Streamlining Research Processes to Support Investigators

Zoe Vanella is a manager of research administration in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Feinberg. She attended Clayton State University in Georgia. In her role at Feinberg, Vanella empowers investigators with tools and guides to streamline research administration.   

Where is your hometown? 

I have been lucky to live all over the United States: Trenton, NJ, Westminster, CO, Pleasanton, CA, Peachtree City, GA, Nashville, TN, Merritt Island, FL, Canton, MI. With all those moves, I try to think of the city I'm in as my hometown. Since November 2021 it's been Chicago.   

What led you to Northwestern? 

One of the faculty I supported at University of Michigan, Hasan Alam, MD, joined Northwestern University as the Chair of Surgery. As I was working on his transition between our institutions, I was lucky enough to build connections with several amazing people from Northwestern. After almost 15 years with University of Michigan I was looking for a new opportunity, so I reached out. They connected me with the leadership in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, who were looking for a new Manager of Research Administration and I found my new home. 

How does your work support the research enterprise at Feinberg? 

My team and I provide pre- and post- award support to the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty. Research administrators serve an important role at Feinberg by providing streamlined and standardized processes that support researchers in an increasingly complex and competitive environment. We decrease the administrative burden by serving as a conduit for communication between faculty and internal and externals stakeholders. We are also trusted and reliable resources for our ability to translate university and sponsor guidelines.  Our work contributes to good financial stewardship and compliance in a manner that is beneficial to the faculty, staff and advances research at Northwestern. 

What are you currently working on? 

One of my goals is to optimize our research administration's workflow in support of our research enterprise. To that end, my team and I have been compiling resources to create a Faculty Research Toolkit. The toolkit centralizes guidance and links to university and sponsor resources for grant writing, preparing a proposal, developing a budget, funding opportunities, and peer review. I have also recently completed a pre-award manual and I'm putting the final touches on a post-award manual. Once completed these resources will be submitted for inclusion in the Feinberg Research Repository SharePoint site that is currently under development.  

Why do you enjoy working at Northwestern?  

The people here are dedicated, hardworking and driven to do their best. The department benefits from having great leadership, faculty and staff. I know I couldn't do this without my team, the HR team, the finance team and other administrative support staff. It's more than just my department; that dedication crosses all the departments and central offices I've interacted with since joining Northwestern.