Roshni Singh

The November Career Stories featured Dr. Melissa Hodge-Penn, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T)

Written by: Roshni Singh with input from Natalie Baronian, Career Stories team

A Spectacular Path from Grantsmanship and Research Administration to Research Development

Before joining the RD field, Dr. Melissa had various roles in higher education as a grant manager, a pre-award specialist, and someone who helped build programs for faculty members in grant writing and research initiatives. In these roles, she was unaware that she was crafting her path to the RD field.

Meet Melissa Hodge-Penn, the Interim Vice Chancellor for Research at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T), where she served as the Associate Vice Chancellor before her Interim role. Before joining NC A&T, Dr. Melissa served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for research and sponsored programs at the University of Mississippi, where she facilitated university-wide strategic research growth activities, strategic planning and implementation, and directed multiple and diverse constituencies in support of the research enterprise. Her experience began at Georgia State University, where she worked on community and workforce development projects. This exposure led her to Emory University, marking her formal entry into research administration.

Dr. Melissa brings a wealth of experience managing programs funded by multiple and diverse sources and providing administrative oversight and management for a research enterprise. This includes portfolio administration, complex and multidisciplinary project administration, research development, research compliance, and policy implementation. Her experience at different universities and systems has allowed her to gather best practices, provide influence around visioning, and align RD for the unique needs of the “next university” and place of employment.

Dr. Melissa is a demonstrated leader with experience across academia, government, and not-for-profit organizations who has successfully fostered private sector and community-based relationships. Adding her leadership qualities to her current role. Dr. Melissa advocates for research needs and supports faculty in research endeavors. She emphasizes the importance of strategic operational support for the research enterprise and through these develops networks amongst research professionals. She is inventive in maximizing and leveraging resources to support researchers and their students. She is not reluctant to speak on what potentially “could be seen as out of the box” and her always “willing to grow, move and learn all she can and having that front seat to innovation.” Hence, she finds fulfillment in mentoring junior faculty and supporting new research development officers, fostering a collaborative environment that encourages innovation.

As a Black woman in a leadership role, Dr. Melissa recognizes the significance of representation in academia. Therefore, she aims to inspire others by demonstrating that diverse paths can lead to success in research administration. Her tip to everyone is that while moving around to grow your career, absorb the best and let it expand your worldview — particularly around research. She also advises to “Document Your Journey” by keeping detailed notes of your experiences and insights. These can be invaluable for future reference and for helping others.

Her RD pro-tip/hack is to give yourself grace and don’t take yourself too seriously, you know what you know. She also recommends taking part in professional development and networking teams you might not otherwise as this will have a great impact on you and your career.

Dr. Melissa would love to answer any questions you have for her, so please feel free to email her at mhodgepenn@ncat.edu.

The link to the interview to Dr. Melissa’s November Career Stories will be posted on the LMS when available.

The September 2024 Career Stories featured Dr. Anna Ward, Director of University of California Research Initiatives (UCRI), part of the Research Grants Program Office at the systemwide Office of the President.

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

Be Vulnerable but Also Know What You Want to Do

Drawn by a research background, funding structures, and opportunities, Dr. Anna Ward shares that her journey to the RD profession is a gift where she is fascinated by the many ways you can address the same question.

In September Careers Stories, we shared the journey of Dr. Ward, who brings over 15 years’ experience in academic research, teaching, program management, and research development, including previous roles as a Program Officer in UCRI and a Grants and Program Manager at University of California at Davis. Dr. Ward received her BA degree in Politics and Women’s Studies from UC Santa Cruz and doctoral degree in Women’s Studies from UCLA. Prior to returning to UC, where she is the Director of University of California Research Initiatives (UCRI), part of the Research Grants Program Office at the systemwide Office of the President, Dr. Ward was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Swarthmore College and a lecturer in the Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College.

After being affiliated with different UC campuses, Dr. Ward grew fascinated with the complexity and scale of the UC system which includes 10 unique campuses, as well as systemwide entities like Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), the 42-site Natural Reserves System, and the three UC-affiliated national laboratories. In her current role, she oversees a suite of research grant programs designed to encourage collaboration across the UC system, spur new directions in interdisciplinary research, and generate novel solutions to challenges facing California communities.

