Our Team

As Vice Provost for Research, Erin Adams provides strategic and comprehensive support to deans and faculty to enable ambitious campus-wide initiatives. She manages large-scale research infrastructure that undergirds the research enterprise, such as the University Research Administration (URA), the Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering (CASE), the Office of Research Safety, Research Computing Center (RCC), and the Office of Research Development (ORD).

Assistant: Aurora Parra
773-834-4503
aparra@uchicago.edu

As Senior Advisor to the Vice Provost for Research, Elbert works to elevate the scope and scale of community-engaged research and position UChicago as a leader in developing, studying, and implementing evidence-based solutions to address the numerous social challenges facing cities. Elbert is a primary care doctor who studies clinical and healthcare policy issues at the intersection of diabetes, aging, and health economics. He established the University of Chicago Practice-Based Research Network and secured funding for the Chicago Chronic Condition Equity Network (C3EN), an NIH regional center for addressing multiple chronic diseases of health disparities.

Email: ehuang@bsd.uchicago.edu

Elena leads strategic planning and implementation of major research initiatives in the Office of Research and across Divisions. Additionally, Elena oversees ORD to ensure a high level of service in the pursuit of large-scale federal funding opportunities. Her other responsibilities include the development of institutional analytics, benchmarking and projections for federal and corporate funding, and the metrics for broader impacts of research.

She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at the Booth School of Business. She has conducted brain-imaging and behavioral research and received her doctorate from Harvard University and postdoctoral fellowship from the University of Chicago.

Phone: 773-702-5871
Email: elenaz@uchicago.edu

Rebecca manages the operations of ORD and works closely with the Office for Research leadership to cultivate research collaborations across the university and with national lab partners. She has extensive experience in both research development and administration of complex research grants, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary scientific topics. She leads the proposal development functions within the office and provides comprehensive grantsmanship guidance toward creating competitive interdisciplinary proposals.

Prior to UChicago, Rebecca worked at Northwestern University in research development roles for the Office for Research Development, the Micro and Nanomechanics Laboratory, and the International Institute for Nanotechnology. She has co-authored over 25 scientific publications, earned a PhD in chemistry and BS in chemistry, with minors in math, physics, and computer science. She began her career in academia as an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University studying bioinorganic catalysis and spectroscopy.

Phone: 773-702-6758
Email: rebeccam1@uchicago.edu

Silvia is responsible for working directly with UChicago Comprehensive Cancer Center faculty to strategically identify and pursue largescale and multidisciplinary federal funding opportunities as a member of the RDS team. She works collaboratively with other University offices and units including the Office of the Provost, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University Research Administration, the Office of Federal Relations, and Foundation and Corporate Relations. Silvia has extensive biomedical research experience. She has a PhD in chemistry for regenerative medicine, a MS in biotechnology and a BS in molecular biotechnology.

Prior to UChicago, she was a faculty member at Northwestern University in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and at the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnologies. She co-authored over 40 scientific publications and contributed to over 60 national and international scientific conferences.

Phone: 773-834-3081
Email: sminardi@uchicago.edu

Matt contributes to ORD initiatives by curating and disseminating funding opportunities for UChicago faculty, centralizing proposal development resources, and supporting the development of large proposals concentrated in the Physical Sciences Division (PSD). Before joining the ORD team, he earned his PhD in chemistry at UChicago, and a BS in chemistry with a minor in math. His graduate research focused on chemical and cell biology, in which he co-authored several papers, reviews, and essays. Matt is passionate about efficient scientific communication and data presentation at the intersections of research and policy.  

Phone: 773-702-6986
Email: zajacm1@uchicago.edu

Mia oversees the UChicago federal limited submission process and liaises with grant administrators throughout the university to optimize proposal development resources and enable knowledge sharing. She facilitates proposal development at every stage, from concept to funding, providing technical, networking, and administrative support, with a particular focus on BSD research advancement. She closely consults with the Foundations and Corporate Relations team on limited Foundation proposals.

Prior to joining the ORD team, Mia served as the Director of Arts & Sciences Grants at Columbia University and held the role of Graduate Writing Development Director at UCSB. She earned her PhD in Physical Chemistry from UCSB and holds undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Environmental Science from FSU.

Phone: 773-702-1920
Email: mnowotarski@uchicago.edu

Beth manages administrative operations for ORD for the Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering (UChicago CASE) program. Beth oversees the intake of new members, member database management, communications and processes with affiliated lab liaisons, and onboarding for UChicago CASE including applications and renewals. Beth’s role in ORD involves posting, routing, and managing internal competitions for federal limited opportunities. She has a master’s degree in business administration from Benedictine University, where she helped launch and facilitate staff leadership development programming and taught adult undergraduate courses in business and communications.

Phone: 773-702-6532
Email: bethz@uchicago.edu

Kate is based in Washington DC where she works to understand the priorities of the federal funding agencies and engage with them on behalf of the University of Chicago. She spent her first year in Washington as a science fellow at the State Department, learning the intricacies of international science policy with regard to marine conservation issues. Moving on to work at a scientific non-profit like the American Geophysical Union prepared her to work with scientists, helping them communicate with their Congressional delegations and informing of them of new developments in science policy and funding. She also worked for the UK government at the British Embassy in Washington DC, which allowed her to develop an in-depth understanding of how funding agencies operate. All of these experiences give her unique insights and inform her work with the ORD team.

Email: kvonholle@uchicago.edu