Naomi Schrag

Number of Years in Research Administration: 10

Institutions: Columbia University in the City of New York

Naomi Schrag was hired by Columbia in 2006 to establish the Office of Research Compliance and Training, which has grown to a staff of 8. At Columbia, she has overall responsibility for research compliance across the institution, including, inter alia, Columbia University Medical Center, the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Earth Institute. Naomi has direct responsibility for compliance with regulations governing conflict of interest in research; research misconduct; export controls; responsible conduct of research training; and grants management, among others. In her role, Naomi analyzes regulations; drafts and implements University policies; leads interdisciplinary faculty committees and working groups to review and resolve compliance issues; and drafts comments on proposed regulations. She counsels senior administration officials, deans, faculty, post docs, graduate students, and others regarding research compliance issues, investigates potential noncompliance, and responds to inquiries from governmental agencies. Her team staffs faculty review committees on individual and institutional conflict of interest and research misconduct; she also leads multidisciplinary committees concerning policy issues such as conflict of interest; grants management (e.g., Uniform Guidance implementation); export controls; and public access requirements. Naomi serves on the University Senate Committee on External Relations and Research Policy and the University Compliance Committee.

Naomi also leads research compliance training and communication programming. This includes change management for major implementations, e.g., a new effort reporting policy and process; a certification program for research administrators; workshops for postdocs and graduate students; training for new department chairs; and regular presentations at faculty meetings and meetings of University leadership. Naomi has developed the Research and Data Integrity (ReaDI) Program, a University-wide program to enhance data management and integrity for researchers at all levels. Naomi collaborates closely with Institutional Review Board, IACUC, Sponsored Projects Administration, and Columbia’s Controller’s Office on variety of cross-cutting compliance issues and training.

Naomi represents the University in national associations including Council on Government Relations, American Association of Medical Colleges’ Forum on Conflict of Interest in Academe, and Association of Research Integrity Officers. She is a frequent invited speaker on research integrity, conflict of interest, and grants management/effort reporting issues, in venues including national meetings, continuing legal education sessions, and University meetings at all levels.

Before coming to Columbia, Naomi practiced law at the law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, with a focus on representing pharmaceutical companies and nonprofits. Ms. Schrag graduated from New York University School of Law in 1995. Before entering law school, she worked on an oral history of the Holocaust for the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

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