Month: November 2017

College of Nursing Seminar: Dr. Kavita Radhakrishnan

Title: “Making sense of self-management behavior data: How can informatics tools help?”
Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Location: Skinner Hall, Room 101

The College of Nursing is delighted to present the above talk by distinguished alumni Dr. Kavita Radhakrishnan, PhD, MSEE, RN. Dr. Radhakrishnan received both her PhD and BSN from UMass Amherst and is currently Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at Austin.

Her research focuses on use of technology such as telehealth, and digital games to engage older adult patients with chronic disease self-management. She has also been involved in research on large healthcare datasets using techniques such as natural language processing and visual analytics.

NIH Definition of Clinical Trial Case Studies

The National Institutes of Health has provided a number of case studies to help to identify whether a proposed study would be considered a clinical trial. Be aware that these case studies and related guidance will evolve over the upcoming year.

The simplified case studies apply the following four questions to determine whether NIH would consider the research study to be a clinical trial:

  • Does the study involve human participants?
  • Are the participants prospectively assigned to an intervention?
  • Is the study designed to evaluate the effect of the intervention on the participants?
  • Is the effect being evaluated a health-related biomedical or behavioral outcome ?

If the answer to all four questions is “yes,” then the clinical study would be considered a clinical trial according to the NIH definition.

Note that studies that involve secondary research with biological specimens or health information are not clinical trials.

Click here to review the case studies.

UMass Life Sciences Moment Fund (LSMF)

The LSMF Fund serves to spur inter-campus collaboration and strengthen the University’s research portfolio in clinical and translational research. By providing seed funding to outstanding faculty members, this fund facilitates the development of faculty-to-faculty networks within the University system, thereby leveraging the considerable expertise and resources that exist on the individual campuses. It is assumed that successful projects will attract additional funding from extramural sources.

Projects supported by this fund will advance a therapeutic, device, intervention, approach, etc., under study along the translational pipeline. The intent of the funding is to speed up the rate of progress to move a research project, clinical finding or other discovery into a broader network of activities, while maximizing the breadth of interdisciplinary skills applied to the research question. We are particularly interested in proposals that feature a clinical scientist working with a basic scientist.

More details can be found here.

Info Session: How to Become a CRF or ISSR Scholar

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Location: E20 Machmer Hall

Join CRF Director Maureen Perry-Jenkins and Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) Director Laurel Smith-Doerr for an info session on applying to be a CRF Family Research Scholar or ISSR Scholar. Prospective applicants for the Scholars Programs at CRF and ISSR will receive guidance on the application process, which program is best suited to them, and what reviewers will be looking for in competitive applications for the 2018 application deadline.

You can register for this session here.

Call for Applications: 2018 Macy Faculty Scholars Program

The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation is pleased to invite applications for its eighth class of Macy Faculty Scholars.

The Macy Faculty Scholars Program is designed to identify and nurture the careers of promising educational innovators in medicine and nursing. With support from the Macy Foundation, scholars will implement new educational innovations at their home institutions and participate in career development activities that prepare them for leadership roles.

Chosen scholars will receive:

  • Salary support of up to $100,000 per year for two years
  • At least 50 percent protected time for two years to pursue educational projects
  • Active mentorship by a senior faculty member at their institution
  • Access to the program’s National Advisory Committee
  • Opportunities to participate in the Macy Faculty Scholars alumni network and attend the Annual Macy Faculty Scholars Meeting

The deadline for applications is February 14, 2018. More information can be found here. An informational webinar for applicants will be held on December 14, 2017 at 2:00pm ET. Click here to RSVP.

Research Seminar: Addressing Activity, Anxiety, Sleep & Sexual Well-being following Breast Cancer

Tuesday, November 14
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Skinner Hall, Room 101

The Office of Research is pleased to present the following research seminar by Assistant Professor Rachel K. Walker, PhD, RN –

Addressing Activity, Anxiety, Sleep and Sexual Well-being following Breast Cancer: Protocol for a Nurse-led Biobehavioral Intervention Trial

Continue reading “Research Seminar: Addressing Activity, Anxiety, Sleep & Sexual Well-being following Breast Cancer”

National Science Foundation: Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants Workshop

Wednesday | November 15 | 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
538 Goodell Hall

National Science Foundation (NSF) dissertation grants provide up to $20,000 to support doctoral research, but the application process can be daunting.

The Institute for Social Science Research, the Office of Professional Development, and UMass Libraries Data Working Group  are offering this workshop to provide tips and tools for crafting a competitive application, including advice on navigating UMass’s internal submission process and how to tackle the required Data Management Plan.

Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is required through this link. 

Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement Published for FY 2018

The National Institutes of Health has announced the publication of the revised NIH Grants Policy Statement.  This revision is applicable to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2017. This revision supersedes, in its entirety, the NIH Grants Policy Statement (November 2016) as a standard term and condition of award.  Previous versions of the NIHGPS remain applicable as a standard term and condition for all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods that began prior to October 1, 2017.

This revision incorporates new and modified requirements, clarifies certain policies, and implements changes in statutes, regulations, and policies that have been implemented through appropriate legal and/or policy processes since the previous version of the NIHGPS dated November 2016. The document can be accessed here.