Research INKlings February 2014

Drug Discovery Symposium

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Charles Smith, PhD, Professor in the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences; Michael Rusnak, Research Development Foundation Director; Patrick Woster, PhD, Professor, Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and Director of the Drug Design and Synthesis Core; and Thomas Finnegan, Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,

The second session was dedicated to showcasing nine innovative ideas, biological targets, and/or potential drug discovery projects from the ongoing research at MUSC.

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Besim Ogretmen, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was awarded the $10K pilot grant for the best overall drug discovery pitch. The South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute provided support for the research prize and the meeting refreshments. The afternoon session provided a great way for faculty to learn about a variety of research being conducted at MUSC.

Drug Discovery investigators at MUSC are striving to expand contributions to improve medicines for patients.

RESEARCH INKLINGS

Dr. Rick Schnellmann Ms. Karen Lackey Dr. Larry Olanoff Dr. Chuck Smith Dr. Pat Woster

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The South Carolina College of Pharmacy hosted a Drug Discovery Symposium on January 8, 2014. Dr. Rick Schnellmann, professor and chair of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, welcomed faculty to the first annual scientific meeting to bring together innovative ideas for drug discovery across multiple disciplines and therapeutic areas.

Ms. Karen Lackey, industry expert, shared information on the drug discovery process and its integration into academic research. Other speakers for the morning session included: Lawrence S. Olanoff, MD, PhD, Special Advisor to the President;

Inside Research INKlings

§ P2 - NIDCR Career Research Award § P3 - CRI Officer

§ P5 - Dana Foundation Award § P6 - NSF Policies & Procedures

§ P7 - CODM Scholars Day

§ P2 - NAI Fellow

§ P8 - Innovation Summit, SBIR Conference

§ P4 - Founding PHS Chair

§ P6 - OMB Circulars

§ P8 - Patents 101

§ P7 - Just Symposium

§ P7 – Genomic Medicine

Research INKlings February 2014

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The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) bestowed the high honor of Fellow to Dr. John N. Vournakis, associate member of graduate faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina and Vice President for Research and Development at Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc. located in Burlington, MA. The academic inventors

and innovators elected to the rank of NAI Fellow are named inventors on US patents and were nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation. Dr. Vournakis has many years of management and administrative experience including his time as Senior Vice President and CEO of Genmap Inc., Vice President of Science at Verax Corporation, and Director of the Molecular Genetics Center at Dartmouth College. Dr. Vournakis has also been involved in numerous consulting activities for

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biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He has recently retired as a member of the Albion College Board of Trustees. He is currently a board member of the Foundation for Research Development (FRD) at MUSC. Dr. Vournakis earned his PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from Cornell University and did his postdoctoral training at MIT and Harvard University. Prior to joining MUSC, Dr. Vournakis held professorships at Dartmouth College and Syracuse University. The NAI has named 143 innovators to NAI Fellow status, representing 94 prestigious research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions. Collectively, the new Fellows hold more than 5,600 US patents. Included in the 2013 class are 26 presidents and senior leadership of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 69 members of the National Academies, five inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six recipients of the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation, two recipients of the US National Medal of Science, nine Nobel Laureates, five Lemelson-MIT prize recipients, 27 AAAS Fellows, and 23 IEEE Fellows among other awards. MIT Professor Robert Langer nominated Dr. John Vournakis for the NAI award.

Dr. John N. Vournakis named as a National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow

Outstanding NIDCR Career Research Award The Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) selected Carlos F. Salinas, DMD, as the 2013 recipient of the Outstanding NIDCR Career Research Award. This prestigious award is presented to an individual in appreciation of their lifetime achievements in pioneering research leading to significant inroads in oral health.

Dr. Salinas is Professor and Director in the Division of Craniofacial Genetics, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dental Medicine at MUSC. He also serves as Director of the MUSC Craniofacial Anomalies and Cleft Palate Team and as Co-Director of the Clinical Research Core in the MUSC Center for Oral Health Research.

Dr. Salinas is a dentist graduated from the University of Chile. In 1972, he was awarded an NIH-Fogarty International Fellowship in Medial Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His has devoted nearly 40 year to MUSC where he has developed his academic career including clinical service, research, teaching, and outreach activities.

Research INKlings February 2014

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Les Lenert, MS, MD, FACMI, has been appointed as MUSC’s first Chief CRIO and SmartState Endowed Chair in Medical Bioinformatics.

Dr. Lenert comes to us from the University of Utah where he served as the Ann G. and Jack Mark Presidential Chair in Internal Medicine, Associate Chair, Department of Medicine for Quality and Innovation, and Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Informatics. He earned his MD from University of California, Los Angeles and his MS in Biomedical Informatics from Stanford University. At Stanford, Dr. Lenert also completed a fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology.

