PANEL: Growing a Research Development Infrastructure from the Ground Up

Marisol Vera, PhD - Professor of Chemistry & Coordinator of the Proposal Development Unit, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM) Kathleen D. Grzech, MS - Associate Director, Proposal Development Office, University of Kentucky Jean L. Flagg-Newton, PhD - Assistant Director, Division of Special Populations, NIH-NICHD Panelists Arlene J. Heredia, Executive Officer, Proposal Development Unit, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM) Moderator

Marisol Vera, PhD Professor of Chemistry Coordinator of the Proposal Development Unit University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Kathy Doyle Grzech, MA Associate Director Proposal Development Office University of Kentucky

Jean Flagg-Newton, PhD Program Officer Extramural Associates Program NICHD, Division of Special Populations

Creating research development infrastructure with limited resources

Inter- institutional collaborations… Discovering the possibilities

Creative ideas to overcome implementation challenges

M. Vera – UPR K. Grezch – UK J. Flagg-Newton − NIH

Biosketch: Jean Flagg-Newton, Ph.D., holds a B.S. from Tennessee State University, earned a Ph.D. in physiology at Harvard University, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. Dr. Flagg-Newton began her career as a research associate and later became an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She has served in a number of capacities at the NIH, including scientific review administrator (National Institute of General Medical Sciences); program officer for the Research Collaborative Awards Program and the Minority International Research Training Program (both at Fogarty International Center [FIC]); Minority Health Initiative coordinator, and Deputy Director, Office of Research on Minority Health, NIH; and Deputy Director and Chief, Office of Research, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Dr. Flagg-Newton returned to FIC in 2004 as a special assistant in the Office of the Acting Director. She is currently a special assistant to the EA Program director and a program officer for the Program, within the NICHD Division of Special Populations.

Associate Director Kathy Doyle Grzech, M.A., German/Linguistics, Vanderbilt University Since joining PDO in 2000, Ms. Grzech has authored or co-authored numerous institutional proposals resulting in major awards to UK from federal and private sources and has been extensively engaged in development of many of UK’s largest multidisciplinary proposals as well as diverse individual grant applications. She previously held a joint appointment as associate director of the National Science Foundation- supported Appalachian Mathematics and Science partnership and is currently a writing specialist on UK’s NIH-funded minority outreach initiative, Interactive Learning Modules for Writing Grant Proposals. She serves on the advisory board for the University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez in an NIH-funded grant to develop a Proposal Development Unit and on the Health Research and Education Task Force within the Washington, D.C. based Grants Resource Center to develop grant- seeking capacity among member institutions. She maintains an active workshop schedule, providing grant-writing training to faculty and staff at UK and nationally.