Neuroscience Chapter Announces 2012 Events

The Ohio-Miami Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (OMV-SfN) has announced dates for its 2012 programming.

OMV-SfN’s  Winter Business Meeting will be held Friday, Feb. 17, at Miami University.  The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. with 20-minute research presentations from the chapter’s participating institutions. The business meeting will follow. Joyce Fernandes, Ph.D., of Miami University will be inducted as the chapter’s 2012 president, and a new officer-at-large from Wright State University will be nominated. The meeting is expected to end no later than 3:30 p.m. Meeting details (room/map/agenda) to follow.

Leslie Tolbert, Ph.D. (above left),  will be the keynote speaker at OMV-SfN’s 2012 Neuroscience Day on Friday, May 18, at Miami University. Dr. Tolbert is Regents Professor and Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology & Anatomy at the University of Arizona, where she also is vice president for research, graduate studies, and economic development.

The Ohio Miami Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (OMV-SfN) is a nonprofit membership organization that promotes neuroscience research and education in the southwest Ohio region. The chapter’s sponsoring institutions include Miami University, the University of Cincinnati, and Wright State University.

WSU Internists Present Jan. 26 Translational Research Lecture

The next lecture in the 2011-2012 Translational Research Lecture Series will be held Thursday, Jan. 26, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Room 120 White Hall on the WSU main campus. The lecture is sponsored by the WSU Medical Student Research Club and the Internal Medicine Interest Group. All BSOM faculty and students are invited to attend.

The lecture will be given by two faculty from WSU’s Department of Internal Medicine,  Charlie Abraham, M.D., and Thomas Herchline, M.D. They will discuss current internal medicine research projects. See related readings.

Dinner will be provided on Jan. 26. Please RSVP to Adam Deardorff (deardorff.2@wright.edu) if you plan to attend.

Related links:

• Research Learning Community homepage
• 2011-2012 Translational Research Lecture Series

Request for Applications: 2012 BSOM Seed Grant Programs

The Office of Research Affairs announces five internal seed grant programs in FY 2012 for faculty investigators at the Boonshoft School of Medicine. The application deadline for all grant programs is February 1, 2012, for project funding periods beginning July 1, 2012.

Emerging Science Seed Grants fund new research projects with a strong potential for extramural support. Submission of an external grant proposal is a required outcome. Funding: up to $15,000. See program guidelines; download the application form (MS Word).

Genomics Seed Grants support new research projects that utilize core facilities at WSU’s Center for Genomics Research (CGR). Submission of an external grant proposal is a required outcome. Funding: support for a maximum of 30 gene array samples. (Funding reimburses CGR for materials and services and is NOT awarded directly to the principal investigator.) The principal investigator must have adequate funding to support all other components of the research project. See program guidelines; download the application form (MS Word).

Proteomics Seed Grants support new research projects that utilize core facilities at WSU’s Proteome Analysis Laboratory (PAL). Submission of an external grant proposal is a required outcome. Funding: support for a maximum of 38 proteome samples. (Funding reimburses PAL for materials and services and is NOT awarded directly to the principal investigator.) The principal investigator must have adequate funding to support all other components of the research project. PI’s may also apply for an Emerging Science Seed Grant to support a study’s non-proteomic research components. See program guidelines; download the application form (MS Word).

Early Stage Investigator Grants support faculty early in their careers as investigators who want to develop new biomedical or clinical research projects leading to extramural support. Submission of an Emerging Science Seed Grant proposal is a required outcome. Funding: up to $5,000, equivalent departmental matching support required. See program guidelines; download the application form (MS Word).

Medical Education Research Grants support rigorous scientific research in medical education that may not necessarily lead to future extramural support. Engaging the educational research community is a required outcome. Funding: up to $5,000, departmental matching support expected. See program guidelines; download the application form (MS Word).

Seed grant proposals will be evaluated using criteria based on the NIH Enhanced Review Criteria implemented in 2009. Modifications have been made to fit the scale of the BSOM’s internal seed grant programs. Reviewers will evaluate proposals using a 9-point scoring system similar to that used by NIH.

The BSOM Research Committee will review and score the proposals. Recommendations will be made for the top ranked proposals and submitted to the BSOM Associate Dean for Research Affairs for final decision.

If you have questions about the seed grant programs, contact Mark Willis, research coordinator (mark.willis@wright.edu; 775-3814).. If you have questions about using the application forms, contact Kathleen Friedman, administrative assistant (kathleen.friedman@wright.edu; 775-3018).

