Individual Staff Member award
We are very happy to award the inaugural Staff Recognition Award to Laura Noffke (right), research service manager in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine. Laura has exceeded in every one of the criteria for this award: leadership, teamwork, can-do attitude, resourcefulness and dedication. Pulmonary has pioneered the pre- and post-split and lead the way in transitioning to a model that aligns with our goals to provide consistent pre-award support and continuous post-award management. Laura has developed and cultivated an efficient team to address pre- and post-award management as exemplified by the results of their audit. In the past three years, through Laura's leadership in finding the right structure and the right staffing, they have been able to solidify their processes and find a great working model that has been replicated in other divisions. Laura is not only a dedicated divisional leader, she is actively engaged in initiatives across the department and school. Her resourcefulness and willingness to put in the work has made her an asset to every team in which she participates. She is a subject matter expert that is well regarded by faculty, administration and her peers.
Divisional Team award
A second award recognized the overall improvement and achievement in transforming sponsored research services in a division. In 2013, the Division of General Internal Medicine had lost most of their staff over the course of a year due to turnover. We spent the end of 2013 and most of 2014 finding the right staff to rebuild the group. Shortly after I moved into the Assistant Administrator role last year, I met with Dr. Clark and Becky Hanst to talk about sponsored research service and grant management. We talked about many common issues, but also specific issues on GIM faculty experience and the fact that many faculty were submitting in public health rather than in DOM. We were able to address some of the issues having to do with ORA and the structure of the grants management in the division. Over the course of the last year, I am happy to report that they have really come into their own as a team. The synergy within the team has had a positive effect on how the faculty feel about research service in general. We heard from two different groups of faculty who are enthusiastic about the people that they work with. The comments from the faculty are noteworthy and represent enthusiasm and gratitude for work that is not often expressed.
When I think about what makes a successful research service staff member, these are all qualities that add up. By striving to exceed expectations, these awards show that faculty and administration do recognize people's best efforts. Additionally, I think it provides us hope that things can get better. I am pleased to present the divisional team award to the staff in General Internal Medicine, who has not only had success in building and sustaining a solid research service team, but has achieved a level of teamwork with faculty that we can all aspire to.
-Marissa Pio Roda, Assistant Administrator for Sponsored Research
