The Duke Office of Research Initiatives is a collaborative effort, from our strategic directives, to our funding sources, even our team. We have banded together from various departments, offices and institutes all over Duke; we come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Some of us are here part time and some of us devote our full time to the Duke Office of Research Initiatives. However, we all share a passion for supporting scientific pursuits at Duke!
Rebecca Brouwer, Director of Research Initiatives
Rebecca provides strategic and operational leadership of a variety of research initiatives and engagement activities for Duke researchers. The focus of our office is campus-wide, with an emphasis on ensuring coordination and synergy of efforts between various offices, programs, tools, and initiatives. Before operating in this capacity, Rebecca played a variety of roles at Duke since 2000 – working within research teams in the School of Medicine and on campus, and operating in central offices such as the Duke Office of Clinical Research and the Office of Research Informatics.
Sunita Patil, Associate Director, myRESEARCHnavigators
Sunita Patil joined the myRESEARCHnavigators team in January 2017 and began leading the team in 2020. She has worked in various capacities during the 15 years of her service in the field of Clinical Research. As a navigator she will help Duke Faculty, Residents, Fellows and students to find resolutions to any questions related to clinical research, connect the investigators to the resources at Duke and facilitate research collaborations. She will also onboard newly appointed faculty and faculty that are new to Duke.
Emily Miller, myRESEARCHnavigators
Emily Miller joined the Office of Research Initiatives in March 2017 as part of the myRESEARCHnavigators team. In her role as a Navigator, she will help Duke Investigators find answers to any and all research questions and connect people to the most helpful Duke resources for their needs. She worked in basic biology research for nearly 10 years in areas including cytoskeleleton, pediatric brain cancer, and craniofacial development. Emily holds a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Maine and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics from Duke.
Amalia Turner, myRESEARCHnavigators
Amalia joined the myRESEARCHnavigators team in March 2020, where she focuses on guiding researchers in both basic and applied sciences to the resources they need. As a former consultant in environmental risk and toxicology, she has more than 12 years’ experience bridging disciplines to achieve a common research goal. In addition, Amalia conducts research on environmental transport of nanomaterials for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and she provides assistance to Team Science programs at Duke. Amalia holds a B.S. in Environmental Science (conc. Biology) from the University of Maine at Farmington and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (cert. Nanoscience) from Duke.
Carrissa Dixon, myRESEARCHnavigators
Carrissa Dixon joined the MyResearchNavigators team in June 2018. She is also a member of the Duke Office of Clinical Research (DOCR) Outreach and Mentorship team. Spanning over two decades of unique experience in health research, IT/data management and community outreach, Carrissa provides specialized advice and assistance in data science, public health and health disparities research. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Winston-Salem State University and a M.S. in Health Communication from Boston University.
Kristine Glauber, myRESEARCHnavigators, Team Science
Kristine coordinates programming for a number of groups in the Duke Office of Research Initiatives, including Research Navigators, and Researcher Consultation & Onboarding, as well as the Mobile App Gateway. She'll also help develop and implement programs related to Team Science. Kristine’s background consists of formal training in developmental biology and professional experiences in education, community health, program coordination, marketing, and communications. Through these diverse experiences, she has developed a passion for identifying creative and engaging tools to facilitate and promote scientific research and innovation. Kristine holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of California, Irvine.
Derek Jones, Product Manager, myRESEARCHhome
As the product manager for myRESEARCHhome, Derek works with the Duke research community and developers in the Office of Research Informatics to understand the needs of researchers, create effective IT and business process solutions, and facilitate adoption through outreach. He worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator and Research Program Leader in Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine at Duke for 5 years before stepping into the product manager role. Derek has a BA from Westmont College and an M.Div from Duke Divinity School.
Jamie Wylie, Program Director, myRESEARCHpath
Jamie joined the Duke Office of Research Initiatives in 2019 to develop programs that better connect faculty and staff with research resources and support. Her current work focuses on development and launch of the interactive research roadmap, myRESEARCHpath. Prior to joining the Duke Office of Research Initiatives, Jamie served as an Operations Coordinator at the Duke Office of Clinical Research, and as a Program Manager at the Duke Faculty Club. She completed both her B.A. in Exercise and Sport Science and her M.A. in Exercise Physiology at UNC Chapel Hill.