Dr. Ward is deeply involved in NORDP and was a Co-Chair of NORDP’s Committee on Inclusive Excellence. In NORDP, she found a welcoming community to identify with and says “the connections that we make are gold.” She thinks that RD professionals can do a better job articulating their contributions beyond proposal development and encourages exploration beyond just “churning out proposals and competing for the same pool of money.” Also, according to Dr. Ward, RD doesn’t get enough credit for the potential role it can play in retention, especially with minoritized faculty.

Dr. Ward advises new RD professionals to perform informational interviews and participate in the NORDP Mentoring program. She benefited immensely from mentorship and her NORDP mentor encouraged her to think creatively, which led her to multiple informational interviews being instrumental in her career. She made herself “vulnerable and talked to some heavy hitters”, aiming to do something in 5 years that would normally take 15 years. Now she advises others, “to be vulnerable but also know what you want to do” as the informational interviews goes both ways where both parties are investing in each other.

Dr. Wards’ impact and legacy is creating a safe space for difficult conversations, doing everything with pride and honor, treating everyone with the respect they deserve, while making their paths easier.

Dr. Ward would love to answer any questions you have for her, so please feel free to email her at anna.ward@ucop.edu

The link to the interview to Dr. Ward’s Career Stories by the NORDP LEAD Career Stories team will be posted in the NORDP LMS when available.

The October Career Stories featured Dr. Michael Helms, Director of Research Development, Team Science at Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

A Journey from Biotech to Academia

When Dr. Helms was asked to write his first grant in Biotech, he was a little hesitant, however, the role grew on him and he became an expert and a go-to person for all the grants in his company. While in the industry, Dr. Helms received funding from NIH and served on the NIH SBIR study section.

The October Career Stories featured Dr. Micheal Helms, Director of Research Development and Team Science in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Helms has an MBA degree with specializations in managing innovation and technology and international business, and BS and PhD degrees in biochemistry. Mike founded the first-ever research development office at Stanford, the Stanford Research Development Office (SRDO), and managed it for 5 years. His journey started as a scientist, project manager, director, and general manager in the biotechnology industry in the San Francisco Bay Area, eventually making his way into academia.

In 2008, when the economy was crashing, Dr. Helms started consulting and looking for new opportunities. Through his work with NIH, he realized that most federal funding was awarded to universities, so he started focusing his job search in academia. With his wealth of experience, in 2009, he was hired by Stanford University and since then has helped hundreds of faculty members find and apply to funding opportunities, resulting in over $400 million in new funding from federal and foundation sponsors. He counts among his successes the Stanford CTSA, Stanford Diabetes Research Center, Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, SPHERE Center, and many others. For the past 15 years Mike’s main responsibility has been assisting faculty obtaining large grants. He directly works with experienced and knowledgeable faculty members and provides them with hands on help through coaching, development, and holding strategy and coaching meetings. Additionally, he runs a seed grant program for junior faculty who are clinically active.

Dr. Helms likes to “get the wins” and bring in the money, which aligns to faculty interests and aspirations. Helping faculty nurture their career to do “all good things” inspires him. He has supported 2 early career faculty – K Awards – funded with perfect scores of 10.

In reflecting on his impact and legacy, Dr. Helms points to helping Stanford raise >$400 m in new grant funding, introducing and establishing the importance of research development into Stanford, and the relationship and impact he has had on others’ career. Lately, he has been reflecting on future career moves. He recognizes that most RD professionals are in staff roles, which may put him in a much weaker position within an institution for rising to the VP level. However, he maintains that networking is key and can possibly have people on your side, so never stop learning, asking questions, and maintaining good relationships with people.

Mike would love to answer any questions you have for him, so please feel free to email him at mkhelms@stanford.edu.

The link to the interview to Dr. Helms October Career Stories will be posted on the LMS when available.

The August 2024 Career Stories featured Dr. Shelia McClure, the Senior Associate Dean for Research Development at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

Passion, Advocacy, and Love for Academia

This month’s career story featured Dr. Shelia McClure, the Senior Associate Dean for Research Development at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), who is also the founding director of the MSM Office of Research Development (ORD). ORD provides technical assistance to faculty, post-docs, students and staff in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating activities that facilitate scientific and educational research. Dr. McClure received her doctorate in cellular and developmental zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, completed post-doctoral training at the University of California and was a scientist in the Cancer and Viral Diseases Unit of the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, MI.