A practicing primary care physician, he has a 20-year history of research and development work in

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informatics and predictive analytics. He was a pioneer (1990’s) in the development of web-based systems for patient use and online research studies. In response to the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Lenert led a team of engineers and computer scientists that developed the first wireless “location aware” EHR system for first responders, including the world’s first WiFi pulse oximeter and electronic triage tag, obtaining more than 4 million dollars in Federal funding.

In 2007, Dr. Lenert became the founding Director of the National Center for Public Health Informatics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There he managed the development of key national biodefense computer systems, including BioSense (which merged real time emergency

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room data from hundreds of hospitals) and Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. He also led efforts to integrate public health data systems with the Nationwide Health Information Network.

Currently, his research approach is to help make health care safer and patient-centric through the application of cognitive modeling and predictive analytics. Dr. Lenert has published extensively on the application of data mining methods to medicine.

An internationally recognized expert in informatics, he is a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics and sits on the editorial boards of three leading journals in the field.

Chief Research Information Officer, SmartState Endowed Chair in Medical Bioinformatics

Research INKlings February 2014

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John Vena, PhD, Appointed Founding Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences

The Medical University of South Carolina welcomes John E. Vena, PhD, as Founding Chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences.

Dr. Vena received his PhD in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo). He enjoyed a rich career at SUNY-Buffalo and served in several leadership roles including Director of the Research Program in Environmental and Occupational Health, Director of the Environment and Society Institute, and Associate Chair of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine.

In 2003, Dr. Vena was recruited to the University of South Carolina Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health as Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He remained in that role until 2008, when he was recruited to the University of Georgia College of Public Health as UGA Foundation Professor in Public Health, Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar, and Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He also served as Program Director for Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention and Control at the Georgia Cancer Center.

A fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the American Epidemiological Society, Dr. Vena’s areas of research expertise include cancer epidemiology, community-based research, environmental health, epidemiology, occupational health, and reproductive and developmental health. He serves as a member of the American Public Health Association, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. He currently serves as President of the Council of Epidemiology Chairs in the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. Vena serves on the Editorial Board for Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology, and has served as a reviewer for numerous journals including the American Journal of Epidemiology, the American Journal of Public Health, Biomarkers and Prevention, Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology, and Epidemiology. Dr. Vena has coordinated and taught many courses over his career, and has served as mentor to numerous graduate students.

Dr. Vena brings an excellent combination of research, teaching, and administrative skills to help lead the growth and development of this newly created department.

The Department of Public Health Sciences creates an environment that continually provides opportunities and challenges for novel and creative approaches and solutions to biomedical research.

Research INKlings February 2014

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Dana Foundation David Mahoney Neuroimaging Program Award Andy Y. Shih, PhD, Assistant Professor

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Neuroscience researcher, Andy Y. Shih, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, was awarded the prestigious 3-year, $200,000 Dana Foundation David Mahoney Neuroimaging Program grant. This translational research project will optimize the detection of ultra-small brain lesions in vascular dementia using MRI. This work makes use of a novel mouse model of microinfarction to guide the use of common clinical MRI methods. Dementia is an increasingly urgent problem in our growing elderly population. An estimated 5 to 10% of individuals over the age of 65 years are expected to develop accelerated cognitive impairment. It is thus essential to develop methods that can detect dementia early, such that treatment can have maximal

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benefit. Recent studies have shown that microinfarcts - microscopic brain lesions caused by blockage of tiny blood vessels - are strongly linked to dementia. With this grant funding from the Dana Foundation, Dr. Shih’s research results will have a direct impact on the ability to visualize a key culprit in the development of human dementia using high-resolution MRI. The data collected from this study will help clinicians better interpret the microinfarcts that are seen, identify vascular dementia, and implement clinical interventions before cognitive dysfunction becomes evident. The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research through grants, publications, and educational programs.

Research INKlings February 2014

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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) published the reform to Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in the December 26, 2013 Federal Register. The new guidance combines and replaces OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, A-133, and five other grants circulars. OMB has provided the following documents as supporting material to help review and understand the changes.

