As we conclude the 2024 Connect Virtual Conference, Cayuse would like to extend our sincere thank you to all attendees who participated in three days of unity, transformation, and celebration with peers throughout the research community. We would also like to take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate the 2024 Connect Award winners.
The awards are open to all employees at Cayuse customer organizations, and recipients are selected by the Connect Awards Committee in four categories: The Sheri Pulis Award, the Community Champion Award, the Modernization Award, and the Productivity Award.
2024 Sheri Pulis Award for Outstanding Service in Research Administration
In honor of Sheri Pulis, a cherished Cayuse customer who passed away in 2019, the Sheri Pulis Award recognizes individuals who have an incredible impact and drive progress in the area of research administration, both within their organizations and the broader research community. Those who receive the award demonstrate service to the research community, make significant contributions within their own institution’s research program, are collaborative, dedicated, and love to drive results within their institution.
The 2024 Sheri Pulis Award winner is Kimberly Schulman, Director of Business Operations and Analytics at New York University.
Kim is a seasoned research administrator at New York University and a longtime, cherished member of our Cayuse Community. Her career spans nearly 30 years in research administration at small and large, public and private institutions. She is well-versed in policy and practice for pre-award, post-award, and regulatory compliance activities, with the ability to navigate both broad perspectives and critical details.
Kim’s current team with NYU Business Operations and Analytics (BOA) team manages and improves operations, communications, and educational initiatives including overseeing the Cayuse Research Suite to ensure accurate data validation and reporting. Kim and the BOA team are focused on developing cooperative and collaborative relationships with IT that effectively connect research business needs and IT solutions to optimize research operations.
Although Kim’s role and title have changed over her 23 years at NYU, one thing has remained constant: her commitment to improving business processes and systems at the university, in the greater Cayuse Community, and in the larger research administration field.
Kim first collaborated with Cayuse in 2008 to implement our Proposal product (often called 424). She was one of the founding members of our Cayuse Community. Her expertise and tireless dedication as a key liaison have helped advance NYU’s research mission, improve the daily work experience of research administrators, and enhance our own Cayuse Research Suite software functionality. She has also partnered with Cayuse as a Customer Advisory Board Member over the years to give expert, timely feedback and help ensure our solutions meet the expectations and needs of research teams around the world.
Congratulations, Kim!
2024 Modernization Award
The Modernization Award recognizes individuals and organizations that are engaged in updating and modernizing their systems across the research lifecycle.
The 2024 Modernization Award winner is Christine Johnson, Associate Vice President for Research at Oklahoma State University.
Christine embraces change with great enthusiasm: It was her vision to modernize OSU’s research administration operations by spearheading the implementation of Cayuse Sponsored Projects 4.0 as an early adopter. OSU had previously made four unsuccessful attempts over 15 years to modernize with different systems before Cayuse, from off-the-shelf products to custom-built solutions, each failing to launch or falling short of the university’s complex needs.
As was the case at many research institutions, the onset of COVID-19 was a significant turning point. The switch from paper to PDFs for routing and review during this period underlined the necessity for a more robust and efficient online system.
It’s not uncommon to see a disconnect between decision-makers and the people on the ground, but there was remarkable synergy with Christine. She truly understood the pain points and brought a modern approach to research, which was very refreshing to witness. Her advocacy for her team, openness to change, and support during the rollout of those changes were instrumental in the project’s success. Christine stayed engaged throughout, ensuring everything went smoothly from start to finish.
Christine shared her implementation journey and provided key strategies and insights on successful implementations at our 2023 Connect conference and in the Cayuse Community. Her vision of modernizing OSU’s systems and processes continues today as she prepares to enhance the university’s data reporting capabilities and guide the successful rollout of other Cayuse solutions to replace remaining paper-based functions.
Congratulations, Christine!
Honorable mentions:
Inova Health System, Office of Research
Meagan Moore, Chief Operating Officer at The Buck Institute for Research and Aging
2024 Productivity Award
The Productivity Award recognizes individuals or organizations who have engaged in reducing burden for their research staff.
The 2024 Productivity Award Winner is Dr. Pamela Peralta Taitano, Interim Vice Provost and Director of Grants and Contracts at the University of Guam.
Pamela joined the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) at the University of Guam in 2020 and led it to build a streamlined grant management system to handle a tenfold increase in grant applications.
When a substantial expansion in the volume and size of proposal submissions demanded more time and resources from administrators and researchers, Dr. Peralta was tasked with finding a better management system than the status quo of “calling at midnight to say there is a grant due the next day”. After going through the vendor selection process, the team settled on Cayuse and implemented a suite of administration solutions.
Always upbeat and ready to get things done, Pamela was a driving force during the multi-application implementation. From balancing multiple timelines and deliverables to tracking down information and realigning complicated business practices, she ensured her team always had the support and resources needed to tackle any task or challenge. A dedicated team player, Pamela’s persistent, active engagement allowed the Cayuse and UOG teams to work together effectively, leading to simpler, more streamlined workflows and a more positive research administration experience for all.
The new electronic system improved the office’s processes, increased transparency and accountability, and helped researchers and administrators become more efficient, freeing time to focus on the work that matters most. We’re always happy to see organizations engaged in reducing administrative burden for their research staff and are thrilled by the University of Guam’s success.
Congratulations, Pamela!
Honorable mentions:
Lisa Villaflores, Associate Director for the Administration Dept of Contracts and Grants at the University of Southern California
Robin Alexander, Grants Management Specialist at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine
2024 Community Champion Award
The Community Champion Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to supporting the research community by sharing their insights, advice, and expertise with their peers.
The 2024 Community Champion Award winner is Cheryl Cheney, IACUC Coordinator at Biogen.
Cheryl has been at Biogen for over ten years–an impressive tenure in modern research administration–and is a Certified Professional in IACUC Administration.
Since joining Biogen, a long-time Cayuse customer, Cheryl has been instrumental in supporting the research community and sharing her knowledge and expertise in the field, from holding one-to-one discussions with peers to presenting at events.
Cheryl also contributes her time and energy to improving Animal Oversight as an active member of the Customer Advisory Board. She has provided valuable input and critical feedback on new features and versions of the solution. The product management team has learned so much from their conversations and we are grateful for her partnership!
Cheryl has also been a member of the Connect Community since its inception in 2020 with over 35 posts in the past 2 years covering topics like staff oversight, metrics and reporting, and training strategies.
More than a list of accomplishments, though, Cheryl is one of those special people that, every time her name is mentioned, anyone who knows her has to chime in with how much they enjoy working with her. She’s helpful, funny, kind, intelligent, and always willing to share wisdom or offer assistance.
Congratulations, Cheryl!
Honorable Mentions:
Lisa Churchill, Director of Grants Administration at the Salk Institute
Leigh Schectman, Research Protections Coordinator at the California Lutheran University
