Recently, President Mark S. Schlissel announced that he will recommend Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., to serve as U-M's next Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs (EVPMA), with the formal appointment pending approval by the Board of Regents in December. 

Runge is currently Executive Dean for the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he has been a faculty member since 2000. He is also chair of the Department of Medicine.

"Dr. Runge has significant experience and success in multiple aspects of health care and academic health sciences," Schlissel said. "His accomplishments as a scientist, physician, and leader are ideally suited to advance the UMHS tripartite mission of clinical care, education, and research."

Runge will succeed Michael M.E. Johns, M.D., a U-M Medical School graduate and former chancellor of Emory University, who has served as interim executive vice president for medical affairs and interim chief executive officer of UMHS since June and will continue his service through March 1. 

"I am very pleased to be selected to lead such a highly regarded academic medical center," Runge said. "I believe Michigan is uniquely positioned and has the best opportunity among academic health centers to not only thrive during this time of dramatic change, but also to direct change in academic medicine."

Click here to read more about Dr. Runge's distinguished background in academia and medicine. 

On Wednesday, December 10 the Medical School Office of Research is launching a new self-serve tool called DataDirect to facilitate Cohort Discovery.

Part of the Strategic Research Initiative, this tool enables access to robust, up-to-date data on more than two million unique patients from across the UMHS enterprise to inform study design and determine feasibility of eligible patients for recruitment. Future iterations of this tool will allow for downloading actual data sets, both de-identified and identifiable.

Requirements: 

• Your Level-2 password
• Completion of a PEERRS module

Training resources are available via a link within the tool (DataDirect-Help). This tool is new, and we are committed to its usability and success.

Please send feedback to [email protected].

Whether you're exploring commercialization opportunities, or you have an early-stage venture, a Personalized Funding Consultation with a Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) commercialization expert can help you plan, secure funding, and advance your innovation.

If you're a U-M Medical School researcher with a proof-of-concept technology or early-stage biomedical venture, a Personalized Funding Consultation can help improve your ability to license or secure capital by offering funding matchmaking and SBIR/STTR proposal support.

"This new service allows our team to work one-on-one with faculty to assemble a package of funding information and resources tailored to their unique objectives," notes Kevin Ward, FFMI Executive Director. "This is just another example of how FFMI is working to 'fast forward' medical innovations, bringing the University of Michigan one step closer to our ultimate goal of positively impacting human health."

Join the Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) team for "Working with Industry: How, When, & Why?" on Wednesday, December 10 as they welcome GlaxoSmithKline, Terumo, and other experts to discuss best practices for presenting your innovative idea to industry.

Wednesday, December 10

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

G063 and G064, Building 10

North Campus Research Complex

RSVP for this FREE event

Collaboration between academic researchers and industry can be complicated. Initiating conversation with potential industry partners can be confusing, or even intimidating, if you're unsure of how to begin the discussion. To help eliminate the confusion, FFMI has assembled a panel of experts to share their thoughts on topics such as when to approach an industry partner and what industry partners want to hear.

Panelists include:

• Michael J. Bishop, Senior Director and
  Lead Medicinal Chemist, GlaxoSmithKline
• Eric Sklar, Vice President of Business Development, Terumo
• Chris Fick, Licensing Specialist - Life Sciences,
  U-M Tech Transfer 
• Debra Grega, Associate Director of Business Development, Fast Forward Medical Innovation
• Stella Wixom, Executive Director,
  U-M Business Engagement Center

Are you a postdoc or graduate student interested in a non-academic career? Join Fast Forward Medical Innovation as they welcome Dr. Viktoria Greanya, Chief of Basic Research for the Chemical and Biological Technologies Department at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Dr. Greanya will discuss career opportunities at the DTRA and an alternative career path to academia.

DTRA is the U.S. Department of Defense's official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD). They recruit subject matter experts on WMD, and they address the entire spectrum of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosive threats.

Please visit their website for more information.

Thursday, December 11

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Conference Room #2515, BSRB

 RSVP for this FREE event

The Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) is currently seeking applicants for its two-year MICHR-K Award.

The award provides protected time for a clinician scientist to focus on conducting clinical research. Early career faculty with an M.D. or clinical Ph.D. who are interested in obtaining mentored training in translational sciences are encouraged to apply.

A Letter of Intent is due Friday, December 12 and applications are due Monday, March 2.

The purpose of the Letter of Intent is to provide access to proposal development mentoring for applicants. Click here for more information. 

