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Research INKlings
December 2012
Inside this Issue P2
Halushka Research Day
P2
Research Funding Alerts
P2
Maximizing the Impact of the CAN: Workshop Summary
P3
Revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide
P3
National Health Disparities Conference
P3
Export Controls and Other Security Concerns Workshop
P4
iLab Solutions to Integrate Core Facilities
Research INKlings is an on-line newsletter prepared by the Office of Research Development providing research news, policy changes and other relevant information for MUSC faculty, staff and students. Research INKlings is published in August, October, December, February and April.
Perry V. Halushka 2012 MUSC Research Day Students and pre-professionals trained in clinical science, basic science and translational research gathered in the Harper Student Wellness Center on November 2nd for a chance to showcase their research, meet with others who shared similar interests, and practice their presentation skills as part of Perry V. Halushka 2012 MUSC Research Day. The annual event, renamed in honor of College of Graduate Studies Dean and Pharmacology Researcher Perry V. Halushka, MD, PhD, is in it's 47th year and provides a forum for more than 300 participants from MUSC, hospitals and institutions across the state to present their research findings or project to a multidisciplinary audience of faculty, staff and peers. This year, a total of 227 abstracts were submitted for presentation during the Perry V. Halushka event. Eighty-seven oral presentations and 140 in poster format were featured.
The Halushka Lecture was delivered by Mary Kennedy PhD, professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology. Kennedy, recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, gave the keynote address entitled, “Working to Understand Synaptic Plasticity at the Molecular Level.” In June 2006, Dr Halushka’s three children established the Perry V. Halushka Research Day Endowment as a birthday tribute and career devotion to his scientific research and education at MUSC. Faculty teams evaluated and judged each student’s presentation in comparison to other students within a particular session. The judges evaluated presenters in these specific areas: scientific content/subject matter, delivery and handling of questions. They also provided useful constructive criticism and guidance for participants in regards to their presentation skills.
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Research Inklings
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Halushka Research Day Maximizing the Impact of the CAN: Workshop Summary The newly developed initiative Cures Acceleration Network (CAN), a part of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has the potential to catalyze widespread changes in drug development. At the request of Congress, NCATS contracted with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to host a workshop to accelerate new paradigms for discovering and developing new drugs. This workshop, held in June 2012, brought together members of federal agencies, the private sector, academia, and advocacy groups to explore options and opportunities in the implementation of CAN. Accelerating the Development of New Drugs and Diagnostics: Maximizing the Impact of the CAN Workshop Summary is available to download.
The Office of the Provost and all six deans from MUSC’s colleges, plus other organizations including the MUSC Graduate Alumni Association, Graduate Student Association and MUSC Library, provided funding for this year’s event. There were scientific equipment and supply companies that exhibited alongside the posters. Other recognition goes to the MUSC Student Government Association, Harper Student Wellness Center and College of Health Professions for their support.
Faculty, staff and students who compose the MUSC Research Day committee coordinated this event. They are: Christopher Davies, Graduate Studies; Teri-Lyn Hebert, Library; Paul Jacques, Health Professions; Teresa Kelechi, Nursing; Matt Malcolm, Health Professions; Susan Reed, Dental Medicine; Yuri Peterson, Pharmacy; Debbie Shoemaker and Steven Kubalak (Chair), Graduate Studies; Emily Allen and James Atkison, Student Representatives.
Research Funding Alerts Research Funding Alerts (http://www.carc.musc.edu/ordalerts/) is an electronic notification service of biomedical funding information developed by the Office of Research Development (ORD). Research Funding Alerts subscribers receive a weekly email with a list of current funding notices customized for MUSC faculty. In addition, these funding alerts provide information related to internal funding announcements, changes in research policies, and opportunities for research training. Sign up to stay abreast of the latest research funding opportunities. Subscribe by entering your email address at http://www.carc.musc.edu/ordalerts. In addition to the customized research funding alerts, the Community of Science (COS), recognized around the world for its coverage and inclusion of funding from a wide variety of sources, is available to faculty, students, and staff. Recently COS transitioned to Pivot, an editorially maintained database of funding opportunities from federal to non-federal sponsors. Pivot offers the best of COS Funding Opportunities and COS Scholar Universe, along with intelligent mapping features that expedite relevant, reliable results. Take a second to join and see how searching, receiving funding alerts, and connecting with collaborators can turn into success with Pivot. Be sure to also take advantage of the free live and recorded training webinars, support resources, and more! It’s where funding connected with researcher expertise turns into success. For more information regarding how to find funding, please contact the Office of Research Development at research@musc.edu.
