This workshop will introduce Research Development (RD) as a career path for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Sengupta and Dr. Wallace will describe details of a RD career, including roles and responsibilities of a RD professional, different structures of RD offices, and differences between RD and Research Administration. This will be followed by brief descriptions of each presenter’s career path into RD, directions they have taken since, and paths forward.
After this workshop attendees will be able to:
- Understand what Research Development is and how it is different from Research Administration
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of RD professional and differences in RD offices
- Understand the pathways to RD career and the career trajectories
About Our Presenters
Samarpita Sengupta, PhD (she/her) serves as the Director of Research in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at UT Southwestern. She is responsible for creating and executing strategic initiatives designed to increase student participation in research, elevate research by faculty, maintain accreditation as well as maintain program standing as a destination PA program in the country. She started in Research Development in 2015, helping create and eventually lead the Neuroscience Research Development (NeRD) office in the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern. She is an active volunteer with the National Organization of Research Development professionals (NORDP), serving and leading a variety of initiatives. She is currently serving as a co-chair of the Mentoring Committee. She can be found on Twitter (@AnonDumboOctopi).
Rachel Wallace serves as a Research Development Officer with the Research Development and Proposal Services team in the Univ of Michigan Office of Research. She supports U-M investigators in all research areas in securing external research funding. In her role, Rachel provides proposal support and editing, project management for large-scale proposal submissions, workshops to help increase grant competitiveness, and general consulting on research development. Rachel holds a B.A. degree in Chemistry from Wesleyan University and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan. She also completed a graduate certificate in Science, Technology, and Public Policy in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining OVPR, Rachel was the project manager for Michigan Drug Discovery.
