Vice President's Message

Intellectual Property Issues: The Basics III

Disclosures in the Clinical Setting

Previous Monday Memos have discussed some basic intellectual property issues that university investigators need to be aware of in the course of their research. This third installment addresses some specific issues that arise in the clinical setting at Stony Brook.

In the first installment of this series, we attempted to clarify what qualifies as information that should be disclosed to OTLIR for evaluation as a possible invention. While most researchers are familiar with the fact that newly created substances, manufactured articles, and software, as well as methods of their use, can be inventions, many other less commonly occurring situations can involve the creation of intellectual property. In the clinic, there are some instances specific to the patient setting in which an investigator needs to contact OTLIR. As examples, when a clinical researcher submits an investigational new drug (IND) application or applies for an Orphan Drug Act designation, s/he may be disclosing protocols and clinically relevant information that could contain significant intellectual property. This is the case because the work leading to these applications may include commercially significant disclosures of new uses of drugs. Therefore, these applications need to be evaluated for potential new inventions. As a general rule, clinical investigators who are applying for a government designation for a treatment should be aware that drug or medical device companies will likely find these applications of commercial value, so the investigators should consult with OTLIR concerning these applications early in the process of their submission.

We strongly recommend, any time you have questions about your obligation to disclose information that relates to intellectual property or wonder whether you might need to disclose, that you contact OTLIR for advice. Its professionals have many years of experience. The OTLIR office is located at N5002 Melville Library (around the corner from the Offices of Grants Management and Research Compliance) and can be reached at 632-9009. Basic information is maintained on the OVPR Website at-
http://www.research.sunysb.edu/ottl/index.html

–Contributed by Chester Bisbee, Director of Technology Licensing and Industry Relations, 632-9009, email Chester.Bisbee@stonybrook.edu

Good News and Coming Events

News

Medical Center

Please welcome Steven L. Strongwater, the new CEO of Stony Brook University Medical Center. A rheumatologist and immunologist by training, Dr. Strongwater has most recently been Hospital Director and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at John Dempsey Hospital at the University of Connecticut. He will join Stony Brook on January 1 but be on campus intermittently until then.

Medicine

Professor David Brown, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine and Co-Director of the Heart Center, and his colleague Jeffrey S. Berger from Duke, published a study that shows the risk of death after angioplasty is twofold higher in women than in men. The study looked at 9,015 patients who underwent primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The results were reported in the November 1 online edition of the American Journal of Cardiology. The researchers found that the risk of death in women was age related with women younger than 75 demonstrating a significantly higher risk of death after AMI, and no difference in mortality for patients older than 75.

Events

December 4: "ICB&DD - BNL Mini-Symposium on Structural Biology"

The Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery and Brookhaven National Lab will be holding a Mini-Symposium on Structural Biology. The symposium will demonstrate the expertise in protein crystallography that is available at BNL for collaborative research. The symposium will take place on Monday from 12:45-5:15 in the Charles B. Wang Center, Lecture Hall 2.

Speakers include:

Iwao Ojima-Welcome and Introduction.
Daniel Raleigh-Overview of ICB&DD, Structural and Computational Biology Program.
Carlos Simmerling-Intro to Computational Biology.
Swami Swaminathan-Structural Genomics and the Botulinum Toxins.
Eswar Eswaramoorthy-Enzyme action: flavin-containing monooxygenase.
Designan Kumaran- Structural basis for catalysis and substrate specificity of amidohydrolases.
Chang-jun Liu-Structure and Function of isoflavonoid O-methyltransferases.
Allen Orville-Flavoenzyme Catalysis.
Huilin Li-Targets for anti-TB and Alzheimer drug design
Robert Sweet-BNL PXRR program overview.
Howard Robinson- TBN, PXRR Fed Exp Program.

December 13: "Office of Sponsored Programs Training Session on Grants.gov

OSP will offer a Grants.gov training session on Wednesday, December 13th from 10 to 11am in the OVPR Conference Room, Suite 5510 West, Melville Library. Peter Saal, Funding Opportunities Administrator, will take participants through the steps of a Grants.gov proposal submission from the download of the funding opportunity to the final submission. A Sponsored Programs Coordinator will also be in attendance to answer proposal content-related questions pertaining to Grants.gov. Faculty and departmental administrators interested in attending this session can register by sending Peter an email at: psaal@notes.cc.sunysb.edu. Seating will be limited. Additional announcements will be forthcoming regarding additional sessions and sessions geared toward Mac users.

