NIH Peer Review and Grant Compliance Workshop Scheduled Dec. 9

All BSOM medical students are invited to attend a workshop on “NIH Peer Review and Compliance Issues” on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 from 1:00–3:00 p.m. in 101 White Hall (Gandhi Auditorium). The workshop is sponsored by theOffice of Research Affairs and the WSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP).

This workshop will be of interest to faculty, residents, advanced graduate and medical students, and others involved in or likely to become involved in the submission of NIH research grants and/or in the administration of funded proposals. Although focused on NIH grants, the compliance topics will be of interest to all extramurally funded investigators. The workshop will include brief presentations and opportunity for discussion of issues including the new NIH scoring system, new page limits, and grant compliance.

Everyone is welcome, but if you wish to attend, please RSVP to Mark Willis (mark.willis@wright.edu; 775 3814) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday December 4.

NIH Peer Review and Grant Compliance program:

• 1:00-1:25 p.m.: Changes in page limits for NIH grant applications – Robert Fyffe
• 1:25-1:45 p.m.: Enhancing Peer Review – the “1-9” scoring system – Robert Fyffe
• 1:45–2:30 p.m.: Grant Compliance Ellen Reinsch Friese & Robert Fyffe
• 2:30 – 3:00 p.m.: Final discussion and wrap-up

Please download this announcement (PDF) to post where your classmates will see it.

Research Opportunities in Pediatrics

The American Pediatrics Society and Society for Pediatric Research offer a medical student research training program to encourage gifted medical students to consider careers in research related to pediatrics. This program is specifically designed for students seeking a research opportunity at an institution other than their own medical school. Students selected to the program are able to choose or are assigned to leading research laboratories. Currently, the APS-SPR directory lists research opportunities at more than 300 laboratories in the United States and Canada. Each research experience allows the student to spend eight to ten weeks at 40 hours per week in a research environment. The program provides students with a stipend of up to $4,300. The application deadline is January 22, 2010. See the APS-SPR web site for application details. Further information can be obtained from the student research program coordinator at student-research@aps-spr.org.

Student Fellowship Supports Research in Medical History and Humanities

The American Osler Society requests applications for the 2010 William B. Bean Student Research Award, which supports research in the broad areas of medical history and medical humanities. Candidates must be currently matriculated students in approved medical schools in the United States or Canada. The successful applicant may be eligible to present a paper based on his or her findings at the annual meeting of the American Osler Society. The fellowship stipend for the coming year will be $1,500, and up to $750 additional may be available to support travel to the annual meeting contingent on submission of a paper acceptable to the Committee at the conclusion of the fellowship.

A letter of support from a faculty sponsor who will assume responsibility for planning and guidance of the fellowship must accompany the application form, which may be obtained along with further information from Paul S. Mueller, M.D., Secretary-Treasurer of the American Osler Society (mueller.pauls@mayo.edu).

Completed applications must be received by mail (not by fax or e-mail) by March 1, 2010. Notice of award will be made by May 15, 2010. See the Bean Research Award web page for more details and links to application forms.

Translational Research Lecture Probes Role of Human Gut Microflora in Pediatric Disorders

Translational research by Sonia Michail, M.D. (above left), and Oleg Paliy, Ph.D., examines clinical problems in pediatric gastroenterology using gene-array technology. [Photos by Will Jones/WSU Center for Teaching and Learning]

The Research Club will present the second lecture in its series, “Translational Research: From Bench to Bedside,” on Tuesday, November 3, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in Room 101 White Hall (Gandhi Auditorium) on the WSU main campus.

The faculty speakers will be Sonia Michail, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, and Oleg Paliy, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. They will be joined by Matthew Durbin, a medical student on their research team. An introduction to the speakers will be provided by Arthur Pickoff, M.D., chair of WSU’s Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health.

Drs. Michail and Paliy are collaborating on a series of projects that explore the role of microflora in gastrointestinal disorders of children. Their translational research is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more in Vital Signs (PDF).

Dinner will be provided on Nov. 3. Please RSVP to Adam Deardorff (deardorff.2@wright.edu) if you plan to attend.

Research Club Handouts

You can download two handouts (PDF) distributed at the Sept. 24  Research Club meeting: 1) a list of faculty research mentors in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and 2) Student Research Enterprise monthly digest for September.

Research Club Meets Thursday, Sept. 24

The Research Club will present a series of meetings this fall exploring the theme of “Translational Research: From Bench to Bedside.” The first meeting in the series is scheduled on Thursday, Sept 24,  from 12:00-1:00 p.m. in Room 120 White Hall on the WSU main campus.

The faculty speaker will be Steven Berberich, Ph.D. (left), professor and interim chair of biochemistry and molecular biology. He will provide an overview of translational research at Wright State and discuss his lab’s translational work with tumors and the p53 oncogene. Joining him in the presentation will be research team members Rebecca Tuttle, M.D. resident instructor of surgery, and M.D./Ph.D. students Kelly Miller and Kevin Kelley.

