Houston Methodist Academic Institute
NEWSLETTER
Week of March 15th, 2021
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Announcements
The Methodist Association for Postdoctoral and Trainee Affairs Presents “Bridging the Gap”
The term “Bench to Bedside” is often used in translational research. However, not enough forums exist where clinicians and translational scientists discuss clinically relevant issues. To have these discussions, the Methodist Association for Postdoctoral and Trainee Affairs has come up with a new series, “Bridging the Gap.” The series will focus on different medical fields each month. Each talk will include a clinician at Houston Methodist to discuss a current disease, its treatment, and gaps in the treatment, and a researcher from the Houston Methodist Research Institute to discuss current research being conducted in order to bring a new device or treatment to the clinic.
Register for this event on Tuesday, April 20 at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm here.
Hang Ten: Employee Support Group
Hang Ten is open to all employees to provide a safe and confidential environment for mutual support and comradery. A chaplain will facilitate the group and introduce life tools such as mindfulness, intentionality and reframing.
Hang Ten sessions occur every Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.
Please click here for the recurring WebEx meeting link.
Meeting number (access code): 130 772 3081
Meeting password: agXmbtC76X2
The Houston Heart Failure Summit Virtual Symposium
The sixth annual Houston Heart Failure Summit, hosted by the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, will occur online on March 26. The educational activity, which is officially endorsed by the Heart Failure Society of America, will provide a comprehensive update on the prevention, diagnosis and management of heart failure with expert-led lectures, panel discussions, and case-based presentations.
You may learn more about or register for this event here.
Ensemble Theatre Shares Insights for Black History Month
In recognition of Black History Month, the Center for Performing Arts Medicine arranged a virtual conversation on Feb. 9 with members of the Ensemble Theatre troupe who discussed contributions that Black people have made to American culture. Watch the CPAM recording of this discussion. The troupe also shared a video with scenes about the Ensemble Theatre’s current production of "I, Too, Am America," a jazz-infused theatrical journey through historic moments of the African American experience. To receive a $5 discount to watch the play online from now through Feb. 28, enter the coupon code methodist5off.
MCTM Ranked #2 for Clinical Research Degrees
The Master in Clinical Translation Management (MCTM) program—a collaboration between
Houston Methodist and the University of St. Thomas—ranked #2 on the 2021 national list of Top 30 Master’s in Clinical Research Degree Programs on Intelligent.com. The MCTM program offers a one-year, online graduate degree in biotech commercialization and entrepreneurship that teaches students how to transform benchtop laboratory research into patient care. MCTM is accepting applications for its sixth cohort beginning in July 2021. Access the online application here, or email MCTM@stthom.edu for more information.
NIH Applicants and Funding Recipients Website
The National Institutes of Health Office of Extramural Research continues to offer resources and information for NIH applicants and recipients of NIH Funding. Here are the highlights for Feb. 2021:
- FY 2021 Fiscal Policies for Grant Awards offers guidance for NIH FY 2021 fiscal operations, including the policies on funding levels, salary limits, and stipend levels.
- A new NIH COVID-19 website was launched in late January to provide a central location for up-to-date, accurate information about NIH research and its strategic role in COVID-19 research.
- "Writing an Effective 'K' Application: A Video Guide" offers tips in a 25-minute YouTube video. Presented by Kay Lund, director of the Division of Biomedical Research Workforce, the video is designed for junior investigators and those who assist in the preparation of the scientific portions of an application.
To have NIH notices sent directly to you when they are announced, subscribe to the NIH Extramural Nexus News.
Accolades
R. Mark Ghobrial, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, has been appointed to the J.C. Walter Jr. Presidential Distinguished Chair.
Ghobrial was recruited to Houston Methodist in March 2008 from the University of California, Los Angeles, one of the largest liver transplant centers in the world.
His clinical and research interests include hepatobiliary disorders and liver disease, with a focus on hepatitis C, hepatocellular carcinoma; transplant outcomes and immunosuppression. One of the primary goals of his research is to increase donor tolerance to organ transplants and allografts. He also has a long-standing interest in the effects of Hepatitis B and C on transplantation patients.