Provost's Lecture Series

November 30: Les Paldy, "Trust–But Verify: Negotiating A Cold War Nuclear Agreement"

Les Paldy is a Distinguished Service Professor of Technology and Science at Stony Brook, where he has taught since 1967. Paldy's awards include the Distinguished Service Citation of the American Association of Physics Teachers and Stony Brook's Distinguished Alumnus Award. His interest in East Asian nuclear issues stems from his service as a Marine Corps officer in Korea. He will discuss how lessons learned during difficult Cold War exchanges with the Soviet Union might help solve the seemingly intractable issues over North Korea's recent nuclear weapons test. In conjunction with the Templeton Lecture Series. 4:00 p.m. Harriman Hall, Room 137

Wine Center Events

November 30: "The Winemaking Heritage of Italian Americans"

Back by popular demand, winemaker, attorney, and natural-born storyteller Sal Diliberto will offer a sampling of his gold medal-winning wines with reminiscences of the roots of his Italian American winemaking tradition. With a tiny five-acre vineyard in Jamesport on the North Fork, Diliberto has become the foremost "garagiste" to be astonishing critics and pleasing customers. Be prepared for his splendid operatic voice and famous meatballs. 6:30-8:00 p.m.

$55.00 for the first person $45.00 for every person in the group after that $40.00 for one person, for three or more events at the same location

Location: Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University Note: You must be 21 or over to participate in wine-tasting events. Registration and payment are required for attendance. Please register as early as possible, as space is limited. Please note that the Center has a 48-hour pre-event cancellation policy.

March 10-11: "33rd Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference"

The conference, "Engineering Innovations in Life Sciences & Healthcare," will be organized by the Department of Biomedical Engineering. For more information, a schedule of activities and to register please go to the conference website at:
http://bme.sunysb.edu/NEBMES2007/

Opportunities and Sponsor Information

NYSTAR Regional Partnership Program

PROPOSALS DUE AT NYSTAR BY February 5, 2007, 5:00 p.m.

Regional Partnerships (RP) are independent, not-for-profit economic development organizations established to stimulate commercialization through innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development and adaptation of new technologies. All RPs will be part of NYSTAR’s statewide network and provide capital and expertise in technology, finance, and business to assist New York State entrepreneurs and established businesses to overcome challenges and plan for growth.

Eligible Entities:
RPs shall include broad representation of the economic development and innovation community in the region, including but not limited to, small and large businesses, commercial lending institutions, venture capital firms, community colleges, colleges, and universities, research institutions, and workforce development organizations. A partial list of potential members can be found on NYSTAR’s web site. RPs shall also be comprised of local economic development organizations and, to the extent they are present in the region, centers of excellence.

Requirements:
RPs are expected to coalesce the region’s high-tech economic development community, businesses and entrepreneurs, private and public organizations, and academic institutions to help innovative companies commercialize new technologies and compete. RPs shall work individually and in coordination with other RPs to advance economic growth and business creation and expansion in the state. In conjunction with NYSTAR, RPs will provide funding to businesses and entrepreneurs to augment existing resources and help commercialize emerging technologies to assist existing businesses to be more competitive and grow high-tech companies.

Award Duration:
RPs will be certified for up to five years, provided performance is satisfactory as determined by NYSTAR based upon the goals and objectives of the RP program. NYSTAR shall certify up to ten RPs to represent the ten economic development regions established by the New York State Department of Economic Development pursuant to section two hundred thirty of the economic development law.

Go to
http://www.nystar.state.ny.us/regionalrfp.htm
for the RFP to find details and specific requirements related to this funding opportunity.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Young Scientists Summer Program (IIASA) 2007

Summer Fellowship in Austria for Graduate Students in Natural and Social Sciences, Math, Policy, and Engineering

Each summer, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) near Vienna, Austria, hosts a selected group of graduate students, primarily doctoral, from around the world in its Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). These students work closely with IIASA's senior scientists on projects within the Institute's 3 theme areas of Natural Resources & Environment, Population & Society, and Energy & Technology. The U.S. Committee for IIASA provides airfare and a modest living allowance for the applicants from American institutions who are selected to participate.

APPLICATIONS DEADLINE: 15 JAN 2007. PROGRAM DATES: 4 JUNE-31 AUGUST 2007

IIASA is an international institution, supported by the U.S. and sixteen other governments, that engages in scientific research aimed at providing policy insight on issues of regional and global importance. For more information please go to this site:
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

For a complete list of upcoming deadlines, please go to -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/fndopp/deadlcal.html

NIH Request for Information (RFI): Possible Page Limit Reduction For the Research Plan Section of the Research Project Grant (R01) Application

The NIH is considering reducing the current 25 page limit for the Research Plan section of the research project grant (R01) application. A significant number of applicants and reviewers have suggested that NIH peer review could be improved by focusing less on experimental details and more on key ideas and the scientific significance of proposed projects.  In addition, recruitment of qualified reviewers has become increasingly difficult, resulting in greater reviewer turnover and reduced consistency from one review meeting to the next.

