Research Leadership

The over 200 professionals in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research & Scholarship oversee and support all aspects of research and is organized into five administrative sections: Research Development & Evaluation, Research Capacity & Operations, Research Administration, Regulatory Affairs and Assessment, and Research Communications and Dissemination.

Erin Kobetz

Professor

ekobetz@miami.edu

(305) 243-6185
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Dr. Erin Kobetz is Vice Provost for Research and Tenured Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Public Health Sciences, and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Additionally, she is Associate Director of Population Science and Cancer Disparities at UM’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer...
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Tonya Sautier

Sr. Business Officer, Finance and Administration

tsautier@miami.edu

(305) 243-7808
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As Senior Business Officer for the Office of the Vice Provost for Research + Scholarship, Tonya Sautier leads all aspects of budget, finance, human resources, operations, administration, and special projects for the organization. She serves as the principal liaison between the Vice Provost and University administration, departmental...
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Research Development & Evaluation

Research Development & Evaluation teams are dedicated to matching researchers and scholars with funding, collaborators, and all the tools they need to succeed. These teams help researchers and scholars Get Started, Identify Opportunities, and Write Your Proposal.

Sheela Celeste Dominguez

Executive Director, Strategic Operations

sdominguez@miami.edu

(305) 243-9051
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As Executive Director for Strategic Operations and co-administrator of the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), Sheela leads reporting, evaluation, finance, project management, and programmatic activities. She serves as the primary liaison between the CTSI with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research + Scholarship,...
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Research Capacity & Operations

Research Capacity & Operations teams oversee all shared services used in research, from animal facilities to information technology. These teams help researchers Submit Proposals and Conduct Research.

Allen Mora

Executive Director, Research Intelligence & Capacity

Allen.Mora@miami.edu

(305) 284-3906
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As Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Office of Research Administration, Allen Mora oversees a great and diverse team of 16 individuals. He and his team are responsible for training and communications for ORA, support of research administration applications such as IBISResearch and ECRT, document and data management, reporting...
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Julia Zaias

Research Assoc. Professor

jzaias@miami.edu

(305) 243-2310
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Julia Zaias, DVM, PhD, DACLAM is Director of the Division of Veterinary Resources and an Associate Professor of Pathology in the Division of Comparative Pathology. In this role, Dr. Zaias is the lead for ensuring the safety of animals in University laboratories and compliance with regulations regarding animal studies. She received her...
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Raquel M. Zamora

Sr. Manager, Information Technology

rzamora1@miami.edu

(305) 243-2750
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Raquel Zamora, Manager of the Research Intelligence and Data Infrastructure team, serves as liaison between the research community business unit leads, stakeholders, system end-users and respective external system vendors to ensure research systems managed by Research Intelligence and Data Infrastructure are in alignment with research enterprise...
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Research Administration

Research Administration teams are responsible for grant and gift applications and management, the negotiation of contracts, and financial oversight of sponsored projects. These teams help researchers and scholars Submit Proposals and Conduct Research.

Laura B. Kozma

Assoc. VP, Research Administration

lbk53@miami.edu

(305) 284-3965
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Laura Kozma, Associate Vice President for Research Administration, provides leadership for sponsored administration which includes proposal review and approval, contract negotiations, award management and compliance monitoring, and serves as audit liaison for the Institution for sponsored awards. In this same capacity, she is also responsible...
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Edwin Bemmel

Executive Director, Research Administration

ebemmel@miami.edu

(305) 284-1243
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Edwin Bemmel is the Executive Director, Post Award in the Office of Research Administration and leads all aspects of Award Setup, Award Administration, Financial Reporting, Billing, Collections, Cash Management, and Audits for sponsored awards. Edwin joined the university of Miami in 2015. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational...
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K. Brandon Strickland

Executive Director, Research Administration

kxs1198@miami.edu

(305) 284-3952
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Brandon Strickland serves as the Executive Director of Research Administration, Pre-Award for the University of Miami. In his position he directs all facets of Pre-Award in the Office of Research Administration, which is responsible for submission, negotiation, and award set up. Brandon has a Bachelor's in Biosystems Engineering from Auburn...
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Regulatory Affairs & Assessment

Regulatory Affairs & Assessment teams are dedicated to ensuring the integrity, safety and compliance of the sponsored programs we undertake. These teams help researchers and scholars Submit Proposals and Conduct Research.

Johanna Stamates

Assoc. VP, Regulatory Affairs and Assessment

jstamates@miami.edu

(305) 243-4215
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Johanna Stamates holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in hospital economics and nursing, and completed several certifications for the conduct of research and research compliance. With over 30 years of combined experience in healthcare, Total Quality Management (TQM), research management and research compliance, she...
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Cindy Gates

Human Subjects Research Officer

cmg345@miami.edu

(305) 243-7943
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As Executive Director for the Human Subject Research Office (HSRO), Cindy leads the HSRO, a team that supports the University's five Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). She also serves as theUniversity's Research Conflict of Interest Committee Chair. Cindy is responsible for ensuring that the IRBs protect research participants'...
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William Jesus Collins

Director, Compliance

wjc59@miami.edu

(305) 284-9558
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William J. Collins has served as the Director of Export Control Compliance for the University since March 2017 and oversees the Export Management Compliance Program.  He previously served as an Empowered Official with the Boeing Company, and was employed at NASA Kennedy Space Center as a federal civil servant and U.S. government...
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Lory Hayes, Ph.D.

Director, Compliance

lhayes@miami.edu

(305) 243-5036
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Within UM’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship (OVPRS), Lory Hayes is the Director of Disclosures & Relationship Management (DRM). The role of the DRM and the UM COI Committee is to determine whether an investigator’s relationship with an external entity creates a situation that could introduce bias...
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Ellen Kapsalis

Director, Compliance

ekapsali@miami.edu

(305) 243-2311
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As Director of Compliance for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight committee (ESCRO) under the direction of the Vice Provost for Research + Scholarship, Ellen Kapsalis provides oversight and leadership to University's research program...
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Kenia Francis Viamonte

Director, Human Subject Research (HSRO)

kviamonte@miami.edu

(305) 243-9672
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As Director for the Human Subject Research Office (HSRO), Kenia oversees the review of human subject research studies, the regulatory team that conducts HSR reviews, the five Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and several compliance initiatives. She started at the University in 2002 at Medical Human Resources, where she was the recruiter for...
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