He has been the principal investigator on several National Institutes of Health grants and published more than 170 articles in peer-reviewed journals..
Ericka P. Greene, MD, The Sumner Family Chair in Neuromuscular Research, associate professor of clinical neurology, and program director, Neurology Residency and Neuromuscular Medicine Residency, Stanley H. Appel Department of Neurology,
was the featured speaker for International Day of Women and Girls in Science on the Feb. 11 Connecting ALS podcast. Produced by The ALS Association national organization, the program asked Greene to discuss her inspiration to become a neurologist and the importance of being a role model throughout her career. She encouraged young women everywhere to achieve their dreams through perseverance and belief in themselves, and talked about the inspiration her ALS patients provide daily and the most promising advances in ALS research. Hear the interview here.
COVID-19 Resources
Houston Methodist provides a variety of tools to facilitate collaborative research projects related to coronavirus. The following resources are available at www.tmh.tmc.edu/tmhri/acma.html
- Elsevier Coronavirus Research Hub
- Curated COVID-19 Funding Opportunities
- National Institutes of Health Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources
- PURE Coronavirus Portal for Research Collaboration
In the Media
Dirk Sostman, MD, FACR, Ernest Cockrell, Jr. Presidential Distinguished Chair, and chief academic officer, was interviewed by Newsweek for a March 3 Newsweek article on the impact of the introduction of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on achieving herd immunity against COVID-19. Sostman said that we can easily get to herd immunity by summertime but that several factors could delay the achievement, including pandemic fatigue and the emergence of new variants. He also noted that herd immunity is not a situation where no one will ever get sick with COVID-19 again. Rather, it’s a situation where society can function normally without fear of COVID-19 epidemics.
James Musser, MD, PhD, Fondren Presidential Distinguished Chair, chair and professor, Department of Pathology & Genomic Medicine, and director, Center for Molecular & Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research and Wesley Long, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine and Randy Olsen MD, PhD, Professor of Clinical Pathology and Genomic Medicine, were interviewed for articles discussing Houston Methodist’s discovery of the Brazil and California strains of COVID-19 in the Greater Houston Area. The interviews highlighted Houston Methodist’s leadership in genome sequencing to study the spread of mutations in the virus and the identification of variants in the Houston region, including mutations linked to the UK, South Africa, Brazil and California. Houston Methodist leads most states in the number of genome sequences studied – more than 20,000 since our team began the research a year ago as the pandemic started.
• Feb. 22 KPRC-2 TV
• Feb. 25 KTRK-13 TV, KHOU-11 TV, Houston Public Media
• Feb. 28 The New York Times
• March 1 Houston Chronicle, Bloomberg, Becker's Hospital Review, Daily Mail
• March 2 The Independent, MSN.com, Yahoo! News, RADIO.COM
• March 3 World Journal, Medscape
Khurram Nasir, MD, professor of cardiology and Jerold B. Katz Investigator, was interviewed for a March 1 HealthDay article discussing a new study showing that statin medications are not responsible for the muscle aches often cited by people taking this drug. Nasir noted that even though the muscle symptoms are related to taking a pill, not taking a statin, doctors should not dismiss this concern. Rather, physicians should engage patients to have a conversation and show them data like this study.
New Employees
We welcome these new employees who joined the Academic Institute March 1, 2021.
- Jeonghoon Oh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurosurgery
- Cheng-Kai Shiau, Postdoctoral Fellow, CV Regeneration
- Obioma Ozor-Ilom, cGMP Specialist 1, Translational Production and Quality
- David Chang, Research Associate II, CV Regeneration
- David Kennedy, Research Operations Manager, Cancer Clinical Trials
- Caroline Fitzgerald, Research Coordinator II, Academic Office of Clinical Trials Operations
- Isaiah Carter, Research Coordinator II, Neurology
View postings for new job opportunities at the Academic Institute here.