To ensure that the NIH review process identifies the most promising scientific projects, they are evaluating the possibility of shortening the Research Plan section and focusing it more on ideas and significance. A committee has been formed at NIH to gather additional information from the external community and explore possible options. The committee would like your opinion, as an applicant and/or reviewer, of this potential change. Use the following link, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-014.html, to view the Applicant issues, Reviewer issues, and General issues. Responses should be submitted through the following special website: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfi_files/rfi_research_plan_add.htm . (Alternatively, responses may be submitted by sending an email to orosc@csr.nih.gov.

Responses will be accepted until January 5, 2007. The results obtained from the responses to this RFI will be available to the public on the CSR website. http://cms.csr.nih.gov/. Respondents will receive an automated email notification acknowledging receipt of their responses, but will not receive follow-up information concerning NIH’s assessment of the information received.

Inquiries concerning this Notice may be directed to NIH: Cheryl Oros, Ph.D., Director, Office of Planning, Evaluation & Analysis, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 3030, MSC, 7776, Bethesda, MD,
Phone: 301-435-1133, Fax: 301-480-3965, E-Mail: orosc@csr.nih.gov

-Contributed by Lydia Chabza, Manager of Sponsored Programs

NIH Confirms Plans for R01 February 5 Transition to Electronic Submission

In preparation for every major electronic submission milestone, NIH conducts a thorough analysis of lessons learned to date and current system status. After a significant review of all available data, NIH has confirmed its February R01 transition to electronic submission using the SF424 (R&R) form set. All R01 applications in response to the February 5, 2007 receipt date or beyond will require electronic submission.

Not surprisingly, NIH expects the R01 transition to set new application submission records at Grants.gov and within eRA Commons. NIH is confident that the electronic systems can handle the load within published service targets (two days to process the application in Grants.gov and one additional day for processing in eRA Commons). Remember that the timestamp provided by Grants.gov at the initial application submission determines “on-time” submission. In the off-chance that a system failure occurs, there are plans in place to ensure that applicants are not penalized for system failures.

By mid-November NIH will begin posting R01 announcements including an R01 “Parent” announcement for unsolicited, investigator-initiated research. Did you notice the new Parent Announcement page on the NIH Office of Extramural Research website? Once posted, you will find the R01 Parent announcement on this page or through the new search element on the Advanced Search feature of the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

-Contributed by Peter Saal, Funding Opportunities Administrator

NIH Notice on Multiple PI's

The National Institutes of Health has published a notice that "Beginning with research grant applications submitted for February 2007 receipt dates, the NIH will allow applicants and their institutions to identify more than one Principal Investigator (PI)." Specifically, electronic grant applications that will accommodate more than one PI beginning in February include: R01, R03, R13/U13, R15, R18/U18, R21, R21/R33, R25, R33, R34, R41, R42, R43, R44, and C06/UC6. The notice states that some types of applications including individual career awards (K08, K23, etc.), individual fellowships (F31, F32, etc.), Dissertation Grants (R36), Director's Pioneer Awards (DP1), and Shared Instrumentation Grants (S10) will not accommodate more than a single PI. The restriction to a single PI will be described in announcements for those programs.The notice is available at:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-017.html
A related R01 program announcement was also published:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-070.html

NIH to Offer Webcasts on Electronic Submission Using SF424 (R&R) Forms

On December 5, 2006 two plenary sessions will be held at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH Main Campus in Bethesda, Maryland that will be simultaneous webcast for remote viewing online.  The afternoon session will be a repeat of the morning; applicants may choose to attend either the morning or afternoon session in person or online.

The presentation will provide an overview of the electronic submission process and use of the SF424 (R&R) and agency-specific forms and walk participants through the submission process. The presentation is targeted towards research administrators, new and experienced investigators, post docs, trainees and anyone who will be applying for an NIH grant electronically.  

To watch webcasts, you will need the RealPlayer software from Real Networks.
For more information on this and additional training options from NIH, please visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-009.html

-Contributed by Stefanie Massucci, Multidisciplinary Project Associate, OVPR

More NIH E-Submission Items of Interest

The NIH R01 Parent is posted

NIH continues to welcome unsolicited, investigator-initiated applications through the use of general "Parent Announcements". Information on "Parent Announcements" and the "R01 Parent" is now posted. Remember to pay attention to the Opening date in the Key Dates section of the FOA. You can start working on your R01 applications now, but you can’t actually submit the application until the Opening date of January 5, 2007.

Options for Mac Users

Grants.gov has posted on their website an update on IBM’s progress towards providing a PureEdge viewer compatible with Macs. They have included a link to an early-release of an IBM Workplace Forms (PureEdge) viewer for Macs on their Download Software page and have identified some of the limitations to this version of the viewer (e.g., compatible only with PowerPC based machines – G4 and G5).  While this is not the solution NIH and many of you had been hoping for, it may be a viable option for some of you.  We strongly suggest that you read the available documentation carefully before deciding whether using the viewer is a good option for your specific circumstances. This announcement can be found at:
http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/files/mac_options.htm.

NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Announce Limits on Appendices

NIH, AHRQ, and NIOSH have announced that there will be limits on appendices submitted with grant applications. Please see the notice in the NIH Guide for more information.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-018.html

Interdisciplinary Seminars

Please remember that, in an effort to encourage interdisciplinary research on campus, this office will supply $100 toward a speaker's luncheon when your department invites a Stony Brook colleague from an unrelated discipline to give a seminar. Please contact Ann-Marie Scheidt amscheidt@notes.cc.sunysb.edu to determine eligibility. You will be asked to provide a copy of the seminar notice annotated with the number of attendees and a brief description of any anticipated collaborations with the speaker's department.

Music for Meetings

Please remember that the OVPR would like to assist those of you who are planning a research meeting on campus by providing musical interludes. If you would like to have Stony Brook student musicians play at the reception for your meeting it can be arranged by contacting Ann-Marie Scheidt amscheidt@notes.cc.sunysb.edu. Arrangements must be made with this office in advance of the meeting. OVPR will make a payment to the Department of Music and the Department in turn pays the students. You get to listen to some nice music.

Essential Policies, Procedures and Resources

State Employee Tuition Waiver Program--Spring 2007

SUNY has a tuition assistance policy that supports employee initiatives to acquire and maintain career-related knowledge, skills and abilities. Human Resources has released a memorandum, see below, that gives eligibility information and instructions for using the program.

ELIGIBILITY
-You must be a full-time State employee
-The course must be taken at a SUNY-operated campus (not applicable for Community Colleges)
-The course must be credit-bearing (up to 3 credits per semester may be waived at approximately 30% - 50%; subject to the availability of funds)
-The course must be career-related or working toward a degree

You may not use this waiver in conjunction with any other tuition assistance for the same course.

ATTENTION UUP EMPLOYEES - In addition to the SUNY tuition waiver program, UUP represented employees are eligible for a UUP tuition waiver, which will cover 100% of the cost of a course that is credit bearing and taken at a SUNY or at Empire State College. The completed UUP tuition waiver must be submitted to the Benefits Office during the semester in which you take the course. You must specifically request a UUP waiver form from the Human Resource Services Benefits office.

PROCEDURE
-The B140w application can be downloaded from our website www.stonybrook.edu/hr/benefits, click on Forms and Publications, look for Benefits, and click on form number B-140W .
-Return the completed application to Human Resource Services/Benefits, Z=0751 on or before Friday, December 15, 2006 for approval.
-Individuals submitting a completed waiver form for consideration after Friday, December 15, 2006 will not be considered for a waiver.
-We will review the number and type of waivers (graduate or undergraduate) requested, allocate the tuition waiver funds, and put the approved waiver in the campus mail to you on or before Friday, December 22, 2006.
-Approved waivers must be submitted to Student Accounts on or before Wednesday, February 7, 2006. They will be void after that date.
-According to IRS Regulations in effect for the tax year in which tuition assistance is received, you may be taxed on the amount of assistance received.

COMPLETING THE FORM
Question 1-5 general information
Question 6 the highest degree you have already earned
Question 7 where are you taking the course
Question 8 the reason you are taking the course
Question 9 list the course you are taking
Question 11 the signature of your supervisor or department head is required

Our funds are limited, so it is very important that individuals not using approved waivers return them to us immediately. Employees who drop courses after the University’s "drop/add" period will be fully responsible for any tuition liability incurred.

If you have questions about the completion of the forms, please call Sandy White at 2-6167.

Holiday Season Reminder for West Campus and HSC State Employees

As we approach the holiday season Human Resource Services provides guidelines on Winter Holiday dates, reassignments, and other important information. To access this year's memorandum, please visit the Human Resource Services website at:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/hr,
click on the red Winter Reminders button at the right side of the website, and select the State Memorandum.

For More Information

Gail S. Habicht is Vice President for Research. She can be reached at (631) 632-7932. An abundance of specific information for the research community is available on our Website, where past issues of this bulletin can also be found.

Office of the Vice President for Research -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/

Monday Memo archive - http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/monmemo/mmarchive.html

All Past issue of Monday Memo are keyword searchable.

And if you are challenged by the embarrassment of riches in the over 2,000 individual Web pages that comprise the Website, you may find the alphabetical site index helpful. The index can be accessed at - http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/sitemap.html.

If you have information you would like to contribute to Monday Memo please email it to the editor, Adnan Rangwala, at marc.dempsey@stonybrook.edu