September 22, 2005

News Briefs

DiSanto joins research operations

Frank J. DiSanto has been appointed to the newly established position of associate vice president for research operations, it was announced by Vice President for Research C. Bradley Moore.

DiSanto comes to Northwestern from The Ohio State University, where he was associate vice president for research and executive director (chief executive officer and chief operating officer) of The Ohio State Research Foundation. 

He was responsible to the foundation’s board of directors for 120 staff members, an $8.7 million annual operating budget, and all processes — proposal submission through audit — related to applying for and administering Ohio State’s $528 million sponsored research program. 

At Northwestern, DiSanto will provide operational management and oversight for Office of Research units that support the research enterprise, ensuring that those units operate effectively and that all operations are in compliance with regulations, policies, and laws governing externally sponsored research activities, Moore said.

His management responsibilities will include client service, strategic planning, work process review and enhancement, development of supporting information systems, human resources, budget and finance, and infrastructure. He will also manage Office of Research participation in the Research Data Integration and Access and Data Warehouse initiatives, as well as the University’s Financial Management System Replacement Initiative and subsequent implementation of the research pre-award system.

Research guide now online

The Office of Research has released the Guide for Research Information, an online resource for research information.  The guide replaces the printed Research Information Guide.

The guide’s main research policy and procedure information is structured around the research grant administration life cycle, enabling users to easily locate information pertaining to a particular stage in the grant administration process. To help users find information quickly, the guide uses Google technology. 

Topics include the processes and guidelines related to the use of human and animal subjects; financial management of awards; roles and responsibilities of the research community; funding resources; research education and training offered at Northwestern; and grant-writing.

The guide is at www.northwestern.edu/research/guide/

Musa has federal assignment

Samuel A. Musa, associate vice president for strategic initiatives, has received an assignment with the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C., for the next two years through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program. 

He has been selected to serve as a member of the advisory committee that will play a key role in strategic directions and technical oversight for a project to counter Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), initiated by the Department of Defense and led by the Office of Naval Research. Gordon England, Secretary of the Navy and current Deputy Secretary of Defense designate, directs the initiative with Admiral Jay Cohen, Chief of Naval Research. 

Musa will also serve as a Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at the National Defense University, initiating a study to address new roles for the intelligence community in the IED problem. The center has more than 20 personnel, with former leadership positions such as the assistant secretary of defense, the Special Assistant to the President, the president of Rand, the directors of both the Navy and Army research laboratories, and members of the National Security Council, State Department and Central Intelligence Agency. 

Bills go electronic

Tuition and fees bills are now being delivered to Northwestern students electronically rather than through the mail. 

Students will access their bills online in QuikPAY® via CAESAR.  A student may authorize other payers (such as a parent, spouse or sponsor) to view the bill online, according to Brad Stene, director of student accounts

Email notification is provided when each new bill is securely posted online. Payments may be made electronically or by mail.

Students and parents of undergraduates will receive details about electronic billing procedures and selection of billing options before their fall billing dates.  A paper bill option will be available, but students must specifically request it by logging in through CAESAR to QuikPAY®, the electronic billing and payment service.

Go to www.northwestern.edu/sfs/ for additional information.

Feinberg departments rank high in funding

Three Feinberg School of Medicine departments  — urology, physical medicine and rehabilitation and cell and molecular biology  — were ranked in the top 10 in National Institutes of Health funding for fiscal year 2004 among their peers in the 127 medical schools across the country.

Urology ranked second (same as last year); physical medicine and rehabilitation ranked fourth (up from 15th); and cell and molecular biology ninth (eighth last year).

Other Feinberg departments that ranked well included physiology (13th up from 23th); preventive medicine (13th, up from 22nd); dermatology (21st); microbiology-immunology (26th); neurology 26th, up from 31st); medicine (27th, up from 31st); pathology (27th); and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (31st).