Dr. Berberich was the keynote speaker last March at the Boonshoft School of Medicine’s 2009 Central Research Forum. See the slide presentation (PDF download) for a preview of his talk to the Research Club.

Lunch will be provided on Sept. 24. Please RSVP to Adam Deardorff (deardorff.2@wright.edu) if you plan to attend.

BioOhio Extends Student Poster Deadline

BioOhio invites undergraduate and graduate students in any field of the biosciences to enter the Student Poster Competition at the 2009 BioOhio annual conference on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at Embassy Suites Dublin/Columbus. Posters presented recently at other scientific meetings by student lead authors are preferred. Only 20 posters will be accepted, and prizes will be awarded for the most interesting scientific work, the most interesting commercial potential, and the best presentation of information. See the BioOhio Call for Posters (MS Word download) for submission details.

The deadline for poster submission has been extended to Friday, Sept. 11. Jack Bantle, Ph.D., Wright State’s vice-president for research and graduate studies, will cover the registration fee for any WSU student whose poster is accepted for the BioOhio competition.

BioOhio is a non-profit membership organization designed to build and accelerate bioscience industry, research, and education in Ohio.

HHMI Research Opportunities for Medical Students

In order to encourage more medical students to pursue academic and research careers, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) offers two outstanding “year-out” research training programs. The HHMI Competition System is now open for access to the online 2010 application via the program links below. Women and under-represented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply.

The HHMI Research Training Fellowships for Medical Students Program (Medical Fellows Program) enables medical, dental, and veterinary students from U.S. schools to spend a year conducting basic, translational, or applied biomedical research at any school or nonprofit research institution in the United States, except at  the NIH in Bethesda, MD. For the 2010-2011 program year, Fellows will receive a stipend of $27,000, a fellow’s allowance of $5,500 that may be used for health care and other expenses and a $5,500 research allowance. The application deadline is January 11, 2010. For further information, visit: www.hhmi.org/medfellowships.

The HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program (Cloister Program) enables medical, dental, and veterinary students from U.S. schools to spend 9 to 12 months conducting basic, translational, or applied biomedical research in one of the many laboratories on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Novel aspects of this program include housing for all Scholars together on the NIH campus, and student selection of preceptor and research project after acceptance into the program. For the 2010-2011 program year, Scholars will receive annual compensation of $27,000, health insurance, moving expense reimbursement, and numerous other benefits. The application deadline is January 10, 2010. For further information, visit: www.hhmi.org/cloister.

New Application Cycle Opens Sept. 1 For NIH Loan Repayment Program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) fosters the careers of thousands of scientific researchers through its extramural Loan Repayment Programs (LRP). The LRP’s two-year award repays up to $35,000 per year of educational loan debt for individuals who commit to conducting two years of qualified biomedical or behavioral research at a nonprofit or government institution. The five extramural LRPs are Clinical Research, Pediatric Research, Health Disparities Research, Contraception and Infertility Research, and Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds. The 2010 application cycle opens Sept. 1 and closes Dec. 1.

Each year, approximately 1,600 research scientists benefit from the more than $70 million NIH invests in their careers through extramural LRPs. On average, nearly 40 percent of all new LRP applications are funded, and the awards are renewable.

“Medical school graduates are often overwhelmed by student loan debt, and through this financial assistance, we provide professionals with the opportunity to pursue careers of their choice,” said Sherry Mills, M.D., M.P.H., acting director of the NIH Division of Loan Repayment. “Our program is a key component in retaining and growing a wide-ranging pool of clinical researchers.”

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average loan debt of medical school graduates in the class of 2008 was $154,607. The NIH started this program in 2001, and since its inception, NIH has made approximately 7,500 awards that total more than $347 million in loan repayment funds.

Initial evaluation has shown that participants in this program stay in research careers longer, apply for and receive more research grants, and become independent investigators more frequently than their peers who do not receive LRP funding. During the 2009 application cycle, applicants said that their mentors and colleagues were key to making them aware of and encouraging them to apply to the program.

To qualify for the LRPs, applicants must generally possess a doctoral-level degree (with the exception of the Contraception and Infertility Research LRP); devote at least 20 hours per week to qualifying research funded by a domestic nonprofit organization or federal, state, or local government entity; have qualifying educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base salary; and be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident.

Visit www.lrp.nih.gov for more details and to apply.

AMA Foundation 2010 Seed Grant Program

The AMA Foundation sponsors a seed grant research program to encourage medical students, residents and physician fellows to enter the research field. The program provides grants to help them conduct small basic science, applied, or clinical research projects. These funds are intended to round out new project budgets rather than sustain current initiatives. In 2010, the foundation will award $2,500 grants.  The application deadline for the 2010 program is December 11, 2009. See the AMA Foundation web page for details. Application forms can be downloaded beginning in September.