Dr. McClure began her professional career at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA where she rose to the rank of Associate Professor and was recognized for mentoring students and developing infrastructure and capacity for biomedical research that focused on faculty development, infrastructure improvements, and grant and contract development. She left Spelman for what she initially thought would be a brief stint at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That “brief stint” ended up being almost 16 years, serving as a Program Director, Scientific Office, and Special Assistant to the Director of Research Infrastructure in the National Center for Research Resources, and as Chief of the Office of Research Training and Capacity Building in the Division of Scientific Programs at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. However, her love for teaching, mentoring, and engaging learners as well as her passion for enhancing research capacity and helping diversify the biomedical research workforce brought her back to academia, where she could be fully engaged in research development.

Dr.McClure’s research development journey began with starting up a new lab as an Assistant Professor in a small institution that focused primarily on teaching. Once she garnered extramural funding from NSF, NIH, and a few foundations to establish her own research, she was equally engaged in developing research capacity, not only for herself, but for students, post-docs, and other faculty. She believes RD is in her blood and with a passion for RD, “she has never worked a day in life” but follows and enjoys her passion. She considers herself “very fortunate to have been a part of research development on a local level in the academy and at a national level while at NIH.” That same passion keeps Dr. McClure in RD as she enjoys seeing investigators obtaining their first grant and becoming successful in their research and professional careers. Since many of these investigators are from groups underrepresented in biomedical research, she has the added enjoyment of playing a role in helping diversify the scientific workforce. Her work has also resulted in advocacy efforts to increase funding for smaller institutions, HBCUs, and other MSIs that need resources to enhance research and training capacity.

She strongly believes that mentoring is an essential ingredient for success, and credits her parents, an NIH professional mentor, and her undergraduate research mentor for supporting her throughout her life and career. Specifically, she thanks her parents “for instilling in a young African American woman growing up in the South that she could be anyone she wanted to be, and the equalizer would be education.” Hence, she firmly believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to “pay it forward”, and as RD professionals, we should play a more active role in mentoring the next generation of researchers and RD professionals. We should also have a stronger voice in advocating for RD opportunities that will help to diversify the institutions and individuals contributing to the research enterprise.

Even with an extensive career in RD, she still learns from every investigator she works with and uses the information she learns to improve RD programming and operations. “Emotional intelligence is the key” when working with a broad cross-section of stakeholders, which is usually the case in the RD space. Mutual respect, and building and maintaining relationships have shaped her impact and legacy in RD.

Dr. McClure would love to answer any questions you have for her, so please feel free to email her at smcclure@msm.edu

The link to the interview to Dr. McClure’s Career Stories by the NORDP LEAD Career Stories team will be posted when available.

The July 2024 Career Stories featured Jessica Brassard, the Director of Research Development and Communication at Michigan Technological University

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

From a Marketing and Visual Communication Background into RD—A Magical Profession

A Covid detour, career experimentation, and recognizing the need for something new led her to a role in RD.

Meet Jessica Brassard, the Director of Research Development and Communication at Michigan Technological University. In her role, she creates visuals for high-impact/high-value research proposals, supports science communication for research, enables team building around research initiatives, and designs faculty development events and workshops. Before joining this “magical profession”, as Jess describes her role in RD, in 2015, she was in healthcare marketing and communications.

Jessica describes how she found RD as an “act of desperation.” Her position in a local healthcare organization was slowly draining the joy from her work and she needed something new. In 2015, a friend at Michigan Tech helped her look past the RD title and position description, and a new chapter in her career was born. In 2021, Jess was drawn to a position at the University of Michigan which was the perfect alignment of her love of visual communication and helping researchers tell their stories, giving her an opportunity for career experimentation. During this career experimentation, she learned that her own bucket is filled when she can help researchers through a wide variety of services and support. This led her back to Michigan Tech. Her career transition was possible because of her built relationships and network. Jess highly recommends nurturing relationships as it can do wonders.

Jess believes RD is a field where one can help in so many different, fulfilling ways. To her, keeping a whole heart is important in doing service-oriented work. Sending pieces of your heart in the work you do can result in the power of your happiness being controlled by other people. Jess puts forth her best effort and quality work while keeping her heart firmly hers. She believes that others cannot control her; thus, not to become stressed by her emotional reaction toward her work. It makes the work enjoyable and encourages people to be themselves, which is also Jessica’s legacy and RD pro tip.