Research Inklings
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Revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide A new version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), (NSF 13-1) was issued on October 2, 2012. It will be effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. The PAPPG is composed of documents relating to the Foundation's proposal and award process, and consists of the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) for guidance on the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF. It also consists of the Award & Administration Guide (AAG), which guide, manage, and monitor the award and administration of grants and cooperative agreements made by the Foundation. The significant changes of the policies and procedures guide include: • Revisions to the NSF Merit Review Criteria, which implement the National Science Board’s (NSB) recommendations. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected. • Revision of the Biographical Sketch(s) instructions to rename the “Publications” section to “Products” and amend terminology and instructions accordingly; • Clarification on indirect costs specifying that, except as noted in the PAPPG or a program solicitation, organizations must use the applicable negotiated indirect cost rate; • Modification of Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of proposals to assist proposers in complying with the NSF cost sharing policy; • Additional proposal certifications must be submitted by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) covering organizational support of the proposed research, tax obligations/liability and felony convictions.
• The revised document referenced by downloading the link at www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf11001/index.jsp.
Export Controls and Other Security Concerns WORKSHOP On December 6, 2012, join the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting for the National Council of Research Administrators (NCURA) workshop. The program is titled, “Export Controls and Other Security Concerns.” The session will address export control issues and their applicability in the everyday life of the pre-award research administrator (proposal review, award negotiations), department administrator (field research trips, foreign travel, shipments), and faculty members (conferences, meetings, sharing of data). The session will also include a discussion of other national security issues (e.g., security plans, access to classified information) that may arise in contract negotiations. How to start from the very basics in building an internal export control management plan, training, will be included. This workshop is scheduled from 9:00-11:15 am in the College of Health Professions Building A Room 207. The expert panel for this session will include: Elizabeth Peloso, Director, Export Compliance, University of Pennsylvania; Lisa Mosley, Director of Research Advancement, Arizona State University; Ajay Kuntamukkala, Partner, Hogan Lovells; Randall Draper (moderator), Director, Office of Contracts and Grants, University of Colorado at Boulder. For more information and to register for this workshop: http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/vpfa/finance/gca/trai ning/ncuraregister.htm
National Conference on Health Disparities The Sixth Annual National Conference on Health Disparities is taking place November 28-December 1, 2012, in Little Rock, AR. Like the five beforehand, the 2012 conference will focus on policies and programs to reduce health disparities in minorities. Presenters will emphasize the role of social determinants, personal responsibility and prevention in initiatives that reduce disparities. From 2007 through 2011, the national conference in Charleston, SC (2007, 2011); St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; Atlanta, GA, and Philadelphia, PA, have brought together diverse partners, presenters and attendees to share their knowledge of health disparities. This program’s formal agenda and the chance for participants to interact in less structured settings offer opportunities to incorporate these understandings into policies and programs that reduce health disparities and enhance our nation’s overall health and well-being.
Research inklings
December 2012
iLab Solutions to Integrate Core Facilities Recently, the Medical University of South Carolina selected iLab Solutions to integrate the core facilities and resources on campus. iLab Solutions provides web-based core facility management software to academic research institutions. In collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Board of Advisors, research scientists created the software and tools for iLab solutions. iLab exclusively serves academic research institutions, including universities, hospitals and independent institutes. They have six years of experience of successfully providing research management tools, supporting hundreds of core facilities across more than 35 institutions. These institutions include: Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. iLab is designed to address challenges for all participants in the core service process as outlined in the graphic. In addition, the system provides benefits to the university as a whole as well as to managers of individual cores by saving time, improving financial control, connecting to other systems, and increasing awareness and utilization. More details regarding these benefits include: Saving Time • Cores can automatically generate recharge and invoices, for both internal and external customers. Charges can be posted directly to the General Ledger, eliminating data re-entry and improving data accuracy. • iLab automatically tracks time used and compares to time reserved. • Cores can easily communicate the status of their projects and post scientific data in a shared space, relieving the burden of providing ad hoc updates to customers. Options for grant validation reduce effort in managing inaccurate or invalid grant codes. Improving Financial Controls • Flexible approval workflow ensures all appropriate managers review orders before work begins. • Integration with institutional financial systems ensures only valid grants are used to cover service requests and ensures funds are available. Administrators have the ability to review and edit prices centrally across multiple cores. Connecting to Other Systems • iLab has recently developed an API (Application Programming Interface) to allow institutions to connect other tools (e.g., LIMS) to iLab to push or pull data between these systems. • Contributes to a single unified system of tools to streamline business operations at research institutions. Increasing Awareness & Utilization • A uniform display and search process for all cores in a central location ensures that researchers know where to find the resources available to them. • Core managers and administration have the ability to search people and invoices to identify regular usage of the cores and pending charge-backs, as well as mass email specific individuals for any variety of reasons.