Director, Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) - Chicago

Dr. Elliott grew up in Western Springs and Cleveland Heights and went to the Ohio State University and the University of Illinois Medical Campus (now UIC). He holds a doctorate in immunology and worked in research at MIT and Brandeis and in education at Boston University.

What is your role in OSR?

The Office for Sponsored Research is a large operation. We are responsible for all pre-award and non-financial post-award issues in research administration including clinical trials. OSR has offices on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses and I’m director of OSR-Chicago operation. We have a busy office supporting the Chicago campus, which consists of the medical and law schools, and has the majority of the University’s sponsored funding.

How long have you been with OSR?

Five years. Prior to NU, I was director of grants and contracts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston – one of Harvard affiliated hospitals.

What do you like most about your job?

I’m particularly interested in the Federal policies and regulations that provide the foundation for effective management of sponsored research operations and in the connectedness of these concepts as they apply to major compliance issues in grant and contract management, such as effort reporting, conflict of interest, and financial stewardship. I’m intrigued by how new topics emerge and are discussed and addressed by professional associations. I’ve enjoyed being involved in education and training in the core competencies of research administration and compliance. I relate to the culture of academic medical centers; and I’m interested in research-related operational issues that affect AMCs such as the relationship of the universities with practice plans and with affiliated institutions.

What professional activities do you participate in?

I’m very involved in the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and am a frequent committee member and speaker at NCURA conferences. I recently stepped down after 10 years as associate editor of the Journal of Research Administration. I’m also involved in activities at the Council on Governmental Relations and Federal Demonstration Partnership, two major organizations that are involved in the financial and administrative support of federally-funded research. I’ve also worked on several NIH Commons projects such as their Grants.gov website and the rollout of the new X-Train module for administration of training grants.

What do you like do to outside of work?

I’ve always had a strong affinity for Chicago; and I’m interested in the city’s history and in exploring its neighborhoods, particularly those outside of the well known north-side neighborhoods. I’m very interested in understanding how Chicago’s well-defined 80 neighborhoods evolve demographically over time and the role that migration, invasion, and succession of people play in neighborhood economic change. It fascinates me why some groups of people move as a whole out of certain neighborhoods and into other neighborhoods over a period of a decade yet other areas of the city remain stable. It’s not easy to predict this change. Just like evolution, it’s much easier to explain it in retrospect than prospectively.