Policy Reminders from the Business Practices Office
BP in Practice is an educational reminder designed to raise awareness regarding Business Practices hot topics, relevant laws and policies & procedures. Find archives of BP in Practice here.
• The March 2021 issue of BP in Practice focuses on the topic of reporting questionable practices.
• Use these links to access PDFs of System Policies BP01 and BP07.
If you have questions, contact the BP EthicsLine at 800.500.0333 or visit tmhs.myethicsline.com.
Publications
The publications with the highest impact factors posted in Scholars, Feb. 13 – March 8, 2021 include:
Prospective Multicenter Study of Early Antiviral Therapy in Liver and Kidney Transplant Recipients of HCV-Viremic Donors
Terrault, N. A., Burton, J., Ghobrial, M., Verna, E., Bayer, J., Klein, C., Victor, D., Mohan, S., Trotter, J., Dodge, J., Niemann, C. U., & Rubin, R. A. (2020). Hepatology.
DOI: 10.1002/hep.31551
Progression of Myocardial Fibrosis in Nonischemic DCM and Association with Mortality and Heart Failure Outcomes
Mandawat, A., Chattranukulchai, P., Mandawat, A., Blood, A. J., Ambati, S., Hayes, B., Rehwald, W., Kim, H. W., Heitner, J. F., Shah, D. J., & Klem, I. (Accepted/In press). JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2020.11.006
Is This a Good Time to Revisit the Tropics? Platelet Function Testing in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes
Kleiman, N. S. (2021). JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, 14(4), 428-430
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcin.2020.12.041
Microengineered Human Vein-Chip Recreates Venous Valve Architecture and Its Contribution to Thrombosis
Rajeeva Pandian, N. K., Walther, B. K., Suresh, R., Cooke, J. P., & Jain, A. (2020). Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 16(49), e2003401.
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202003401
Biomimetic nano drug delivery carriers for treating cardiovascular diseases
Zinger, A., Cooke, J. P., & Taraballi, F. (2021). Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine, 33, 102360.
DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2021.102360
If you have a featured publication, for example on a journal cover, please let us know so we can include it in our next issue.
Funding Opportunities
Paula & Joseph C. ‘Rusty’ Walter III Neurorestoration Program
NeuroSpark Seed Funding Request for Applications
The goal of the NeuroSpark Seed Funding is to cultivate an environment for multidisciplinary, collaborative research at Houston Methodist driving the development of restorative therapies for patients impaired by neurological disease and injury who currently have no viable option. NeuroSpark Seed Funding is intended to both build upon current research focused on neural regeneration and ‘spark’ novel interactions between our centers of excellence, leading to the generation of novel multidisciplinary approaches capable of reversing the devastating impact of neurologic impairment.
The Neurological Institute is seeking basic and early translational research projects likely to promote a deeper understanding of why the adult nervous system is limited in its regenerative capacity and/or investigate pathways or approaches driving regeneration and the restoration of neurologic function. Priority will be given to projects that break interdisciplinary and interlaboratory boundaries in areas of emphasis that include: 1) Regeneration and Neuromodulation, 2) Systems and Organ Repair, 3) Acute Neuroprotection and Imaging Biomarkers, and 4) Prosthetics and Robotics. Model systems may include, but are not limited to, neurologic dysfunction due to stroke, trauma, neurodegenerative disease, or cerebrovascular disease.
Applications will be reviewed by an outside review committee comprised of regeneration experts. Successful applications will be awarded up to $100,000 (direct costs only) for up to one year. Projects will be ranked based on innovation, focus on regeneration and restorative concepts, and potential for future clinical impact.
To receive the complete RFA and budget template, please contact Academic Affairs at academicaffairs@houstonmethodist.org.
Eligibility:
Any Houston Methodist faculty with a primary HMAI academic appointment is eligible to apply as a Principal Investigator. Additional Investigators, such as Houston Methodist non-independent investigators with a faculty appointment (e.g., research associates and instructors), are eligible to apply as a Co-PI. Non-independent investigators must have the full and written support of his/her direct scientific or clinical supervisor and an eligible PI to support the application. Additional investigators from collaborating institutions may participate as a Co-PI; however, the contact PI must meet all Houston Methodist eligibility requirements.
