Research Administration Staff Directory

Support Staff Directory

Information Management

For IM support, call 312.227.3445 or email SQBCRhelp@luriechildrens.org.

Office of the President and Chief Research Officer (OCRO)

• Patrick Seed, MD, PhD, FAAP, FIDSA, President and Chief Research Officer 
• Rosalinda Lopez, Manager 
  Phone: 312.227.2594

Office of the Chief Operations Officer (OCOO)

• Brenda Paulsen, MEd, FACHE, Chief Operating Officer
• Jarrod Cunningham​, Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7099
• Briana Rodriguez, Administrative Assistant Senior

Mailing Address: Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute,
225 E. Chicago Ave., Box 205, Chicago, IL 60611

Express/Courier Address: 303 E. Superior St., 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611
Office location: Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Administration, 10th Floor, Room 10.334.02

Office of Clinical and Community Trials (OCCT)

• Ashley Hoambrecker, Director
  Phone: 312.503.7122
• Eric Gasber, Clinical Research Operations Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7011
• Katie Amsden, Clinical Research Operations Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7173
• Theresa Oswald, Clinical Research Operations Manager
  Phone: 312.503.1854
• Anna De Sonia, Clinical Research Coordinator, Lead
  Phone: 312.503.6238
• Christian Johnson, Clinical Research Coordinator III
• Alison Bender, MA, Executive Assistant
  Phone: 312.503.7095

Office of Research Development (ORD)

• Michelle Corbett, MS, Director
• Beatrice Apikos-Bennett, Program Coordinator
• Lucia De Almeida, PhD, Research Scientist Navigator, Basic and Preclinical Science
• Samantha Engel, PhD, Research Scientist Navigator, Clinical and Community Trials
• Melissa Gesbeck, PhD, Research Scientist Navigator, Community, Population Health, and Outcomes 
• Erin Lynch, Lead Research Educator
• Daniella Espinoza, MAT, MS, Research Educator, Basic and Preclinical Science
• Eric Goodwin, Communications Specialist
• Karen Nachay, MS, MA, Science Writer
• Lauren Spirov, MS, Research Educator

Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC)

• Jessica Huening Poppenk, JD, Director
  Phone: 312.503.7120
• Tricia Eifler, MBA, CIP, Associate Director
  Phone: 312.503.7077
• Carol Macpherson, CCRC, Clinical Research Quality Assurance and Improvement Specialist
  Phone: 312.503.7028
• Ben Lee, Clinical Research Quality Assurance and Improvement Specialist 
• Allison Harris, MPP, CIP, Senior Research Compliance Coordinator (Single IRB Coordinator)
  Phone: 312.503.2657
• Kristen Brown, MS, Research Compliance Coordinator 
  Phone: 312.503.7641
• Khrystyna Helner, MA, LPC, Research Compliance Coordinator
  Phone: 312.503.7663
• Amber Kofman, MS, MPH, Research Compliance Coordinator, IRB/IBC
  Phone: 312.503.7016 

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

For general and Cayuse-related IRB inquiries, contact irb@luriechildrens.org. 

• Jennifer Rubin, MD, IRB Chair
• Denise Rizzo, PharmD, IRB Vice Chair
  Phone: 312.503.7088
• Rachel G Robison, MD, IRB Vice Chair
• Sara Katsanis, MS, IRB Vice Chair

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

General IBC inquiries: IBC@luriechildrens.org

• Vamshi Rao, MD, IBC Chair

Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)

The fax number for any member within the Office of Sponsored Programs is 312.503.7059.

• Robin Lewis, MPA, CPRA, CRA, Director
  Phone: 312.503.7063
• Diana Favela, Senior Administrative Assistant
  Phone: 312.503.7117
• Kris Martens-Ackeret, JD, Associate Director
  Phone: 312.503.7079
• Kai Jackson, MS, Assistant Director
  Phone: 312.503.7047
• Catherine Lee, Senior Contracts Associate
  Phone: 312.503.7038
• Karen Dziedzic, BS, CRA, Senior Sponsored Programs Administrator
  Phone: 312.503.7046
• Sharon Feldman, Senior Sponsored Programs Administrator
  Phone: 312.503.7085
• Kaiji Evans, Sponsored Programs Administrator
  Phone: 312.503.7023

Research Business Operations

• Melissa Gentile, Senior Director
  Phone: 312.503.7062
• Diana Favela, Senior Administrative Assistant
  Phone: 312.503.7117

Research Financial Operations

• Colleen Garbe, Senior Project Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7033
• Wiley Shapiro, Senior Financial Analyst
  Phone: 312.503.1423
• Diana Abdi, Senior Financial Analyst 

Research Support Office 

• Amanda Schall, Assistant Director
  Phone: 312.503.7004
• Harsimran Kaur, Research Administrative Coordinator
  Phone: 312.503.7682
• Denise Lilly, Research Administrative Coordinator
  Phone: 312.503.7656
• Gary Mayberry, Research Administrative Coordinator
  Phone: 312.503.7599
• Victoria Ramos, Research Administrative Coordinator
  Phone: 312.503.7602
• Maria Price, Research Grants Specialist
  Phone: 312.503.7092
• Suswara Rayabandla, Research Grants Specialist
  Phone: 312.503.7045

Sponsored Research Finance Office (SRFO)

• Christine Sorensen, Director
  Phone: 312.503.7065
• Diana Favela, Senior Administrative Assistant
  Phone: 312.503.7117
• Cristina Goldsmith, Assistant Director
  Phone: 312.503.7005
• Dongyan (Katherine) Chen, Research Financial Portfolio Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7017
• Christianne Montgomery, Research Financial Portfolio Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7006
• Rashad White, Research Financial Portfolio Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7008
• Ruben Galvez, Accounts Receivable Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7037
• Gabriel Lammers, Financial Specialist
• Benetta Thomas, Financial Specialist
  Phone: 312.503.1422
• Alexander Oehmke, Research Accountant
  Phone: 312.503.7021
• Sarry Chavannes, Research Accountant
  Phone: 312.503.7033
• Ceclia Nguyen, Grant Staff Accountant
  Phone: 312.503.7035
• Julia Zhu, Quality Assurance Compliance Manager
  Phone: 312.503.7034
• Virginia Lu, Data Analyst, Quality Assurance & Compliance
  Phone: 312.503.7021

Innovate2Impact (I2I) Program

• Kosh Ghosh, MS, MBA, Director
• Kelley Elahi, MSE, BSN, RN, CPN, Manager, Innovation Portfolio 

Smith Child Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation Center (SCHORE) 

• Norma Amparo Melgoza, MPA, FACHE, Director of Operations
  Phone: 312.227.7026
• Roman Gomez, Senior Administrative Assistant
  Phone: 312.227.6699

Quantitative Science

• Michele L. Whitney, Director
  Phone: 312.503.7540
• Catherine M. Durkiewicz, Senior Administrative Assistant 
  Phone: 312.503.7603
• Diana Bahena, Research Project Manager 
  Phone: 312.503.7304

SQBRC Laboratory Resources

• Greg Taborn, Assistant Director, Basic and Preclinical Sciences
  Phone: 312.503.7096