Jess uses OOO away messages and email footers intentionally to make incremental culture change. In her personal Gmail account, she wrote a sort of “mini LinkedIn” footer to nod to where she’s been and where she currently spreads her energy. Inspired by Karen Caitlin’s weekly Better Allies newsletter, Jess writes her OOO messages to describe what she is doing away from work. This small act of honesty helps her be more present while at work and supports building relationships. The people Jess surrounds herself with make an impact and help her grow into the person she wishes to be.

Outside of her RD position, Jess has had a hand in multiple nonprofits. In 2013, she founded Keweenaw Young Professionals (KYP), a non-profit for young professionals to connect and grow through community engagement. She has served local non-profits, service organizations, and on committees at Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan. Jess coaches the local Ski Tigers cross-country ski club level 1 skiers (ages 5 and 6)!

In NORDP, Jess currently serves on the Mentoring Committee and the McMc (marketing and communications) subcommittee, co-chairs the Communication Working Group (CWG) with Kelsey Haasevoort, and serves on the national Conference Planning Committee. One of her favorite volunteer projects is helping with the Conference Planning Committee with the #MugMottoTaskForce. She helps solicit phrases and ideas from NORDP, then makes designs and illustrations that are uploaded to a RedBubble shop, RDDrinkApperati Shop on Redbubble, where NORDP members can get them on mugs, shirts, stickers, and other products. The unique mottos capture the spirit and dedication of research development professionals and each design celebrates and inspires RD professionals. Sales from these items generate a modest profit (less than $200) and help to pay for appreciation gifts for the conference planning committee volunteers. It’s a small token to recognize the countless volunteer hours committed to enriching our community and advancing the field of research development.

Jess is happy to answer any questions you have, so please feel free to email her at jnbrassa@mtu.edu.

The link to Jess’ full Career Stories by the NORDP LEAD Career Stories team will be posted when available.

The June 2024 Career Stories featured Jan Abramson, MS, retired from the University of Utah.

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

An exceptional Journey from Student Services to Research Development Professional and into Retirement

*Jan and Izzie, her Certified Therapy Dog*

She often says “she was doing RD, before RD was a thing.” Jan Abramson, a retired RD professional and Emeritus member of NORDP has had an exceptional professional journey. After receiving her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Central Missouri, Jan worked in student leadership and development in England and the US. She arrived at the University of Utah (UofU) in 1995, with a goal of volunteering at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Goal achieved! as Company Manager for UofU’s Children’s Dance Theatre.

Following the Olympics, Jan took a foray into the nonprofit community, working primarily with arts organizations in various roles: grant writer, development director, volunteer coordinator, trainer, and interim Executive Director. Those experiences enhanced a skill set that allowed for a seamless transition to RD professional.

Returning to UofU in 2005, she began doing research development work in the Health Sciences, where she stayed, in various roles until retirement in 2020. Jan was introduced to NORDP in 2011 and became an active member, contributing her time, talents, skills, and knowledge to the NORDP community. As she says, “through NORDP, I found a professional home, which has helped me grow.” During her time with NORDP, she was primarily involved with the Mentoring Committee, served on the Board of Directors, and co-chaired the 2019 conference in Providence, RI. She is an Emeritus member, was recognized as a Charter Fellow in 2020, and received one of the two inaugural Mentoring Awards in 2022. She built life-long relationships with NORDP colleagues and works to build, nurture, and sustain those relationships.

COVID offered a chance for early retirement. Reflecting on retirement, Jan is convinced that one’s impact weaves throughout their life, touching others in ways we may not even know. The legacy of who we are and what we do is passed on and continues in ways we may not be aware of. Retirement offers new ways to #payitforward. Now, Jan volunteers in the community several times a week with her dog Izzie, for Intermountain Therapy Animals, spreading smiles in hospitals, schools, the airport, and other public places. She also volunteers for Salt Lake County Arts and Culture to get her arts fix.

Jan’s message to everyone is to network, take initiatives, and get involved in NORDP. There are so many ways to participate; reach out where you are interested, make time to engage with other RD professionals, and invite others in. Celebrate the good things about yourself and reflect on your impact and legacy.

For the author, Roshni Singh, Jan has been an inspirational woman and a great mentor. Roshni looks up to her and hopes to continue her professional relationship with her as there is so much to learn from her and learn to foster relationships like Jan does.