U-M's Procurement Services Department has worked with Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) to offer the research community new reduced pricing for oligo synthesis. The new price reductions, which went into effect on November 1, range from 22 to 28 percent, depending on the scale synthesis. 

The new pricing information appears below, but please note that IDT does NOT offer the 50 nM scale of synthesis. Shipping is always free unless same-day shipping is requested.

Researchers can take advantage of these discounts by placing orders through M-Marketsite and using their shortcodes. Representatives from Procurement Services and IDT are available to answer questions and provide more information.

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT)

Jeff Williams, Regional Sales Manager

(800) 328-2661 Customer Care

(330) 284-3530 Cell Phone

[email protected]

www.idtdna.com 

U-M Procurement Services

David Gilbert at [email protected] or (734) 615-9304

Vidya Sarma at [email protected] or (734) 763-8701

The Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), which houses the University of Michigan's NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA),

is currently seeking a director for their Education & Mentoring Group. 

This is a faculty position requiring a commitment of up to 30% effort per 12-month calendar year. The position oversees transdisciplinary clinical and translational training programs (at the graduate, postdoctoral, faculty, and staff levels) and will identify priorities and provide direction for a professional team that plans and implements activities ranging from workshops and courses to degree and certificate programs.

Please forward a letter of interest and your CV to Nancy Calvin-Naylor, Ph.D., at [email protected] by Friday, December 19.

The letter should address your qualifications relative to the requirements of the position. Feel free to contact Dr. Calvin-Naylor with any questions you may have. 

Read the full posting here.

As in past years, the Biomedical Research Core Facilities will have special holiday hours to allow staff members to use their University Season Days. Each individual laboratory's schedule may vary during the holidays, so please make sure to review their hours here. 

Download the printable flyer of individual lab schedules to post in your work area and share with your staff.

Researchers, what's the big deal about missing a few days of post-op or tumor monitoring for your research animals?

A lot can happen in just a few days! 

Animals can become seriously ill or moribund; they can reach experimental or humane endpoints; tumors can ulcerate; and data can become compromised. In addition, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals - the standard required for institutions receiving federal funds - states that animals must be monitored regularly for signs of illness or injury.

In the case of post-operative situations, our U-M Policy requires daily monitoring for a minimum of 7-10 days after surgery, or until sutures are removed. In the case of tumors, our U-M Policy requires a minimum monitoring frequency of once per week, unless your protocol indicates you will conduct more frequent monitoring.

It is critically important that post-operative and tumor monitoring is done consistently, regularly, and as stated in your approved protocol. This ensures that your research is of the highest quality, that you and your laboratory take animal health seriously, and that you will be in full compliance with the Guide. It is only with your continued help and cooperation that we can bring out the best in our research and animal care programs!

If you have any questions about post-operative or tumor monitoring, please do not hesitate to contact the University Committee on Use and Care of Animals (UCUCA) Office via email at [email protected] or your Regulatory Compliance Associate directly.

We are always here to help!

The University recently finalized a business associate agreement allowing M+Box, a cloud-based file sharing and collaboration service, to be used for storing Protected Health Information (PHI) governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

"The service expansion of M+Box supports our shared goal of creating a collaborative IT environment that promotes research, teaching and learning while providing a flexible, cloud-based solution that also appropriately safeguards patient data," says Laura Patterson, U-M's chief information officer. "I think this will be a real game changer for many on campus whose work or research is health-related."

While PHI data may now be stored in M+Box, individuals should keep in mind that securing sensitive university data is a shared responsibility. They must still follow university and unit policies and procedures for handling and sharing PHI.

Although M+Box is currently the only cloud-based storage solution supported by Medical School Information Services (MSIS), a variety of other storage services are available to health researchers. MSIS Value Storage provides researchers with bulk data storage. The data is replicated to prevent site-wide data loss, and daily snapshots are taken to prevent loss from accidental deletion.

This service has two options:

• Maize is for the storage of restricted and protected data and is available only within the UMHS networks
• Blue is for non-restricted data and is available to all
  U-M networks

Learn more about MSIS Storage Services and how they compare to other storage options available on campus. Read other important points regarding the M+Box update here.

If you have questions about which storage options are right for you, contact the MSIS Service Desk via email or phone at (734) 763-7770.

