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In This Issue:
Thomas J. Gill III, Michael A. Gimbrone Jr., Kelly Arnett, Stephen Blacklow and Simon Simonian at the Department of Pathology’s Fifth Annual Research Celebration.
From celebrating research with colleagues at poster sessions to participating in open meetings about research communications, members of BWH’s research community have had a busy spring.
BWH research administrators came together on May 13 to talk about common issues and concerns and share best practices at the first-ever Research Administrators’ Retreat. While the overarching theme of the day was commitment to cultivating an environment of exemplary research administration and raising the standard of what it means to be a research administrator at BWH, the day was filled with a number of sessions that focused on topics ranging from budget forecasting to managing large, complex grants.
“We had a great turnout—with more than 150 registrants—and everyone was very excited to share useful information about topics that are of immediate benefit to department administrators,” said Barbara Bierer, MD, senior vice president of Research. “The feedback we received after the event indicated that people benefited greatly from the opportunity to share best practices and to discuss common problems and appreciated the chance to meet one another, building a community of professional administrators.”
Members of the research community throughout the distributed campus also gathered at open forums in May to discuss challenges and successes in communications for, about and within the research community. Social media, communicating with the media about new discoveries and preferred email addresses were just a few of the topics that researchers discussed with Bierer and Erin McDonough, MBA, senior vice president of Communication & Public Affairs.
The series of open meetings precedes a communications audit that will thoroughly examine communication challenges through focus groups that begin this month with members of the research community. The open meetings were meant to generate a list of issues and topics to address in the focus groups, with the ultimate goal of developing a robust, unified communications process on behalf of the research community within the BWH community and to the media.
Celebrating Research
On May 6, the Department of Pathology hosted its fifth Annual Research Celebration, providing the opportunity for researchers and their mentors to share current research projects and learn about other projects underway.
“The overall quality and breadth of the content was truly remarkable, for which we all have great reason to celebrate,” said Department of Pathology Chair Michael A. Gimbrone Jr., MD. “We can take pride in the dedication we bring to what each of us does, each day—be it clinical diagnosis, teaching or research. This dedication is what has made our department a special place to work, and will continue to distinguish it in the future.”
Kelly Arnett, PhD, and mentor Stephen Blacklow, MD, received the 2011 Gill-Simonian Prize for Research Excellence. This award was named for Thomas J. Gill III, MD, and is supported through the generosity of Simon Simonian, MD, a former trainee of Gill in Pathology at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. In addition, the following presenters were recognized as Posters of Distinction: Leona Doyle, MD, with mentor Jason Hornick, MD, PhD; Brian DuBoff, with mentor Mel Feany, MD, PhD; Georg Gerber, MD, PhD, MPH, with mentor Lynn Bry, MD, PhD; and Hongfang Wang, PhD, with mentor Jon Aster, MD, PhD.
BWHers also showcased research projects this spring during the BRI Research Excellence Awards on May 24. The semi-annual event provided 33 young investigators from multiple disciplines with the opportunity to share their research through a competitive poster session.
Recipients of the program’s Research Excellence Awards receive a $1,000 grant to use for scientific conference travel or for research expenses. Dual recipients of the peer award were Brandon Abbs, PhD, with PI Jill Goldstein, PhD, and Weiwei Gao, MD, with PI Omid C. Farokhzad, MD. Prizes were also awarded to the following researchers: Xinghui Sun, PhD, MD, with PI Mark W. Feinberg, MD; Yuexiang Wang, PhD, with PI Jonathan A. Fletcher, MD; and Yufei Xu, PhD, with PI Yujiang Shi, PhD.
For more information about the Research Excellence Awards, visit the BWH Research Intranet at http://bwhbri.partners.org/BRI/RAP.aspx
Research in the News
While there were plenty of opportunities this spring for BWH researchers to collaborate and share their projects with one another, many researchers were also busy sharing results with the external community, both locally and nationally.
One team of researchers from the Division of Sleep Medicine studying differences in circadian rhythms of melatonin and temperature between men and women found that the brain’s circadian clock cycles at a faster pace in women, which may help account for why women tend to wake earlier and are more likely than men to experience sleep maintenance insomnia. The findings were published May 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. Another team of researchers found that women diagnosed with atrial fibrillation have an increased risk of death when compared to women without atrial fibrillation; the findings of this study were published in the May 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
This is just a small snapshot of the research underway at BWH. To see a full list of press releases about research news, visit the News section of www.brighamandwomens.org. And, BWH Bulletin wants to hear from you—visit us online and tell us what’s going on in your lab!
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