Rhyming, Rowing and Research, Oh My!

BWH Hosts Second Annual Research Administrator’s Retreat

BWH Research Administrator's Retreat

On March 28, 170 BWH and Partners HealthCare research administrators kicked off their day at the second annual BWH Research Administrator's Retreat with poems and rhyming verse about research.

Barbara Bierer, MD, senior vice president of Research, led attendees at the event held at the Boston Common Hotel and Conference Center, in a rendition of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” among other verses, but with a research twist on the lyrics.

The lively welcome was followed by a full day of sessions geared toward addressing common issues and sharing best practices for department administrators, grants managers, lab managers and other vital administrative staff who support BWH scientists.

Lisa Griffin, JD, MPH, research compliance associate, led a session titled, “Who Approves This? Managing Different Types of Agreements,” while in a neighboring conference room, Jacqueline Slavik, PhD, executive director of the BWH Biomedical Research Institute, moderated a session on communications. There were also sessions and panel discussions covering a range of topics including budget forecasting, how to staff a laboratory, and ethical dilemmas in research.

Aside from coming together to talk about research administration concerns, attendees got a taste of some of the science that they help support. Two researchers, James Cartreine, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry, and Susan Redline, MD, of the Sleep Medicine Division in the Department of Medicine, served as keynote speakers.

Cartreine presented his work on an interactive multimedia program that helps astronauts prevent and manage psychosocial problems that may arise on long-duration space missions. Redline presented her work in sleep studies ranging from the role of genetic and early-life developmental factors in sleep disorders to developments in current pediatric cohort studies.

Feedback from the session was so positive that the organizers, Allison Moriarty, director of research compliance, and Angela Vail, project manager to the senior vice president of Research, are already planning next year’s event.