Open Forum Schedule Set for VP for Research Finalists

The Search Committee for Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at Wright State University has announced three finalists for that position. As part of the selection process, the three candidates will take part in separate open forums in January. After each candidate speaks for 45 minutes on the topic “Challenges and Opportunities for the Next VP for Research and Graduate Studies at WSU and Proposed Innovations,” they will answer questions from the audience.

The candidates and forum schedule are:

• Andrew Hsu, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies.
  Jan. 9, 10-11:30 a.m., The Rathskeller
• Robert Fyffe, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research Affairs, Boonshoft School of Medicine
  Jan. 11, 3-4:30 p.m., 156 Student Union
• Jennie Gallimore, Ph.D., Director of the Ohio Center of Excellence in Human-Centered Innovation
  Jan. 17, 3-4:30 p.m., 156 Student Union

The Vice President is expected to provide dynamic and innovative leadership in the quest for excellence in research, scholarship, and graduate programs with the mission of a comprehensive, research (high research activity) university. The Vice President will coordinate the activities and aspirations of the diverse constituencies involved in the university’s research enterprise, including the regional Lake Campus, and will provide strong advocacy on their behalf.

More details can be found at http://www.wright.edu/research/vice-president-for-research-and-graduate-studies.

NIH Launches Online Genetics Course For Social And Behavioral Scientists

A new genetics educational program(http://www.nchpeg.org/bssr/) will provide social and behavioral scientists with sufficient genetics background to allow them to engage effectively in interdisciplinary research with genetics researchers.  The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health, partnered with the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics to create the free, Web-based project.

Increasingly, scientific outcomes are not fully explained by genetic, environmental, or social factors alone or as independent contributors.  Instead, public health advances and scientific breakthroughs tend to rely on transdisciplinary teams of social scientists and genetic researchers.  This creates a greater need among social and behavioral scientists for an understanding of the complexity of the genetic contribution to health, disease and behaviors.

The overarching goal of the course, Genetics and Social Science: Expanding Transdisciplinary Research, is to improve these scientists’ genetics literacy in several key areas, broadly grouped into conversation, imagination, evaluation and integration.  The course will provide sufficient knowledge to support the integration of genetics concepts in the behavioral or social scientist’s own research and will allow for collaborative studies with geneticists. The course will provide users with the ability to conceive of progressive but feasible studies.  Scientists will develop the skills necessary to assess genetics research for validity and utility.

Because behavioral and social scientists have a very large breadth of expertise, the course focuses on core concepts that are applicable to most scientists, no matter where they are in their careers or training.  The course was developed by an advisory committee with experts from a wide range of areas, including addiction, psychiatry, anthropology, obesity, clinical genetics, and race and ethnicity.  The core areas are: variation (e.g., sources of genetic variation, biological pathways); gene-environment interaction; population issues; clinical issues (e.g., family history) and research issues (e.g., data sharing).  The course was developed based on adult learning theory, which focuses on active learning and self-direction, allowing for users to choose their own path through the interactive content.

Scientists using the online course can choose to learn through four case studies–tobacco, obesity, major depression, and breast cancer.  The interactive case studies build the scientist’s knowledge and comfort with the concepts in a stepwise manner.  The general structure for each case study includes a statement of the problem, an interactive review of the pertinent literature, a discussion of the approach to research in this area, exercises to develop the next research question, opportunities for collaboration and a discussion of the clinical implications.  Each case study will link to specific core concepts (variation, gene-environment interaction, population, clinical or research issues) to allow the user to determine his or her learning style.

See www.nchpeg.org/bssr to experience the online course, Genetics and Social Science: Expanding Transdisciplinary Research.

Source: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jan2012/od-03.htm.

NIH Hosts Career Workshop for Post-Docs

On behalf of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is organizing the 2012 Workshop for Postdocs Transitioning to Independent Positions on March 12-13, 2012, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

The Workshop is intended for postdocs; however, senior graduate students (within one year of completion of Ph.D. study) will also be considered, space permitting. The application deadline has been extended to January 6, 2012.  For more information and to download the workshop application, please visit: http://nigmsworkshop.org.

NIH Seeks Input on Clinical Center Collaborations

In December 2010, the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) released a report stating that the NIH Clinical Center is in a prime position to provide a critical resource to members of the clinical research community from outside the NIH’s own ranks. The SMRB recommended that the NIH CC find mechanisms to provide its resources and environment to extramural researchers.

On October 12, 2011, the NIH released a Request for Information, NOT-OD-12-005, in an effort to solicit input from the research community regarding the paradigms by which such activity as recommended by the SMRB be executed.

The NIH CC is looking to provide access to a number of different resources to researchers who are not being readily supported elsewhere. At this time, the RFI is not focused on specific projects or establishing the collaborative partnerships, but rather on designing the mechanisms by which extramural researchers can partner with intramural researchers and potentially access the following types of resources: equipment; goods, products, and services; patient cohorts; and, training activities.

One of the basic requirements of the program is that all proposed projects must be a collaborative endeavor between researchers within and outside of the NIH; this will be more involved than obtaining access to the CC’s resources.

The RFI is requesting responses that are focused on determining how partnering with the CC would help you, which resources are of greatest interest, what barriers currently exist to partnering with the CC, and what should be done to address those barriers.

All responses must be submitted by December 1, 2011.

The NIH Clinical Center describes itself as a hospital that is solely focused on clinical research, including the support of studies that are considered challenging and high-risk but with a potential for great reward and new breakthroughs.

More information can be found here: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-12-005.html

Translational Research Lecture Series Begins Oct. 27

“Balancing Research Careers” is the theme of the 2011-2012 Translational Research Lecture Series sponsored by the WSU Medical Student Research Club. The first lecture will be held Thursday, Oct. 27, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Room 120 White Hall. All BSOM faculty and students are invited to attend.

The lecture will be given by three faculty from the Division of Morphological Sciences and Biostatistics in WSU’s Department of Community Health: Richard Sherwood, Ph.D.; Dana Duren, Ph.D.; and Ramzi Nahhas, Ph.D. Their presentation is titled “Tackling Basic And Translational Research: Can You Do It All?”

“Our primary work would be considered basic research across a range of subjects such as craniofacial genetics, bone growth and development, and longitudinal analysis of growth,” Dr. Sherwood says. “We will briefly describe our work and discuss the possibilities, or lack thereof, for moving our findings from the bench to the bedside.”

Dinner will be provided on Oct. 27. Please RSVP to Adam Deardorff (deardorff.2@wright.edu) if you plan to attend.

Related links:

• Dayton Daily News article about Dr. Sherwood’s field work in Nepal
• Research Learning Community homepage
• 2011-2012 Translational Research Lecture Series

RCR Workshop Scheduled Oct. 31

Dr. Jack Bantle, WSU vice president for research and graduate studies, invites Wright State University faculty to a lunchtime workshop on “Introduction to The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)” on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. in E156 Student Union on the WSU main campus.

Wright State University supports efforts to provide education in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).  One component of RCR education is to clearly define “research misconduct” and clarify the process for handling allegations of misconduct in research.  This guidance has been incorporated into Wright Way Policy #2101, “Administrative Procedures for Allegations of Research Misconduct.”

It is the policy of Wright State University that the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research be maintained. These standards apply to all members of the university community (faculty, staff, and students) who may be involved in research, scholarship, or creative activities whether supported by internal or external funds.

Pizza and refreshments will be provided to workshop participants. Please RSVP to Jan Power (rsp@wright.edu; 775-2425). The deadline for registration is Friday, Oct. 21.

Proposal Writing Workshop Scheduled Oct. 18

Two of Wright State University’s resident proposal writing experts, John Mackay and Brandy Foster, of the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), will present a half-day and full-day proposal writing workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the WSU Student Union Endeavor Room.  The workshop is geared to anyone interested in transforming technical expertise and associated research into funding opportunities.

The morning session (9:00 a.m.-noon) is designed for anyone involved in the proposal process and provides pains-saving advice on how to efficiently and effectively prepare a competitive proposal.  The afternoon session (1:00-4:00 p.m.) offers additional guidance on how to find and evaluate funding sources and how to manage a proposal team and the proposal process.  Lunch is provided for full-day participants.

There will be a lunchtime panel featuring top researchers willing to discuss their experiences and strategies for winning NSF and NIH funding.  Our panelists, many of whom have also served as proposal reviewers, include Dr. Arthur Goshtasby, Dr. Haibo Dong, Dr. Thomas Hangartner, Dr. Timothy Cope, and Dr. Robert Fyffe.

Advance registration is required. The registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 14. For more information, contact Brandy Foster (brandy.foster@wright.edu; 937-775-5246 for more information.