Research Leadership

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship oversee and support all aspects of research and is organized into five administrative sections:  Research Development and Education, Research Administration, Regulatory Affairs and Assessment, Research Capacity and Operations, and Privacy Office.

Maria Luisa Alcaide

Professor

(305) 243-8434
Dr. Alcaide is an Infectious Diseases physician scientist, faculty member of the University of Miami for over 15 years. Throughout her career as a clinician and researcher, Dr. Alcaide has provided scientific and administrative oversight to numerous multidisciplinary research studies focused on HIV and other emerging infections in the US and...

Workforce Development

Workforce Development is dedicated to matching researchers and scholars with funding, collaborators, and all the tools they need to succeed, including the Research Compass and the Research Navigator

Suhrud M Rajguru

Professor

(305) 243-7946
Suhrud Rajguru, Ph.D., is a Professor at the University of Miami, Research Health Scientist at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and founder and Chief Scientific Officer of RestorEar Devices, LLC. The NeuroTherapeutics group led by Dr. Rajguru carries out research with translational focus on characterization, diagnosis and treatment of hearing...

Research Administration

Research Administration teams are responsible for grant and gift applications and management, the negotiation of contracts, and financial oversight of sponsored projects. These teams help researchers and scholars Submit Proposals and Conduct Research.

Laura B. Kozma

Assoc. VP, Research Administration

(305) 284-3965
Laura Kozma, Associate Vice President for Research Administration, provides leadership for sponsored administration which includes proposal review and approval, contract negotiations, award management and compliance monitoring, and serves as audit liaison for the Institution for sponsored awards. In this same capacity, she is also responsible...

K. Brandon Strickland

Executive Director, Research Administration

(305) 284-3952
Brandon Strickland serves as the Executive Director of Research Administration, Pre-Award for the University of Miami. In his position he directs all facets of Pre-Award in the Office of Research Administration, which is responsible for submission, negotiation, and award set up. Brandon has a Bachelor's in Biosystems Engineering from Auburn...

Lionel Jesus Vera

Executive Director, Research Administration

(305) 284-4276 x1165
Lionel Vera, Executive Director, Research Administration, provides leadership for the post award administration of all sponsored projects at UM. His role includes supporting and overseeing new grant account setup, invoicing and cash management, award management and close out, and monitoring the audit and financial compliance requirements of our...

Research, Regulation, Integrity, Security & Evaluation

Several offices under the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship are dedicated to ensuring the integrity, safety and compliance of the sponsored programs we undertake. These professionals have a deep knowledge of regulatory requirements and know how to ensure that the end product of your work meets the highest ethical standards.

Alberto Caban-Martinez

Professor

(305) 243-7565
Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez is a board-certified physician-scientist, Professor (tenured) of Public Health Sciences, Deputy Director of the MD-MPH Program, and Associate Provost for Regulatory Affairs, Assessment and Research Integrity at the University of Miami. He has over 10 years of domestic and international research expertise in...

William Jesus Collins

Director, Compliance

(305) 284-9558
William J. Collins has served as the Director of Export Control Compliance for the University since March 2017 and oversees the Export Management Compliance Program.  He previously served as an Empowered Official with the Boeing Company, and was employed at NASA Kennedy Space Center as a federal civil servant and U.S. government...

Lory Hayes, Ph.D.

Director, Compliance

(305) 243-5036
Within the University of Miami’s (UM) Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship (OVPRS), Lory Hayes is the Director of Disclosures & Scholarly Activities Management (DSAM). DSAM reviews the relationships with external entities disclosed by UM’s Covered Persons and identifies personal conflicts of...

Ellen Kapsalis

Director, Compliance

(305) 243-2311
As Director of Compliance for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight committee (ESCRO) under the direction of the Vice Provost for Research + Scholarship, Ellen Kapsalis provides oversight and leadership to University's research program...

Kenia Francis Viamonte

Director, Human Subject Research (HSRO)

(305) 243-9672
As Director for the Human Subject Research Office (HSRO), Kenia oversees the review of human subject research studies, the regulatory team that conducts HSR reviews, the five Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and several compliance initiatives. She started at the University in 2002 at Medical Human Resources, where she was the recruiter for...

Karrelyn Gindy Wetherington

Sr. Clinical Trial Disclosure (CTD) Associate

Karre Wetherington is a Sr. Clinical Trial Disclosure Associate in the Regulatory Affairs and Assessment (RAA) within the Office of Vice Provost of Research and Scholarship (OVPRS) at the University of Miami. She has over 20 years of experience in sponsored research with pre and post-award administration as well as all facets of clinical...

Jerry Engel

Quality Assurance Auditor/Research Integrity Investigator

(305) 243-4054
Jerry Engle, JD is the Research Integrity Investigator at the University of Miami (UM) where he  has been investigating research misconduct cases since 2003. He grew up in New York, attended Emory University in Atlanta, and law school at UM. After a brief swim in the professional legal waters of Miami, he found a home at UM and the...

Finance & Administration

The Finance & Administration team provides support on research administration systems, research reporting, education and research development. The units include Research Intellegency and Capacity, Research Strategic Operations, Research Education, Research Development, Finance and Business Operations. 

Privacy Office

The Privacy Office team acts as one of the institution’s gatekeepers of clinical data; oversees the proper use, disclosure, storage and access to clinical biological data for research and healthcare operations; and, protects the privacy of UM’s research participants.

Top