Sylvia Bradshaw is the Executive Director of Sponsored Programs, Agreements, Research, and Contracts (SPARC) at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Sylvia holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting and a graduate degree in Research Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Sylvia is happiest when she is learning and serving others - both solid requisites for a career in Research Administration. Sylvia loves being part of a PUI because it allows her to strategically innovate in a nimble environment.

 

 

Since April 2024, Jan Chmelík has served as the Attaché for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Economic Section of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C. In this role, he is responsible for advancing transatlantic cooperation in science, research, tech, and innovation, fostering institutional partnerships, and supporting Czech stakeholders in building strategic relationships with U.S. federal agencies, research institutions, and the private sector. Prior to his diplomatic posting, Jan held several senior positions at the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. As Head of the Americas Unit and Deputy Director of the Department for Non-European Countries, his responsibilities included shaping strategic approaches to trade promotion, policy, and international cooperation, supporting Czech exporters, and strengthening economic ties with countries across North and South America, with an emphasis on innovation-driven industries. Jan’s expertise also spans investment promotion and international business development. During his tenure at CzechInvest, the national investment and business development agency, he served as Aerospace Sector Specialist and later as Director of U.S. East Coast Operations based in New York. In these roles, he was instrumental in attracting high-value foreign direct investment (FDI) from the United States into the Czech Republic, advising multinational corporations on market entry, and promoting Czech industry capabilities. He also led initiatives to support Czech startups and scaleups, notably through programs like the Czech Accelerator, which helped companies establish a presence in the U.S. innovation ecosystem. Jan holds a master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies from the Metropolitan University in Prague. His professional background reflects a strong commitment to fostering global partnerships that leverage research, innovation, and economic cooperation.

 

 

Dr. Kevin T. Crouse is the Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), overseeing cybersecurity and data protection operations across academic, research, and medical environments. He is the executive sponsor of UTRGV’s Regional Security Operations Center (RSOC), providing cybersecurity services and workforce development in South Texas. Dr. Crouse also teaches graduate-level cybersecurity courses at Purdue University, emphasizing real-world application. Previously, he was the Director of Information Security at Illinois State University (ISU), where he established the Information Security Office and taught courses in Security Event Management and Cyber Forensics. Dr. Crouse has worked as a private consultant, supporting IT, security, compliance, and leadership development for various clients. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer and Information Security, a Master’s in Public Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Dr. Crouse holds certifications as a CISSP, CISM, CIPP/Europe, and CIPM, and has been involved in numerous federal and state grant-funded projects. Dr. Crouse’s research focuses on cyber-risk frameworks, cybercriminal behavior, and security-first institutional cultures. He has presented nationally on cybersecurity, privacy, online learning, and continuous improvement.

 

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Lisa Greening is Director of the Office of Regulatory Services at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she leads efforts with the IRB, IACUC, IBC, Research Conflict of Interest Committee and export control. Her career spans more than two decades in research administration, including compliance roles at Baylor College of Medicine and NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

 

 

With a tenure spanning nearly two decades at the University of Illinois, Dan Harmon has been an integral part of its data and systems development infrastructure, influencing higher education areas such as student affairs, enrollment management, and research administration. Currently the Director of Data and Systems, Dan helps steer the research administration sector with dedication and inventive leadership. A fervent advocate of technological innovation, Dan persistently endeavors to redefine the boundaries of what is possible within the scope of research administration. Currently, Dan is delving into the exciting realm of Artificial Intelligence, aiming to harness its potential to revolutionize the industry's landscape.

 

 

Karen A. Hartman, M.S., is the vice chair, Research Administration for Mayo Clinic and assistant professor of health care administration, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. She administratively leads all aspects of clinical research for Mayo Clinic, including strategy development and execution. In addition, she leads research administration shared services encompassing research subjects’ protection programs, grants and contracting, compliance, research education, and regulatory and quality programs.
Prior to this role, Ms. Hartman served as Mayo Clinic’s research compliance officer and as operations manager for the Office of Research Regulatory Support. Earlier in her career, she served as a nurse and officer in the U.S. Navy, last stationed at Portsmouth Naval Hospital.
Ms. Hartman earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota, and a master’s degree in clinical research management from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She is active in many professional organizations, including the Council on Governmental Relations, National Council of University Research Administrators, and Women’s Health Leadership TRUST.
Beyond her professional activities, Ms. Hartman is involved in her community, serving as the president of the Board of Directors for Samaritan Bethany and chair of Personnel for Bethel Lutheran Church. She also volunteers for other community organizations.

