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 11. At Columbia, she serves as the research integrity officer and research compliance officer. She has overall responsibility for research compliance across the institution, including, among others, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Climate School. Naomi has direct responsibility for individual and institutional conflict of interest in research; research misconduct; research security; data management, rigor and reproducibility; export controls; responsible conduct of research training; and a variety grants management requirements. 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; research security; and international research risk management. She also leads multidisciplinary faculty and administrator committees concerning policy issues such as conflict of interest; grants management; export controls; data management; and public access requirements. Naomi serves on the University Senate Committee on External Relations and Research Policy and staffs many interdisciplinary faculty and staff committees and working groups.

Naomi also leads research compliance training and communication programming. She established and leads the University’s certification program in administration of sponsored projects and leads workshops and trainings on many issues for diverse audiences across the research community. Naomi also established the Research and Data Integrity (ReaDI) Program, a University-wide program to enhance data management and integrity for researchers at all levels. Under Naomi’s leadership, her team developed the first on-line trainings on proper use of digital scientific images and best practices for keeping a lab notebook, among others. Naomi also founded and leads A University Symposium: Promoting Credibility, Reproducibility and Integrity in Research, a triennial, day-long symposium cosponsored by leading NYC research institutions.

At the national level, Naomi chairs the Board of Directors of COGR and has been a member of COGR’s Research Ethics and Compliance Committee for 8 years. She has been an invited speaker at COGR, Association of Research Integrity Officers, AAMC Forum on Conflict of Interest in Academe, NCURA, NACUA and National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine conferences and meetings among others.

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.