Increasing Our Research Excellence Committee

Launched in June 2023, the Sustaining Teaching and Research Task Force, or START, will assess challenges, prioritize strategies and recommend specific actions to bring about substantive improvements to our education, research and service models, thereby enhancing our ability to fulfill our mission at the highest levels of achievement.

The Increasing Our Research Excellence Committee will assess current and future challenges in advancing the campus’s research excellence and develop recommendations on staffing models and infrastructure to enhance research quality and productivity; develop enhancements at the intersections of faculty, graduate student, and undergraduate research experiences; and develop recommendations to improve funding models, shared resources, access to services, as well as administration of our Centers, Institutes, and Core Facilities.

The committee's members are:

Working Groups

The Increasing Our Research Excellence Committee has formed working groups that will focus on specific topics and address the full range of questions submitted to START. The working groups, chairs and members are:

  • Research Facilities
  • Chair:
    Mark Winey, Dean, College of Biological Sciences
    Co-Chair:
    Isabelle Girard, Director, Research Core Facilities Program
    Members (focused on Centers and Institutes):
    Amanda Guyer, Professor and Co-Director, Center for Mind and Brain
    Pamela Lien, Chair, Department of Molecular Biosciences
    Blake Meyers, Distinguished Professor and Director, Genome Center
    Michael "Moose" O'Donnell, Deputy Director, Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
    Mukund Rangamani, Director, Center for Quantum Mathematics and Physics
    Stephen Robinson, Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
    Emily Sanson-Smith, Principal Budget Analyst, Budget and Institutional Analysis
    Ahna Suleiman, Executive Director, Center for Regional Change
    Ted Wun, Associate Dean, Clinical and Translational Research, School of Medicine
    Previous Members (focused on Cores):
    Ryan Anderson, Manager, Center for Nano and Micro Manufacturing 
    Abhijit Chaudhari, Director, Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging
    Nann Fangue, Chair, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
    KC Kent Lloyd, Director, Mouse Biology Program
    Julin Maloof, Professor, Plant Biology
    David Rocke, Distinguished Professor, Public Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering
  • Research Computing
  • Chair: 
    Chen-Nee Chuah, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
    Members:
    Jawdat Al-Bassam, Associate Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
    Simon Atkinson, Vice Chancellor for Research
    Charles Bookman, Technical Director, High Performance Computing Core Facility
    Titus Brown, Professor, Population Health and Reproduction
    Rachael Callcut, Associate Dean of Data Science and Innovation, School of Medicine
    Neeraj Chauhan, Associate Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Infrastructure Services
    Ian Korf, Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
    Viji Murali, Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost, Information and Educational Technology
    Jeremy Phillips, Director, Information Technology, College of Letters and Science
    Steve Pigg, Executive Director, Information Technology, College of Engineering
    Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Professor, Evolution and Ecology
  • Research Financials
  • Members:
    Kim Barrett, Vice Dean for Research, School of Medicine
    Raissa D'Souza, Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering
    Denise Ehlen, Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Research 
    Simona Ghetti, Professor, Psychology, Center for Mind and Brain
    Sarah Mangum, Associate Vice Chancellor, Budget and Institutional Analysis
    Lisa Pastore-Anderson, Chief Administrative Officer, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
  • Research Opportunities
  • Chair:
    Peter Wainwright, Chair, Department of Evolution and Ecology
    Members:
    Cristina Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor for Interdisciplinary Research and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research
    Paul Dodd, Associate Vice Chancellor, Grand Challenges
    Jonna Mazet, Vice Provost, Grand Challenges
    Elizabeth Miller, Professor, English
    Michael Rios, Vice Provost, Public Scholarship and Engagement
    Amy Skehan, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Foundation and Corporate Engagement
    Sheryl Soucy-Lubell, Director, Interdisciplinary Research Support, Office of Research
    Ted Wun, Associate Dean for Research, School of Medicine