 

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Neil Johnson is a professor at GW and runs the Dynamical Online Networks Lab. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and recipient of the Burton Award. He has a BA from Cambridge University, MA from Oxford University, PhD from Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar. He was Professor of Physics at Oxford University before coming to GW. He wrote and presented the BBC TV series “Arrows of Time”. He has more than 300 published papers and several books. He was cofounder and partner of a successful tech/AI start-up in DC.

 

 

Nancy Lewis is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). She has extensive experience in research administration, including pre-award and post-award non-financial functions, electronic research administration, recruitment and training, and compliance and policy work. Nancy has led workshops, presentations, and discussion groups on various research administration topics, including artificial Intelligence in research administration.

 

 

Since 2022, Yuemin Li has served as a Data Analyst at the Office of Strategic Initiatives under the Division for Research and Economic Development, where she has leveraged her expertise in Business and Sociology to conduct rigorous analyses of sponsored program data. Her academic background has equipped her with the skills to process both numerical and textual data, craft comprehensive reports to support leadership decisions, track trends in research analytics, and design and evaluate surveys for actionable insights. These competencies have allowed her to contribute meaningfully to data-driven decision-making and enhance strategic initiatives within her division.
With domain expertise in bridging the communication gap between researchers and research administrators, she brings unique insights to the research liaison program. Her dual experience—working closely with both groups—enables her to effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities they face. In her role as a Data Analyst under the Division for Research and Economic Development, she has developed strong connections across campus and honed the organizational skills necessary to support the program's success at every stage, from development to implementation and evaluation. Her Sociology training further strengthens her ability to conduct objective assessments, including experimental evaluations and focus group studies, ensuring the program’s efficacy is thoroughly and impartially evaluated.
Beyond her institutional role, she actively engages with the broader research administration community. Since 2024, she has been a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), where she has contributed to advancing the field through presentations and collaborations. At the 66th NCURA Annual Meeting, she showcased an in-house AI project, highlighting innovation in research administration. Building on this momentum, she will co-present at the 67th NCURA Annual Meeting in a session titled “Harnessing AI for Smarter Research Administration: From Institutional Chatbots to Personalized Funding Recommendations,” demonstrating her forward-thinking approach to integrating AI into administrative processes. Additionally, she has been invited to speak at the 3rd Annual Artificial Intelligence Symposium for Research Administration in August 2025, reinforcing her commitment to shaping the future of AI in this domain.
Her leadership and mentorship are evident in her participation as a mentor in the Research Analytics Mentorship Program in 2024, supported by the National Science Foundation's GRANTED initiative (award no. 2324388). She also presented at the 2024 Research Analytics Summit, showcasing her knowledge of advanced analytics and AI applications in research administration. These experiences, coupled with her dedication to professional growth and collaboration, underscore her subject matter expertise and ability to drive impactful initiatives in research administration.

 

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Sarah Martonick is the Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at the University of Idaho (UI). She has worked in the UI OSP office for 15 years in various positions spanning from administrative assistant to her current role. She is passionate about leadership, team building, compliance, and all things Research Administration. She is a mother to two children, and her spouse is Faculty in the University of Idaho’s medical education program. In 2024 she and a team of staff and faculty were awarded a National Science Foundation Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Economic Development (GRANTED) grant focused on enhancing the national research and sponsored funding landscape through use of Artificial Intelligence and Data Democratization in Research Administration. The project is informally known as AI4RA (Artificial Intelligence for Research Administration) and details can be found at the following links: IIDS News and Artificial Intelligence for Research Administration.

 

 

Hanne Monclair is Counselor for Science, Technology, and Higher Education at the Norwegian Embassy in Washington D.C. Monclair is seconded from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, where she has primarily worked with future and emerging technologies, dual use, data access and sharing, HPC, and research infrastructure. She has been project leader for government white papers (on the Norwegian research system, the humanities in Norway), national strategies (on research data, open access), and for a high-level interministerial body for mobilizing expertise in crises. Monclair holds a Ph.D. and a postdoc in history from the University of Oslo.

