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
Director, Finance and Operations
Email: trevor.weissent@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1743

Areas of responsibility:
• advises on and oversees major institutional awards on behalf of the Vice-President Research and Innovation (VPRI)
• advises on and oversees operating and discretionary fund accounts under VPRI control, including business planning, funding proposals, financial reporting, and process development
• oversees daily operation and administration of the Office of Research Services.

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.

Kathleen Adams, JD, MA
Contracts Specialist (term)
Email: kathleen.adams@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1734

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 &
ORS Administrative Assistant (acting)
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
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.

Kait Tornblom, BSc
Ethics Support Specialist &
ORS Administrative Assistant (term)
Email: k.tornblom@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, Computer Science, Architecture and Planning
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 NSERC internal funding programs.



Christine Whitehouse, Ph.D.
Research Grants Facilitator
Email: christine.whitehouse@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-2872  

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



Susan Haydt, Ph.D.
Research Grants Facilitator 
Faculties of Dentistry, Health, Medicine (and Biomedical Engineering), Arts and Social Sciences, Law, 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.



Caroline Sequeira, BA
Research Grants Officer, Post-award
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
Research Grants Officer, Post-award
Faculties of Dentistry, Health and Medicine
Email: annie.laroche@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.

 
Jim Karle, Ph.D.
Research Administrator (temporary)
Email: J.Karle@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-4343

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.
 

Cheryl Paris
Research Officer & Animal Care Coordinator
(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.
 

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.

Jaq-Lin Larder, MLIS
IM Database 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.



Under Recruitment
Data Technician
Email: orsdata@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.

Shelley Brown, Ph.D.
Manager, Institutional and International Programs
Email: shelley.brown@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-8885

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.

Sydney Dale-McGrath, MA
Facilitator, Institutional and International Programs (term)
Email: Sydney.Dale-McGrath@Dal.Ca  Phone: 902-494-3036

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.

Under Recruitment
Indigenous Research Facilitator

Areas of responsibility:
• Dedicated to supporting Dalhousie’s Indigenous research community in the following areas:
• 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.

Chris Wirz
Financial Administrator
Email: chris.wirz@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1742 

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.

 

Cynthia Sawler
Research Administrator
Email: cynthia.sawler@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-3273

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

Amanda Leslie, MFA
Research Administrator (temporary)
Email: Amanda.Leslie@dal.ca  Phone: 902-494-1738

Areas of responsibility:
• supports processing of International applications and documentation.