Jan would love to answer any questions you have, so please feel free to email her at janabramson.slc@gmail.com.

The link to the interview to Jan’s full Career Stories by the NORDP LEAD Career Stories team will be posted when available.

The May 2024 Career Stories featured Dr. Toyin Babarinde, the inaugural Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Research Development (OSRD) at the University of Texas Medical Branch

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

She Knew What She Wanted Even Before She Knew What to Call the Job

Meet Dr. Toyin Babarinde, whose persistence and creativity led to her dream role in RD and her exciting position as the inaugural Executive Director of the recently established Office of Strategic Research Development (OSRD) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). After obtaining her PhD and two years of post-doctoral training, Dr. Toyin knew she did not want to continue bench research. With a deep passion for advancing science and research, she wasn’t sure what path to take and unaware of the exciting career of RD, she began searching for jobs using words like ‘research planning’, or ‘research organization’. After numerous Google searches, she started seeing positions that described her areas of interest and from there, she identified individuals with similar job titles. After several informational meetings and applying for countless jobs, she ended up as a consultant. However, she soon realized that a position in academia was more her style, so she kept applying for jobs and eventually received her first “official” RD position at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson).

Before joining UTMB, Toyin was the Associate Director of Research Planning and Development at MD Anderson. During her time at MD Anderson, she collaborated with faculty and staff across the institution and the Texas Medical Center developing large multidisciplinary research initiatives, identifying targeted funding opportunities, and assisting in the development and submission of research funding applications. While in this position, she sought opportunities to deliver A+++ service to all stakeholders. Back then, Toyin operated more linearly in thought, and as she contemplated her next growth opportunity, she began looking for director-level positions. When those opportunities did not materialize as she had hoped, she unexpectedly heard from not one, but two executive-level positions. She was reluctant at first to pursue either position because she was unsure, she could “skip a step on her career ladder.” However, she experienced an aha moment, when she asked herself, “who told you Toyin, that you can’t skip a step on the ladder.” In that moment, she realized that life doesn’t have to progress linearly. This aha moment motivated her to pursue the Executive Director position and ultimately led her to become the inaugural Executive Director at UTMB.

Throughout her career, Dr. Toyin understood that she had to advocate for herself and find creative ways to communicate her value. She is passionate about what she does and believes that the skills she uses in RD come naturally to her and align with her values, which are satisfying, feed her soul, and inspire her to pursue RD opportunities. Guided by her faith, she is able to keep her purpose in mind and operates with conviction. Dr. Toyin consistently strives for excellence, and she wants people to look back and say, “This research program has grown in depth and breadth because you were here,” as one of the chairs she worked with did once. This is the legacy she aspires to leave at every research organization she touches.

One of her RD pro-tips is to ‘develop and apply effective project management skills’, which are essential in every position. A second pro-tip would be to “invest in yourself and take the time to grow yourself, whether through employer-provided resources or on your own.”

Dr. Toyin is actively involved in NORDP and encourages everyone to network, which has helped her in her profession. As well, she wants to remind everyone that it’s okay to operate less linearly and embrace the dynamic possibilities that life has to offer.

Outside of her career, Dr. Toyin is active in her community, where she organizes STEM summer programs for children, volunteers with the Adventurer and Pathfinder youth clubs, and serves on the parent-teacher organization board of her children’s school. These community engagements bring her joy and valuable lessons that she uses in all aspects of her life.

Toyin would love to answer any questions you have for her, so please feel free to email her at tababari@utmb.edu

The link to the interview to Toyin’s full Career Stories by the NORDP LEAD Career Stories team will be posted when available.

The April 2024 Career Stories featured Dr. Don Takehara, Director for Research, Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Written by: Roshni Singh, Career Stories team

From a Chemical Engineering Researcher to Research Development

“Discover your passion, discover your purpose, and go with it!” and this is exactly what he did. Meet Dr. Don Takehara, a former research chemical engineer at Dow Chemical whose passion and purpose led him to the world of Research Development.

Don Takehara, PhD is the Director for Research, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grainger College of Engineering. Before joining Research Development, Don was an R&D chemical engineer at Dow Chemical (16 years) and Professor and Director of the Center for Research & Innovation at Taylor University (9 years). He uses this background, his experience as a certified coach, and 9 years at the University of Illinois to support engineering faculty and teams as they grow their research portfolios. Career and leadership coaching/training, as well as team science training, are current areas of focus for Don.