Key Dates:
Please submit complete applications to Academic Affairs by Wednesday, June 16, 2021, 12 noon (CDT).
The awards will be announced in September-October 2021.
American Lung Association Covid-19 and Emerging Respiratory Viruses Research Award
In 2020, the American Lung Association launched a $25 million, three-year initiative to end COVID-19 and defend against future respiratory virus pandemics. This multi-pronged initiative highlights the American Lung Association’s long-term commitment to lung health across their three areas of focus: education, advocacy and research. As part of that continued investment, the American Lung Association is launching a second funding cycle and call for proposals to address this critical issue.
Eligibility
• Evidence of faculty status and independence beyond the fellowship/training stage
• Institutional commitment showing that the applicant is eligible to be continuously employed throughout the duration of the grant term stated in the Department Chair’s Letter of Support
• Doctoral degree at time of application and faculty appointment or equivalent with demonstrated institutional commitment (salary support, research space as evidenced a Department Chair or equivalent letter)
Key Dates
• Letters of Intent (LOIs) due: February 18, 2021
• LOI Results. proposalCENTRAL opens to invited applicants: March 1, 2021
• Application deadline: April 30, 2021, 11:59 PM ET
• Outcome notifications are sent to all applicants: June 30, 2021
Click here for additional details regarding eligibility and LOI requirements. For technical questions concerning proposalCENTRAL, email pcsupport@altum.com or call 1-800-875-2562. For questions regarding awards and grants program, email research@lung.org.
DoD Broad Agency Announcement for Extramural Medical Research
The Department of Defense funding for extramural medical research aims to provide solutions to medical problems of importance to the American service members at home and abroad, as well as to the general public at large. The scope of this effort and the priorities attached to specific projects are influenced by changes in military and civilian medical science and technology, operational requirements, military threat assessments, and national defense strategies. This funding opportunity is continuously open for a five-year period, from Oct.1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2022, 11:59 p.m. ET. Access the announcement, including all details, in this PDF. Find the DoD proposal form template in this document.
CITO-PSOC Funding Opportunities
The Center for Immunotherapeutic Transport Oncophysics (CITO) is funded by the NIH to examine the physics of cancer and strategies to improve immunotherapies. Details for the following RFAs are available on the CITO website:
- Trans-Network Projects are small research projects aimed at addressing a challenge in cancer biology from a physical sciences perspective and leveraging the expertise and investigators from multiple PS-OP U01s and/or PS-OC U54s. Focus area(s) and collaborative teams for Trans-Network projects may be proposed by the teams of investigators, with appropriate rationale and justification. The budget is up to $100,000 direct costs per year, with applications submitted on a rolling basis.
- Scientist Exchange Research Program allows scientists (faculty or researchers beyond the trainee level) to conduct laboratory or clinical research with a host investigator within the CITO, PS-ON, or beyond. A main goal of the Scientist Exchange Program is to encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations between research groups. Applications may address any particular challenge and are highly encouraged to complement or synergize with the current CITO projects. The budget is approximately $10,000 in direct costs for up to six months, with applications submitted on a rolling basis.
- Trainee Research allows trainees (postdoctoral, graduate, or undergraduate trainees) to participate in short-term, interactive laboratory or clinical research with a host investigator within the CITO/PS-ON. The proposed research should be under the overarching theme of transport oncophysics, in the context of cancer immunology and immunotherapy. Applications may address any particular challenge and are highly encouraged to complement or synergize with the current CITO projects. The budget is approximately $5,000 in direct costs for up to 10 weeks, with applications submitted on a rolling basis.
All applications should be in PDF and emailed to cito-psoc@houstonmethodist.org. The PS-ON Catalogue of Techniques is available on the Synapse Knowledge Portal, offering additional methods for potential collaboration or training opportunities.
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