• Uniform Guidance Crosswalk from Predominant Source in Existing Guidance • Uniform Guidance Crosswalk to Predominant Source in Existing Guidance • Uniform Guidance Cost Principles Text Comparison • Uniform Guidance Audit Requirements Text Comparison • Uniform Guidance Definitions Text Comparison • Uniform Guidance Administrative Requirements Text Comparison

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published a new version of the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) NSF 14-1, effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after February 24, 2014. The PAPPG consists of the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and the Award & Administration Guide (AAG). A summary of the changes is provided for both the GPG and the AAG. Significant changes include: addition to the certification regarding Conflict of Interest regarding the appropriate disclosure process; reiteration that indirect costs are not allowed on participant support costs; small-scale pilot of a new environmental impacts process with a few programs, prior to NSF-wide implementation; and updated process for program income reporting. As a reminder, your proposal should address the intellectual merit and broader impacts in the

NSF Issues New Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, Research.gov Demo

OMB Publishes Federal Grants Reform Guidance

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Project Summary. A separate section on broader impacts needs to be included in the Proposal Description. Furthermore, when reporting Results from Prior NSF Support, two separate sections addressing explicitly intellectual merit and broader impacts need to be included within this portion of the proposal. The Research.gov Demo Site, recently launched, provides NSF awardees (specifically PIs, co-PIs and Sponsored Project Office staff) the opportunity to explore and familiarize themselves with preparing, submitting, and reviewing NSF project reports without actually submitting a real report. The Demo Site will help reduce user confusion around submitting a project report by providing a platform for practicing how to use the tool. Additionally, the Research.gov Team is developing an instructional video tutorial on submitting project reports to assist NSF awardees.

Research INKlings February 2014

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The Ernest E. Just Symposium will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014 at 9:00 am in the James E. Clyburn Research Center Auditorium. The symposium celebrates the life and scientific achievements of Dr. Ernest E. Just, a prominent African American marine biologist and Charleston, SC native.

Dr. James Jackson, Daniel Katz Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Institute for Social Research Director at the University of Michigan, will provide the keynote address titled, "Understanding Racial Group and Education Differences in Obesity."

For more information, visit the Graduate School website.

Ernest E. Just Symposium

Center for Genomic Medicine Scientific Symposium

James B Edwards College of Dental Medicine: 4th Annual Scholars Day

The James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine Scholars Day will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2014 in the Drug Discovery and Bioengineering Buildings from 9:00 am -2:00 pm.

The keynote address will be given by David T. W. Wong DMD, DMSc. Dr. Wong is Felix & Mildred Yip Endowed Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Director of the Oral/Head and Neck Oncology Research Center at UCLA. He is an active scientist in oral cancer and saliva diagnostics research.

Dr. Wang has authored more than 240 peer reviewed scientific publications. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), past member of the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs and the past president of the American Association of Dental Research (AADR).

The Center for Genomic Medicine will host a Scientific Symposium on February 26, 2014 in the Bioengineering Building from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Guest speakers for the conference include:

§ Howard Edenberg, PhD - Indiana University School of Medicine

§ Geoffrey Ginsburg, MD, PhD - Duke University Medical Center § Howard Jacob, PhD - Medical College of Wisconsin § Stephen Kingsmore, MB, BAO, ChB, DSc, FRD - Children’s

Mercy Hospitals & Clinics § Paul Meltzer, MD, PhD - National Center for Genome

Research National Cancer Institute § Steven Skinner, MD, - Greenwood Genetic Center § Mark Burke, MS - David H. Murdock Research Institute

To register for the symposium click here or contact Virginia Davis for more information at 843.876.2298.

Research INKlings February 2014

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The National SBIR Conference and the 3rd Annual National Innovation Summit and Showcase will be held in parallel with the 17th annual TechConnect World Conference at the Gaylord Convention Center in Washington, DC on June 15-19, 2014.

The National SBIR/STTR (Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer) conference is the most important conference specializing in helping small businesses learn about participating in SBIR/STTR programs. At this Conference, representatives from all 11 federal agencies with SBIR programs will attend, in addition to

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other SBIR/STTR experts and trainers.

National Innovation Summit and Showcase delivers the world's largest showcase of industry-vetted emerging technologies ready for commercialization. Don’t miss this opportunity to place your technology and your company into the TechConnect Innovation Showcase and Accelerator program to be matched with the world’s largest gathering of potential investment and corporate partners.

Register to attend the joint innovation events.

The South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute hosted a Lunch-n-Learn on January 15. Dr. Jesse Goodwin, SCTR's Technology Development Officer and Foundation for Research Development (FRD)'s Associate Director, provided an overview of the US patent system and described what a patent really does and why it is important. The presentation addressed what is patentable and how that is assessed, and the difference between patentability and freedom-to-operate. Additionally, she highlighted some other factors that are considered when the university decides whether or not to invest in a patent. The session briefly touched upon the university IP policy, Bayh-Dole, and the America Invents Act (aka First to File). For more information regarding technology commercialization, contact the Foundation for Research Development (FRD).

Patents 101, Considerations for Technology Commercialization within a University

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.