Don’s life purpose and mission are to be a catalyst for people to go from surviving to thriving and bringing people together to do the unimaginable. As a certified coach, which he thoroughly enjoys, he coaches faculty on career and leadership development and helps them deepen their understanding regarding a decision, a struggle, the future, etc. — allowing them to confidently move forward. Don believes that this “no advice” coaching is helpful for everyone and implementing being more “coach-like” within academia (in mentoring and everyday life) would be transformational.

Don’s key to a successful career is understanding his life purpose and bringing that into career decisions, building relationships with others, and getting involved when opportunities line up with this overarching purpose. He strongly believes that God has opened up doors including being “at the right place at the right time” — an example being when his Associate Dean offered training to be a certified coach.

Don advises his colleagues to understand their 4-8 top core values by evaluating mountain top moments in life and reflecting on “what made them so special.” Continuously being conscious of core values and using them for life decisions can have a huge impact, resulting in unexpected impact and legacy as evidenced by surprising words of appreciation — “You never know the ripple effects of what you do, and who you engage with — #PayItForward.” When asked about RD pro-tip or hack, Don passionately answered that “Research involves people; remember that there are emotions around the process of RD and find joy in helping people with their research.”

Don is on the Strategic Alliance Committee and the liaison to NACRO (Network for Academic Corporate Relations Officers) where he is working on a “grassroots” approach where Corporate Relations and RD folks work together to support the NSF Engines program. Don highly endorses NORDP as a place he fits in. Don is a NORDP Consultant, helped start the Coaching and RD Peer Mentoring Group (PMG), participates in the Collaboration and Team Science PMG, and with the iKNOW (Immigrant Knowledge and Wisdom) Affinity Group. He is also a consultant for the AtKisson Training Group.

As someone close to retirement, these opportunities will help shape Don’s retirement plan including continuing to be involved with RD and helping people move from surviving to thriving.

Don would love to answer any questions you have, so please feel free to email him at dtakehar@illinois.edu

The link to the interview to Don’s full Career Stories by the NORDP LEAD Career Stories team will be posted when available.

The March 2024 Career Stories featured Dr. Chetna Chianese, Senior Director of Research Development at Syracuse University

Written by: Roshni Singh, LEAD Kindling Crew

**Chetna Chianese, PhD** • Senior Director of Research Development • Syracuse University

Dr. Chetna Chianese is the Senior Director of Research Development at Syracuse University, serving as the lead for the central RD office since 2023. In this role, Dr. Chianese assists faculty across Syracuse University with the development of new research priorities and proposals. She provides research development leadership for the university-identified research priorities, facilitates multi-million-dollar and inter-school/college proposal submissions, and leads internal funding programs provided by the Office of Research. Chetna has a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and a B.S. in chemistry from Vanderbilt University.

Prior to her appointment as the Senior Director of Research Development, Chetna had served as the office’s Associate Director since 2019. She has also served as the Associate Director of Research at SyracuseCoE, a Syracuse University research center, aiding faculty on research proposals and projects related to energy and the environment.

Before arriving at Syracuse University, Chetna spent three years as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. She discovered the AAAS fellowship program during grad school, which sounded better than being a bench scientist. This led her first to serve as a program manager for the DOD contractor SAIC at the Naval Research Labs in Washington DC. There, Chetna learned the basics of proposal development and project management. She took those skills to DOE where she became an expert in critical minerals and eventually designed a grant funding program with a portfolio of $120 million.

However, she quickly realized the government bureaucracy was not for her and found her niche in Research Development. RD allows her to leverage her prior experiences which translates into successful proposals for the faculty members. Chetna gets a “rush when things work out” and she feels she has made a difference.

In her current role, Chetna has spearheaded the expansion of the central RD office from 2.5 FTE to ~7, and plans to keep building opportunities to allow her team’s roles to evolve. She is focused on creating opportunities for her team to grow and develop their niche and she works to effectively communicate strategic priorities while removing barriers. Her desired impact and legacy are to lead the office effectively during a period of change and come up with a framework for her office, given its larger budget and institutional leadership support.

In her current role, Chetna leverages strategic intelligence to understand funding programs and their priorities. She often hears herself saying to the faculty members “read the review criteria” and, “it depends on the funder”. From her experiences, she has learned to be cautious and applies the same strategy when working with the faculty members as she thinks “we only know what we’ve been exposed to and otherwise we’re making an educated guess.”

