Learn about us
Why Cayuse
Our mission
Empower organizations to conduct globally connected research and sponsored projects, advancing their impact on science, discovery, and society.
Our values
Integrity
We act with high ethical standards to foster trust regardless of the situation.
Inclusion
We proactively recruit, engage, and retain diverse and empowered teams. We eliminate discrimination and intolerance so everyone feels their presence and contributions are valued. We ensure that everyone has equal access to opportunities @ Cayuse.
Innovation
We strive for betterment and believe that innovation is anything that creates value for our customers and our organization.
Cayuse At a Glance
1994
founded by Chris Harker, PhD, a researcher at Oregon Health & Science University
20+
connected apps on the Cayuse platform addressing every stage of the research lifecycle
227 K
unique users in Cayuse Cloud environments
700+
global research institutions use Cayuse
$38.5 B
U.S. federal funding submitted using Proposals in 2022
98%
of implementations finished on time and on budget in the last three years
Decades of Research Administration Experience
Chris Harker was a researcher, faculty member, and lab director at Oregon Health & Science University. Frustrated by the lack of connectivity between research administration processes and proposal submissions, Chris developed his first Public Health Service (PHS) grant application software, Grant Slam, in 1994 -and soon after launched Cayuse.
In 2002, Chris received a Small Business Innovation Research NIH grant to create and commercialize an eRA system. Cayuse became the first vendor to successfully communicate system-to-system with Grants.gov through Cayuse Proposals Eight years later, Cayuse licensed the RAMSeS system and commercialized the platform making it available as a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, branded Sponsored Projects.
Today, that spirit of discovery -recognizing a gap and then driving to find a solution – is the essence of Cayuse. It’s what drives us to empower organizations to conduct life-changing research that benefits everyone–it’s why we have given our all to building the Cayuse Connected Research Enterprise powered by the Cayuse Platform.
The story behind our name and logo
Our name and logo were inspired by the song, “Don’t Fence Me In” written by Cole Porter, who wrote about the desire to roam “the wide open country” on his Cayuse pony, seeking discovery and independence.
The Cayuse pony mentioned in this song is named after the Cayuse people, which is a Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. The Cayuse Native Americans resided in the Columbia Basin in the Pacific Northwest and called themselves the Tetawken, which means “we people.” Cayuse is derived from the French word “Cailloux,” or “Rock People,” which is what French-Canadian trappers and fur traders called the tribe due to the rocky environment where they lived in northeast Oregon. Today, the Cayuse tribe is part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla which includes the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes. Cayuse is also the name of an unincorporated town on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Cayuse, LLC is not affiliated with the tribe.
Scalable Solutions for Every Organization
Our customers include academic institutions, hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations—with research budgets ranging from $1 million to more than $1 billion.
They use our intuitive, industry-leading software to improve collaboration between researchers and administrators, mitigate compliance risks, and save time.
All of Cayuse’s products are backed by our world-class customer service and support.
Executive Leadership
Maria Siambekos
President and Chief Operating Officer
John Starr
Chief Financial Officer
Shannon Prillaman
VP of People Operations
Allison Landy Depuy
VP of Sales
DJ Thakkar
VP of Product Management
Founder and Advisors
Join our team
Our rewarding mission and focused team makes Cayuse an inspiring and energetic place to work. Come join us!