Volume 14, Number 5: November 7, 2007
CAMPUS NEWS
University Cancer Research Fund Panel Sets Priorities
The governance committee of the University Cancer Research Fund has established first-year spending priorities for the state's initial $25 million investment at UNC-Chapel Hill. The fund was created this year by the North Carolina General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Mike Easley in July. The goal is to accelerate cancer research at the School of Medicine, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the North Carolina Cancer Hospital (now under construction). The fund will increase to $50 million per year beginning in 2009.
The first-year budget also includes funds for investment in innovative research ideas through a competitive pilot or seed grants program and in promising new researchers. To assure the fund's long-term success, the assembly will establish processes for ongoing research strategic planning and evaluation.
RAMSeS Enhancements
RAMSeS is pleased to announce a few modifications, including the release of the new Contact Finder. This tool will direct users to the person in the central administrative office best able to handle the selected issue. Two other recent changes in RAMSeS involve CHESS codes and subcontractors. Work on additional enhancements is ongoing.
If you have questions, or experience difficulty with these enhancements or with any aspect of RAMSeS, please contact the Office of Research Information Systems Help Line at 843-2594. As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to contact Andrew Reynolds at 962-4396 or Jim Peterson at 966-2542 at any time.
Identifying Funding Sources in Public Health: Workshop for Faculty
Date: Wednesday, November 13
Time: 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Place: 307 Health Sciences Library
The GrantSource Library and the Office of Research at the School of Public Health invite faculty to a hands-on workshop on identifying funding sources for your research, programs, and other scholarly endeavors. Susan Gramling, GrantSource Librarian, will provide time-saving tips for conducting a funding search and an overview of resources and services available through the library. Each participant will have access to a computer for searching.
Seating is limited to 20 participants, and advance registration is requested. Your registration will be confirmed by email. For more information, email the GrantSource Library or call 962-3463.
New OSR Grants and Contracts Specialist in Proposal Management
The Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) has announced the appointment of Cassandra Rogers as the new Grants and Contracts Specialist in Proposal Management. Cassandra comes to OSR from UNC-Greensboro where she was Assistant Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs. At Carolina, she will be responsible for all proposals related to National Institutes of Health grants, and her duties will be gradually expand to include other federal granting agencies.
OTD Seminar on Medical Device Start-ups
Date: Thursday November 15, 2007
Time: 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., Networking Session 6:15 to 8:00 p.m.
Place: 201 Chapman Hall
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) will be offering the seminar "Synecor: A New Paradigm for Med Tech Development in North Carolina," on a method for successfully negotiating the start-up phase for companies in the medical device field. No RSVP is required for this event. Please contact Jennifer Cole with any questions.
Technology Commercialization Seminar
Date: December 5th
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Place: NC Biotechnology Center
Registration is open for this seminar on SBIR/STTR technology commercialization led by Lisa Kurek. Topics covered include:
- Overview of commercialization concepts
- Commercialization Plan requirements for Phase II SBIR/STTR proposals
- Information on how to write a commercialization plan
- Strategic planning related to commercialization
- Commercialization considerations from a tactical perspective
Seating is limited and registration is first come, first serve. Fee of $79 includes full-day seminar, handout materials, and lunch.
One Medicine Symposium with NCSU Veterinary School
Date: December 12-13, 2007
Place: Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, Durham
The theme of the 2007 symposium, "Globalization and Emerging Risks: A One Medicine Approach to a Changing World," focuses on the effects of globalization on agriculture, public health, and animal health. The symposium is open to physicians, nurses, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, public health professionals, agriculture professionals, wildlife professionals, and federal, military, state, and local disaster responders.
For more information or to register, click here.
Advertise Your Postdoctoral Fellow Positions
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs provides a free online postdoctoral scholar job listing service for all UNC-Chapel Hill faculty. For more information contact Dara Wilson-Grant at 843-2430.
New Patents and License Agreements
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) reports that the university received two U.S. patents and executed five license agreements in October.
Ercole Biotech, Inc. has exclusively licensed the rights to certain intellectual properties covering a therapeutic program that was developed by Ryszard Kole's research team in the Department of Pharmacology as a treatment for inflammatory disease, such as arthritis.
Bayer Healthcare, Inc. exclusively licensed the rights to a novel form of an anti-thrombotic protein created by Darrel Stafford and Jin L. Chang in the Department of Biology. The protein is currently used as a hemophilia treatment.
An exclusive commercial license to software and copyrights in a work entitled "Nutritional Information in Medicine Series" was granted to PogoHealth, Inc. The interactive, computer-based medical nutritional curriculum was created by Stephen Zeisel in the Department of Nutrition in the School of Public Health.
To learn more about these new patents and license agreements, please contact otd@unc.edu or call 966-3929. For other information on licenses and agreements, click here.