In the Research Strategic Initiative town hall on March 19, chairs of each of the six working groups shared their action plans. Watch a video of the event here.In a packed Alumni House ballroom on March 19, UAB senior leaders and working group chairs provided an update on the university’s Research Strategic Initiative. The initiative, launched in 2023, is dedicated to establishing a road map for expanding UAB’s research impact on Alabama and beyond. (Watch a video of the event here.)
“It is great to feel the energy in the room,” said President Ray Watts. “I’m more glad than ever that we have undertaken this Research Strategic Initiative to really look into all the processes that go into supporting our faculty and staff and students and the great work that is being done in our research enterprise.” In addition, Watts added, “I am more proud than ever of the great work you do every day.”
Initiative timeline
Chris Brown, Ph.D., UAB’s vice president for Research, began with an overview and timeline of the intiative. The Research Strategic Initiative was launched in July 2023, when Watts and UAB leadership engaged with Huron Consulting Group and Urban Impact Advisors to evaluate UAB’s research infrastructure and identify strategic opportunity areas to positively impact society. This internal environmental scan included 121 stakeholder interviews and a campuswide survey that attracted 575 responses with more than 300 comments and suggestions, Brown noted.
This is the second town hall meeting for the initiative, following an event in March 2024 that initially shared plans with the campus.
Substantial progress
Over the intervening year, substantial progress has been made, Brown said. This includes:
- aligning school and college strategic plans with the initiative’s goals and aims;
- filling key leadership positions in research operations (Kevyn Merten, Ph.D.) and clinical trials operations (David Kimberlin, M.D.);
- implementing a new electronic research administration system, myUABResearch, with a go-live date for the first phase set for November 2025;
- recruiting the first three UAB Presidential Faculty Scholars, with more applications being considered now; and
- bringing online capital projects such as the McCallum Research Building (now fully occupied); phase two of the Science and Engineering Complex, Gorrie Hall (scheduled for completion in May 2025); the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building (scheduled for completion in May 2025); and the Biomedical Research and Psychology Building (scheduled for completion in 2027).
Working groups share action plans
In addition to that progress, six working groups focused on specific identified infrastructure opportunities have been meeting since last summer, Brown said. Their task was to review recommendations from UAB’s consulting partners, develop additional recommendations and create action plans to implement these recommendations.
The working groups “consist of 100-plus stakeholders from across the entire university,” Brown said. They include representatives from each school and college, and more than half have faculty appointments. (Learn more about the working group selection process in this article and see a full membership list on the Research Strategic Initiative website.)
The action plans from each working group were completed in February 2025. Brown invited the co-chairs of each group to share highlights from those plans. The discussion provided a fascinating insight into the behind-the-scenes work that has gone into improving efficiencies and finding solutions to the specific challenges identified by campus stakeholders. Some examples are captured below; see video links for the full discussion and more details on plans.
Working Group 1: Research-Related Processes
Co-chairs Jason Nichols, Ph.D., (Office of Research) and Victor Darley-Usmar, Ph.D. (Heersink School of Medicine)
The working group performed a root cause analysis to find the key obstacles to reducing timelines for institutional review boards, Nichols explained. Changes to enhance quality controls on submissions have reduced the queue of pending applications by 74 percent. Meanwhile, active management of clinical trials contracting means “we have been able to move over 30 clinical trials agreements forward in a much more efficient process,” Nichols said. (See the full presentation by this working group starting at 7 minutes and 6 seconds [7:06] into the video here.)
Working Group 2: Research Technology
Co-chairs Mike Matthews (Office of Research) and Robert Howard (UAB IT)
In addition to implementing the myUABResearch electronic research administration system and optimizing UAB’s clinical trial management system, this group is working to improve research capabilities on campus by removing technology barriers to collaboration. “What this means is that our clinical enterprise and research enterprise are separated by different systems,” Howard said. Collaborating closely with UAB Health System Information Services, the group is figuring out “ways to design experiences that are less frustrating to users” while keeping all necessary privacy measures in place, Howard explained. (See the full presentation by this working group starting at 12 minutes and 12 seconds [12:12] into the video here.)
Working Group 3: Research Data Management and Structure
Co-chairs Suzanne Judd, Ph.D., (School of Public Health) and Ralph Zottola, Ph.D. (UAB IT)
One of the plans shared by this working group is a series of educational modules that will collect key information about the nuts and bolts of doing research at UAB, Judd said. “You are going to do a 100-person clinical trial: What’s the go-to software? Who you want to talk to at UAB? What should you be aware of? Have these quick, short modules so people know what we have at UAB and how to get connected.” (See the full presentation by this working group starting at 20 minutes and 19 seconds [20:19] into the video here.)
Working Group 4: Employment Destination
Co-chairs Janet May (Human Resources) and Michelle Robinson, DMD (Office of the Provost)
A “very deep dive with focus groups from across campus” led to an updated Research Career Ladder that expands the previous categories of Researcher I through Researcher V, May said. “We looked at various areas such as analytics, computational sciences, etc., and broke those out so they are more granular.” The ladder also includes a clear progression, from entry level to intermediate level, to emerging leader, and then into leadership, May added. (See the full presentation by this working group starting at 25 minutes and 50 seconds [25:50] into the video here.)
Working Group 5: Research Administration Workforce
Co-chairs Gina Hedberg (Office of Research) and David Kimberlin, M.D. (Heersink School of Medicine)
Similar to Working Group 4, this group is developing a research administration career ladder to offer research administrators “a clearer path to upward career trajectories and professional progress,” Hedberg said. It also is creating a research administrator network “to promote an environment of learning, sharing and networking and a forum for exchange of knowledge.” (See the full presentation by this working group starting at 30 minutes and 15 seconds [30:15] into the video here.)
Working Group 6: Enhance Facilities Optimization and Enhancement
Co-chairs Greg Parsons (Facilities) and David Schwebel, Ph.D. (Office of Research)
In order to “ensure we have adequate space and equipment for research,” Schwebel said, the group is working with units across campus to create master research space plans “so space is appropriately used in a sustainable and equitable manner.” It also is considering ways to minimize equipment costs, including potentially purchasing used rather than new research equipment. (See the full presentation by this working group starting at 33 minutes and 25 seconds [33:25] into the video here.)
Moving forward
“Thank you to all the working group chairs and working group members,” said Brown in concluding the presentations. “That is a lot of work, and there is a lot of work ahead of us.”
The working group action plans are now being refined, Brown said. Regular progress updates will be shared on the Research Strategic Initiative website, he added. “There are a lot of good things that we want to do; we need to prioritize, and then we need to make them happen. It is a group effort that requires everyone’s input.”
Brown encouraged all members of the UAB community to share feedback on the initiative and submit questions at any time through this online form.