 

 

Mari Olafson Lundemo is Senior Advisor on the international affairs team at the University of Helsinki in Finland. She works with strategic internationalization and leadership support with a special focus on the university’s engagement with North America and the Nordic countries.

 

 

Barrie Robison is a Professor of Biology at the University of Idaho, and the Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Sciences (IIDS). As IIDS Director, Robison leads more than 20 full time staff with extensive experience in software development, databases, data science, artificial intelligence (including generative AI), machine learning, genomics, bioinformatics, web and mobile app development, and the administration and construction of high-performance computing hardware. He has been an active researcher at the U of I for more than 20 years, studying behavioral genomics, evolutionary biology, and data science. He currently teaches courses in data communication and data visualization. Robison is actively engaged in developing and deploying generative Artificial Intelligence models in multiple higher education contexts. He is CoPI on a ~$4.6 million NSF grant which is focused on building trustworthy and explainable AI solutions for research administration workflows.

 

 

Lori Ann Schultz is the Assistant Vice President for Research Administration at Colorado State University. Lori has worked in higher education research administration for nearly 30 years, working throughout the grant lifecycle, from preaward to postaward. Lori conducts training on a host of research and compliance topics and has presented research administration and technology topics at the AAU, NCURA, SRA, the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP), and Educause. Lori has a Masters in Accounting from the University of Arizona Eller College of Management.

 

 

Thomas Spencer, Ph.D., M.B.A., is the Associate Vice President for Research Operations and Associate Professor of Health Sciences in the Department of Health and Biomedical Sciences at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and he teaches in the Johns Hopkins Research Administration masters degree program.He has worked in Academia and Research Administration for 20+ years and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for NCURA.
Thomas' research focuses on the study and methods of research itself: Research Administration, Public Affairs and American Healthcare. The understanding of Economic, Political and Public Policy decisions as they relate to research administration, accessibility, data privacy, and healthcare services is of prime importance in modern research.

 

 

Jeff Warner serves as the Senior Director for Sponsored Projects Administration at the University of California Irvine (UC Irvine), bringing extensive expertise in research policy analysis, contract and grant negotiation, and strategic leadership in research administration.
Jeff began his career as a Contract and Grant Officer at UC Irvine and has since held several key leadership roles across major research institutions. His experience includes:
· Manager, Award Team, University of California San Francisco – where he led award operations and ensured consistent application of contract and grant policies.
· Director, Contracts Office, University of Central Florida – where he oversaw the development and execution of research contracts and agreements.
· Director, Ancillary Research Agreements, University of California San Diego – where he contributed to strategic planning and managed a team responsible for a wide range of research agreements.
Jeff holds a Master of Advanced Study in Criminology, Law & Society from the University of California Irvine and a B.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University. He is a Certified Research Administrator and has completed several leadership development programs, including Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and the UC Management Development Program.
In addition to his administrative leadership, Jeff has co-authored multiple publications on research administration and negotiation strategies. His commitment to operational excellence and innovation continues to support the advancement of research and sponsored programs.

 

 

Melissa Waver is a Research Policy Manager in the University of California’s Research Policy Analysis and Coordination office and a member of the UC AI Council. In this role, Melissa develops tools and advises on a variety of research administration matters including extramural funding proposals and awards, federal regulations, non-profit sponsored projects and clinical trial agreements. She has been a university research administration professional for 10 years. Prior to joining RPAC, Melissa worked in the Sponsored Projects Office at UC Santa Barbara as a sponsored projects officer. She has experience in several aspects of research administration, including pre-award, award negotiation, regulatory compliance implementation and non-financial post-award management. In addition to serving on the UC AI Council Knowledge, Skills and Awareness subcommittee, Melissa created and manages the AI in Research Administration Workgroup at the University of California.

 

 

Xinyan West is a Senior Research Administrator at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Science. With extensive experience, she expertly manages complex sponsored project portfolios for multiple faculty, providing comprehensive research administration support across the Population Studies Center (PSC), Center for Political Studies (CPS), and Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD). Xinyan is also a dedicated mentor, actively training junior research administrators and leading hands-on sessions in proposal development, budget planning, and compliance.