Chetna is a member of the NORDP Nominating Committee and the Fireside Chat/Career Stories Kindling Crew. She has previously served as the Region II Co-Chair and a member of the Member Services Committee. She highly recommends NORDP and thinks it’s great place to network and learn from everyone.

Fun Fact: While working at the DOE, Chetna had the opportunity to participate on two White House interagency working group.

Chetna would love to answer any questions you have for her, so please feel free to email her at cchianes@syr.edu

To listen to her full interview by the career/kindle team, please click on this link (you must log in as a NORDP member to access): MC LMS – NORDP LEAD presents: “Career Stories” – Chetna Chianese – March 5, 2024

The February 2024 Career Stories featured Sue Elkins, International & Research Services Manager at Drexel University

Written by: Roshni Singh, Kindling Crew

**Sue Elkins, CRA** • International & Research Services Manager • Drexel University

Sue Elkins, CRA is the International & Research Services Manager at Drexel University. In this role, she has been tasked with re-envisioning and developing research support from a Central Office, for the university. Sue has over 10 years of research administration experience in higher education and hospital settings with a wealth of understanding on research administration, networking, relationship building, professional development, and communication.

Prior to joining Drexel, Sue had worked at Auburn University and Rhode Island Hospital in positions that were RD adjacent, but lacked the work-life balance she required. In addition to these two roles, she had over 10 years’ experience in wrangling contracts and navigating legal systems through two prior positions as a real estate assistant/transaction manager, and a daycare/pre-school owner in a foreign country. In spring of 2021, she began planning an intentional career transition that would allow her the work/life balance she needed as well as advance her career. Sue wanted to get involved with increasing grantsmanship knowledge leading to increased efficiencies and better proposals in turn increasing an institution’s award rate. She strategically targeted institutions that were looking to measurably increase research expenditures and willing to increase training across campus as part of their strategic plan. Based on her desired career path, she designed a 24-month plan for the career transition and strategically started adding the skills she needed while at her prior role in Auburn University. She accomplished her goal, 6 months ahead of her deadline, joining Drexel as a Grants Administrator in October 2022. Sue has not let the lack of an advanced degree hold her back from pursuing her career goals and has successfully leveraged all prior experiences in conveying her aptitude for her desired positions. Understanding her soft skills helped Sue maximize her career advancement proving past employment outside of the field added to her ability to address the role Drexel University was looking to fill. Sue was promoted to her current position in April 2023.

With her role as the International & Research Services Manager in the Office of Sponsored Programs, Sue plans/creates/adds/fosters training opportunities for those across campus to improving institutional research support. Determining a road map to develop training for all involved with research to improve processes, knowledge base & community is Sue’s ultimate goal and the big picture aim for her current position. She also understands the constantly evolving demands of the field and that between now and completely setting up training our world will change and she is looking forward to helping Drexel University keep up! It is the thought of these upcoming and unknown challenges that keeps Sue interested in Research Development; understanding her soft skills has helped Sue maximize her career advancement.

Sue suggests networking as one of the best ways to connect, learn, and increase one’s knowledge base. When she worked directly with faculty and after a proposal and they asked if they could do anything for her, Sue asked that they write an email to her boss on how she was a beneficial part of the proposal. These faculty members turned out to be some of her best references. Additionally, in her experience NORDP is very welcoming, empowering, and accessible to everyone, and a great place to network. Another great way to network is to VOLUNTEER! Sue currently is involved with NORDP on a volunteer basis for the following roles: Co-Chair for the NORDP Professional Development (PD) Committee, Liaison for PD and the iKnoW on the NORDP Communications Working Group (CWG), PD representative for iKnoW, and a cohort mentor for this year’s Mentoring Program.

Fun Fact about Sue: Being a horrible test taker has been to Sue’s advantage. In order to pass the CRA exam she really had to understand the principles behind any question that could be asked; and thus, this knowledge is stuck in her head for the long haul! This is the same as understanding every grant that comes her way!

Sue would love to answer any questions you have for her, so please feel free to email her at sue.elkins@drexel.edu

To listen to her full Career Stories interview, please click on this link (you must log in as a NORDP member to access): MC LMS – NORDP LEAD presents: “Career Stories” – Sue Elkins – February 14, 2024

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