of institution
      (e.g., Principal Investigator moves to another university)
    • News of an article accepted for publication
      (a copy of the article should not be sent)
    • News of a professional promotion or positive tenure
      decision for any Principal Investigators or key personnel
    Use the usual forms, create a PDF, inform your department research administrator, and include U-M's authorized organizational representative's signature (i.e., work with your Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Project Representative).

    NIH limits late materials for investigator-initiated applications to mostly non-scientific items, and prohibits these late application materials:
    • Information that could be used to circumvent page limits
    • Updated Specific Aims or Research Strategy pages
    • Late-breaking research findings
    • Supplemental pages -- information not contained in the existing application
    • New letters of support or collaboration that do not result from a change in senior/key personnel due to the
      loss of an investigator
    For more information, review the NIH Policy on Post-Submission Application Materials.             
    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.