Concluding my tenure as Vice President for Research
Dear colleagues:
I write to share that, after nearly four years as vice president for research, I have decided to conclude my tenure in the Office for Research (OR). Last month, I informed President Schill and Provost Hagerty that my decision comes after deep reflection on the accomplishments of this office as well as my desire to return to my research full time and to work on a new translational opportunity.
Research is at the core of Northwestern’s brand and it has been extremely rewarding to grow our research enterprise, to elevate our reputation and, most importantly, to increase the societal impact of our work. This has been a team effort, and what a team we have at this University.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have led OR, a superb multifaceted office whose excellence distinguishes it as an essential part of Northwestern’s research ecosystem. It has been my privilege to collaborate with colleagues across OR, being inspired by your dedication and seeing firsthand how your talent advances our mission. I sincerely thank my OR colleagues for their service. I also thank Ann Adams and my leadership team for your expertise and counsel as we helped chart a path forward towards ever-greater research eminence. Beyond OR, of course, I am thankful for the fantastic contributions of our faculty, staff and students, whose success in research and translation represents the core mission of our office.
Ours is an academic community that stands among the very best anywhere, and I am proud of what we’ve achieved over the past four years.
- Research growth: The size, scope and impact of our research portfolio has continued to grow despite the pandemic’s impact, from $798 million in annual sponsored funding in FY19 to $925 million last year—and the expectation is that we will be in the vicinity of the $1 billion mark at the end of this year. The numbers are impressive, though most impressive as a proxy for what really matters: our transformative research that drives fields forward and improves lives and creates a better world.
- Pandemic leadership: The global health crisis challenged us to be extremely agile, adaptive and innovative. We quickly transitioned most research activities off campus and learned how to accommodate on campus work during the pandemic’s early days, and then designed a comprehensive plan to bring people back to campus during a complex time, and one where there was still much uncertainty and misinformation about COVID’s risks. Our leadership team ensured that even during the most difficult days our research enterprise didn’t merely stand still, but thrived and moved forward with confidence. In fact, Northwestern faculty made important discoveries that helped combat COVID-19, and our overall pandemic response proved to be among the best in higher education.
- Interdisciplinary excellence: We refined and strengthened a critical part of our cross-disciplinary research ecosystem—our 35 University-wide research institutes and centers (URICs). These hubs are catalysts for transformative discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship, bringing together faculty from across the institution to pursue breakthrough research. In many cases, the URICs represent the University’s prioritization of our signature programs that will continue to define areas of global leadership. Our efforts have included strategic fundraising and promotion for the URICs, including the recent naming gift for ISEN and continued investment in our strengths, ranging from astrophysics (CIERA), synthetic biology (CSB), public policy (IPR), biomedical discovery (CLP), global scholarship (PAS) and so many more. This work has enjoyed success thanks to OR forging a thriving partnership with Alumni Relations and Development, including our hiring of Curtrice Scott as director of development for the URICs.
- Bold new initiatives: Northwestern’s interdisciplinary culture also positioned us to win an extremely competitive research opportunity. Earlier this year, we announced that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative selected us to co-lead a pioneering $250 million life sciences biohub in Chicago. Our proposal was chosen from among a national field of nearly 60 elite university teams, and the rigorous, yearlong process highlighted our visionary approach to high-impact team science. More recently, we scored another major, $100 million research award that will beautifully complement the biohub and significantly enhance the region’s life sciences ecosystem. A formal announcement about this news is forthcoming. Contributing to our success in such efforts is our ongoing focus on research translation and entrepreneurship—including 2022 launch of the Querrey InQbation Lab. This on-campus technology accelerator supports our faculty innovators who seek to turn their research discoveries into start-up ventures. We also recently concluded a national search for a new associate vice president for innovation, appointing Lisa Dhar to this role at our Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO), which now reports to the Office for Research.
- Administrative innovation: Our office has led several initiatives to successfully meet new federal regulations on research security and data sharing, including creating a working group to ensure compliance with the White House Office of Science and Technology Program’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33) and provide guidance and resources so that our PIs can understand and mitigate issues of improper foreign influence. Much of this work has involved the expertise of OR’s revamped Export Controls and International Compliance Office, led by Amy Weber whom we hired last August. Other operational enhancements within OR reorganized aspects of the office to better serve our stakeholders, including with an emphasis on analytics and training, with both these areas being supported by new offices within OR. We’ve also been active in stakeholder engagement and have made metrics-driven investments in critical compliance and administrative functions. OR also was a leader on the cross-unit University team that implemented the recent CERESresearch grants and agreements administration management system—a major enhancement that includes a new analytics environment. This work demanded sustained dedication from across several units in OR, including staff members who stepped forward as change agents to help our stakeholders successfully prepare for this transition.
I expect the Provost will soon communicate the University’s search process for selecting the next vice president for research, including any interim leadership decisions. I am committed to supporting this effort to ensure the transition occurs smoothly and without adverse impact to our research enterprise and the timing of my last day will align with the transition.
I reflect on my tenure as VPR with great pride for the work our team has done in advancing Northwestern’s research enterprise, and because of that, advancing the institution’s standing among the very best research universities. I deeply appreciate your partnership in this work and know that we have made a very significant contribution. While I am excited to return to my research and translation work, I am comforted that the Office for Research is now stronger and more capable than ever to support Northwestern’s vital mission. And I will look forward to seeing, and benefiting from, the growing impact of your important work.
With my very best wishes,
Milan Mrksich
Vice President for Research
Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Chemistry
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology