Staff Contacts

Marlies Rise, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice-President, Research Services
Email: marlies.rise@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-3859

Areas of responsibility:
• oversees ORS research processes and policies
• signs off on research funding applications and awards following review by ORS staff
• involved in major institutional applications
• liaises with Dal central units, hospital research offices and funding agencies
• undertakes institutional reporting.

Trevor Weissent, MBA
Managing Director, Research and Innovation
Email: trevor.weissent@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1743

Areas of responsibility:
• advises on and oversees Dalhousie Research and Innovation budgets
• advises on and provides financial oversight of Dalhousie’s large-scale institutional research projects
• oversees ORS post award processes and administration, information management, human resources, and facilities management.

Shelley Brown, Ph.D.
Director, Strategic Initiatives and Programs
Email: shelley.brown@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-8885

Areas of responsibility:
• oversees development of large-scale funding applications
• advises on and leads strategic developments in ORS
• oversees ORS pre-award processes and administration.
 

Jessica Morin, MA
Indigenous Research Facilitator
Email: jessica.morin@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1734

• dedicated to supporting Dalhousie’s Indigenous research community
• facilitates grant applications to internal funding opportunities and external funding agencies
• supports the development of research ethics submissions
• coordinates outreach and information sessions for opportunities relevant to the Indigenous research community.

Ye Lin, MDes
Research Administrator, Analysis & Projects 
Email: Ye.lin@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1738

• provides business and data analysis support to ORS
• leads and/or participates in process development, review, and improvement initiatives
• provides administrative and operational support to the AVPRS.

Esther Akinkugbe, LL.B, LL.M
Legal Advisor
Email: esther.akinkugbe@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-3431  

Areas of responsibility:
• reviews legal agreements for ORS units (except OCIE) related to research at Dalhousie including grants, contracts, transfer agreements, inter-institutional agreements, service agreements, sub-site agreements, clinical trials and other research matters
• provides legal advice on research-related issues through liaison with the Legal Counsel Office and provides advice on policies related to research.
 

Vacant (Under Recruitment)
Legal Advisor, Clinical Research
Email: TBA  Phone: TBA

Areas of responsibility:
• reviews clinical research agreements for ORS units.

Simeon Atunbi, LL.M
Contracts Specialist
Email: simeon.atunbi@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-5143

Areas of responsibility:
• drafts, reviews and negotiates research grants, contracts and related agreements
• provides contract administration support within ORS Legal
• liaises with ORS units researchers, research accounting, financial services, as required on progress of contract review.




Khyati Raval, BMS
Contracts Support Specialist
Email: ORSLegal@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-4564

Areas of responsibility:
• provides specialized administrative support to ORS Legal
• serves as initial contact for ORS Legal and liaises with researchers and other departments on requests and queries
• provides administrative support to ORS units.

Catherine Connors, MPA
Director, Research Ethics
Email: catherine.connors@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1462

Areas of responsibility:
• oversees University’s Research Ethics Boards, Research Ethics unit and manages ethics review and oversight process for research involving humans
• develops policy, procedures and educational resources
• provides ethical guidance to researchers, responds to research participant concerns and serves as principal liaison on ethics issues with external stakeholders.

Angela Hersey, MES
Manager, Research Ethics
Email: Angela.Hersey@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1895

Areas of responsibility:
• advises researchers on project-related ethical issues
• prepares review letters.

Cali Goud, BMgmt
Ethics Support Specialist
Email: cali.goud@dal.ca / ethics@dal.ca Phone: 902-494-3423

Areas of responsibility:
• serves as initial contact for inquiries and coordinates Board meetings
• facilitates the research ethics review process for initial submissions, re-submissions, amendment requests, continuing and final reports, and release of funds requests
• communicates REB decisions to researchers.

David Spurrell, Ph.D.
Manager, Grants and Contracts
Faculties of Science, Engineering and Computer Science
Email: david.spurrell@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1160

Areas of responsibility:
• manages Grants and Contracts Unit
• facilitates grant applications to the Tri-Agency and other Canadian funding agencies
• organizes outreach sessions and manages Dalhousie’s internal funding programs.

Susan Haydt, Ph.D.
Research Grants Facilitator 
Faculties of Medicine, Health and Management
Email: susan.haydt@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1333 

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates grants applications to the Tri-Agency and other Canadian funding agencies
• organizes outreach sessions and educational resources.

 
Jim Karle, Ph.D.
Research Grants Facilitator
Faculties of Architecture and Planning, Arts and Social Sciences, Law and Dentistry 
Email: J.Karle@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-4343

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates grants applications to the Tri-Agency and other Canadian funding agencies
• organizes outreach sessions and educational resources.
 

Sydney Dale-McGrath, MA
Research Grants Facilitator
Email: Sydney.Dale-McGrath@Dal.Ca  Phone: 902-494-3036

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates grants applications to the Tri-Agency and other Canadian funding agencies
• organizes outreach sessions and educational resources.
 

Sara Murphy
Research and Development Coordinator
(Agricultural Campus)
Email: sara.murphy@dal.ca  Phone: 902-893-6028

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates grant applications from the Faculty of Agriculture 
• advises on funding programs and university processes and policies 
• organizes outreach events on the Agricultural campus.

Vacant (Under Recruitment)
Research Contracts Administrator
Email: TBA  Phone: TBA

Areas of responsibility:
• supports the processing of grant applications and associated documentation
• updates and maintains grant application statistics and reports
• facilitates outreach sessions and events.

Danielle Andres, MA
Manager, Post-Award
Email: Danielle.Andres@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-2872

Areas of responsibility:
• oversees the post award process facilitation and improvement at Dalhousie
• advises Dalhousie researchers on University and funding agency processes, guidelines, and policies
• organizes outreach sessions for the Dalhousie research community to improve effective post award research fund management.
 

Caroline Sequeira, BA
Research Grants Officer, Post-award (on leave)
Grants and Contracts
Faculties of Agriculture, Architecture and Planning, Arts and Social Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, Law, Management and Science
Email: caroline.sequeira@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-2247

Areas of responsibility:
• authorizes the opening of research accounts
• facilitates the transfer of funds between institutions
• ensures compliance with university and agency policies and procedures.

Annie Laroche, MLIS
Research Grants Officer, Post-award (on leave)
Grants and Contracts
Faculties of Dentistry, Health and Medicine
Email: annie.laroche@dal.ca

Areas of responsibility:
• authorizes the opening of research accounts
• facilitates the transfer of funds between institutions
• ensures compliance with university and agency policies and procedures.
 

Cheryl Paris
Research Officer & Animal Care Coordinator
Grants and Contracts
(Agricultural Campus)
Email: cheryl.paris@dal.ca  Phone: 902-893-2635

Areas of responsibility:
• provides post-award support for the Faculty of Agriculture (grants and contracts)
• coordinates Animal Ethics for Agricultural campus.

Tracey Naldjieff, BA
Research Grants Officer (term) 
Email: tr667848@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1039

Areas of responsibility:
• authorizes the opening of research accounts
• facilitates the transfer of funds between institutions
• ensures compliance with university and agency policies and procedures.

Jaq-Lin Larder, MLIS
Information Management Administrator
Email: jaq-lin.larder@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-3853

Areas of responsibility:
• oversees quality assurance for ROMEO research database and Researcher Portal
• prepares periodic and ad-hoc research funding reports
• compiles and delivers the ORS weekly newsletter, and acts as ORS web administrator
• oversees records management procedures for paper and electronic records.

Ida Maria de Oliveira, M.Sc.
Data Technician
Email: Ida.Oliveira@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1376

Areas of responsibility:
• provides support to Research Portal users
• compiles quality assurance reports
• inputs research data into ROMEO database.

Veronica Bacher, MEd
Manager, Institutional and International Programs
Email: veronica.bacher@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1848

Areas of responsibility:
• manages CRC, CFI, NFRF and other major institutional funding programs
• advises on funding agency and University policies and procedures
• coordinates teams for large-scale institutional applications and liaises with external consultant.
 

Vacant (Under Recruitment)
Facilitator, Institutional and International Programs
Email: TBA  Phone: TBA

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates and reviews applications to Genome Canada, CFI JELF and RNS
• manages reporting to CFI and RNS.
 

Erin Murphy, Ph.D.
Facilitator, Institutional and International Programs
Email: Erin.Murphy@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-2997

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates and reviews applications to international funding opportunities, including NIH, Horizon Europe, and funding opportunities to support international collaboration, including IRDC, GAC and DFATD
• supports institutional applications to CRC, CFI and NFRF (Transformation and International)
• organises outreach sessions and educational resources.
 

Chris Wirz
Financial Administrator (on leave)
Email: chris.wirz@dal.ca

Areas of responsibility:
• assists with the development of proposal budgets (international and institutional)
• provides financial oversight on Dalhousie international project accounts
• provides financial administrative support for various OVPRI/ORS accounts.
 

Kaitlin Tornblom, B.Sc.
Research Administrator
Email: k.tornblom@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-7837

Areas of responsibility:
• supports the pre-award facilitation for international funding opportunities
• responsible for post-award administration for grants from international funding opportunities, including authorization of opening of research accounts and transfer of funds.

Elspeth White, M.Sc.
Research Administrator 
Email: Elspeth.White@dal.ca Phone: 902-494-3273

Areas of responsibility:
• facilitates CFI post-award, including Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF)
• coordinates large-scale institutional competitions.