OVPR Welcomes 26 Campus Research Leaders to 2022-23 Cohort

Posted Jul 18, 2022

The Office of the Vice President for Research is welcoming 26 Iowa State University faculty members to the 2022-2023 Research Collaboration Catalysts (RCC) cohort designed to train the next generation of research team leaders.

Team Science principles provide the foundation for the Research Collaboration Catalysts program. Using evidence-based training, tools and resources, participating Iowa State faculty develop strong leadership skills and learn how to manage challenges that are specific to interdisciplinary collaborations to foster high-performing research teams. Participating tenured, tenure-eligible, and research term faculty were nominated as individuals who have demonstrated potential to lead future high-impact interdisciplinary research teams.

“The Research Collaboration Catalysts program is designed to advance the thinking of those already nailing it in areas of Team Science,” said Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology professor Carolyn Lawrence-Dill, who was a participant in the inaugural RCC cohort in 2021-2022. “The added benefits of the program? Learning who else at Iowa State is advancing Team Science creates community, and the education and activities that the program offers help to build a framework to conceptualize how all the pieces fit together. I got a lot out of the program and I’m very happy to see it continue and grow.”

Through the course of the 2022-2023 academic year, cohort participants will interact with each other and with a variety of internal and external content experts in eight sessions to learn about and practice evidence-based means to build and lead high-functioning, high-performing research teams. Topics that will be covered include:

Utilizing leadership styles to build a team vision and set goals;
Enhancing communication skills to better navigate conflict;
Negotiating credit and authorship while building a collaboration plan; and
Leading large interdisciplinary research teams to success with project management.

“The Office of the Vice President for Research is delighted to welcome 26 faculty members to the second Research Collaborators Catalysts cohort,” said Associate Vice President for Research Surya Mallapragada. “High-impact interdisciplinary research thrives when leaders create a collaborative environment that brings diverse teams together to work towards a common goal. Through our RCC program, we give campus research leaders the training and skills they need to shape and guide transformative research teams to greater discovery and innovation.”

Here are the participants in the 2022-2023 Research Collaboration Catalysts cohort:

Beena Ajmera, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Dan Andersen, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Evrim Baran, School of Education
Elizabeth Bobeck, Animal Science
Michael Brown, School of Education
Shelby Doyle, Architecture
Pete Evans, Industrial Design
Cody Fleming, Mechanical Engineering
Nicole Hashemi, Mechanical Engineering
Kris Johansen, Office of the Vice President for Research
Dior Kelley, Genetics, Development and Cell Biology
Daejin Kim, Interior Design
Adarsh Krishnamurthy, Mechanical Engineering
Wenzhen Li, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Marshall McDaniel, Agronomy
Jacob Meyer, Kinesiology
Jarad Niemi, Statistics
Matthew Panthani, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Tanya Prozorov, Ames Laboratory
Julie Rursch, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Anwesha Sarkar, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Joshua Selsby, Animal Science
Roy Sturgill, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Wallapak Tavanapong, Computer Science
Chengde Wu, Architecture
Marna Yandeau-Nelson, Genetics, Development and Cell Biology