Puzzled about the policy? Here, we will explain the difference between prohibited Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) work, and encouraged consulting work such as serving on a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

Consulting with biomedical companies related to one's expertise is encouraged under the Consulting for Industry and Expert Advisory Panels Policy; serving on an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP), however, is prohibited. 

Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) 

EAP is a term of art used by market research firms. The "panels" are actually lists of experts in various fields such as medicine and biosciences. These firms act as middlemen, bringing physicians and scientists together with the firm's clients, who may be hedge fund managers or marketing agents of biomedical companies. 

Such interactions are fraught with risk related to potential release of confidential information; they are not in concert with the Regents Bylaw, Section 5.12 on Outside Employment.

See examples of EAP companies here.

Consulting Activities

Examples of 'Consulting' activities that would not be classified as EAPs and are generally permitted under the policy include:

• Membership on a Scientific or Clinical Advisory Board,
  a Data Safety and Monitoring Board, an FDA Advisory Board, or being on an NIH Study Section, to name a few.

These groups typically meet on a regular basis to advise companies. The consulting is conducted under a contract with clear deliverables, which are generally defined as a statement of work, specifications, or other similar terms that explain the services to be provided under the contract (e.g., a written report or verbal advice). 

You should be aware of so-called Scientific Advisory Boards with many people who meet one time only, perhaps at an attractive venue, that offer paid travel and honoraria with little effort required in return; these are not permitted under several U-M policies.

Another prohibited activity is the brief 'Advisory' one-on-one phone call that offers honoraria without a contract and with payment that is disproportional to the information provided.

The University of Michigan Medical School sees great value in activities outside the university that advance and communicate knowledge through relationships with industry through consulting and other professional opportunities; we encourage you to do it!

If you have any questions on these policies, please contact the Conflict of Interest Office via email or phone at (734) 647-1576.

The U-M Office of Research is currently seeking nominations for its three Research Faculty Awards, established to honor and recognize the central role that research faculty plays in the intellectual life and work of the University.

Nominations are being sought for:

• Collegiate Research Professorship Award
• Research Faculty Achievement Award
• Research Faculty Recognition Award

The Research Faculty Awards Committee will evaluate nominations and recommend winners to the Vice President for Research. Awardees will have prominently displayed announcements and profiles of their careers and work featured in a fall issue of the University Record. 

Nominations are due on Wednesday, February 18. Awards will be conferred at the annual Faculty Awards Ceremony and dinner hosted by the U-M President each fall.

Additional details on selection criteria and nomination guidelines, as well as a list of previous winners, can be found here.

For more information about the Research Faculty Awards, please contact the U-M Office of Research at (734) 763-1290.

2014 award winners pose with Provost Martha Pollack.

The Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) recently

celebrated recipients of the 2014 MICHR Distinguished Mentor Award, which recognizes the efforts of University of Michigan faculty members who demonstrate consistent, high-quality mentoring in areas of clinical and translational health research.

Out of a competitive field of remarkable and generous research leaders who contribute enormously to the research environment at the U-M, MICHR selected six people who meet the highest standards for clinical and translational research mentorship. These standards include a demonstrated commitment to fostering

the intellectual, creative, scholarly, and professional growth of their mentees in clinical and translational research. 

Recipients of the 2014 MICHR Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award are: 

• Ronald D. Chervin, M.D., M.S.
• Amy E.M. Cohn, Ph.D. 
• M. Bishr Omary, M.D., Ph.D. 
• Kathleen A. Stringer, PharmD
• Pia Maly Sundgren, M.D., Ph.D.
• Brenda L. Volling, Ph.D.

Click here to learn more about each award recipient's research.

Awards were presented at the 2014 MICHR Symposium by Vicki Ellingrod, PharmD (MICHR KL2 and mentoring programs faculty lead) and Provost Martha Pollack. Before the 2014 awardees were honored, Dr. Ellingrod debuted a video celebrating mentoring, featuring several past mentor awardees along with their mentees.

As Provost Pollack honored the 2014 awardees, she underscored the themes from the video. "At a research institution like Michigan," she said, "the emphasis is on the scientific achievements as represented by the thousands or millions of grant dollars awarded, the number of first-author peer-reviewed journal articles in respectable journals, the patents filed, or new drugs approved, or medical devices developed. But the truth is, scientific discoveries and improving human health could not be accomplished without the guidance, knowledge, and constructive criticism of a mentor."

The nomination deadline for the 2015 MICHR Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award is Monday, February 16.

Find out more and learn how to submit a nomination here.