NRP Research Conference

Thank you to those that attended the 2026 UNC Network for Research Professionals (NRP) Research Conference!

View highlights from the conference:

View recordings from the conference (if you do not have an ONYEN and would like access to the recordings, please contact nrp@unc.edu):

ACCESS RECORDINGS

Congratulations to recipients of the 2026 NRP Awards

Rising Star in Research

Sienna Halterman
Excellence in Human Subjects Research

Ariel Sanderford
Research Communication Excellence

Marleny Nolasco
Collaborative Research Leadership

Patricia Orozco
Lifetime Achievement

Deborah Usinger
NRP Excellence

Terry Hartman

Congratulations to the 2026 Best Poster recipient

ENgagement and Awareness of Clinical Trials (ENACT) in Dermatology: A Needs Assessment and Workflow Intervention

Michael Povelaitis

Agenda

8:30am-9:00am	Breakfast/Registration	Outside Kirkland Auditorium
9:00am-9:05am	Welcome and Introduction	Susan Moist, MPH, CCRP Chair, UNC Network for Research Professionals Director of Clinical Trial Operations, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease (CGIBD) Kirkland Auditorium
9:05am-9:15am	Opening Remarks	Andy Johns Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Kirkland Auditorium
9:20am-10:20am	Breakout 1	Veeva eRegulatory and eDocumentation Ariel Sanderford, BS; Assistant Director of Clinical Trial Operations, CEDAS Alex Kass, MSN, MBA, RN; Research Program Director, EnDO CRU / Eastowne CRU Leveraging GenAI for Research Tasks Katherine Howell, MSLIS; Health Sciences Librarian, Health Sciences Library Luke Barron, MSLS; Clinical Librarian, Health Sciences Library Principal Investigator Management of Investigational Drugs Rachel Muñoz, MS; Assistant Director, Clinical Trial Quality Assurance Erika Hanami, CCRC; Administrative Director Clinical Trials, UNC Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center Katie Marsh, MPH; CRAU Operations Manager, Office of Clinical Research Support & Operations
10:30am-11:30am	Breakout 2	Beyond the Signature: Consent Strategies for Children and Adults with Limited Capacity Lauren Shumpert, CCRP; Research Specialist, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine Juanita Cuffee, MPH, CCRP; Clinical Trials Director, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Miriam Davis, RN, BSN, CCRP; Clinical Trials Director, Children’s Research Institute Advancing Your Research in 2026: New Data Services from TraCS Anna Jojic, MLS; Senior Research Project Manager, NC TraCS Cara Thurman Johnson, MPH, RN; Research Project Manager, NC TraCS Adam Lee, PhD, MBA; Research Informatics Specialist/Lead, NC TraCS Research Policy in Motion: What’s New and What It Means for You Quinton Johnson, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Compliance and Conflict of Interest Officer Jeanne Lovmo, Director of Policy, Governance, and Process
11:30am-12:50pm	Lunch, Posters, Resume Review, and Networking	Poster Presentations and Networking Pick up Lunch and check out posters, have your resume reviewed, head to Kirkland for networking, and take a break.
12:50pm – 1:50pm	Breakout 3	OnCore Subject Management: What to Do and Why It Matters Danielle Swing, OnCore Applications Analyst, Research Data Management Core (RDMC) Making Sense of Qualitative Research Paul Mihas, MA; Assistant Director, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research, Odum Institute Conducting Clinical Research in a Healthcare Setting: Challenges and Successes Kathleen Loeven, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, Clinical Nurse, NC TraCS Summer Lawrence, MPH, Project Manager, OCR Susan Beymer, MSML, Project Manager, OCR
2:00pm – 3:00pm	Research Participant Panel	The Importance of What We Do: Clinical Research Changes Lives Moderator: Patty Spears, BS, FASCO; Patient Advocacy and Scientific Research Manager, LCCC Kirkland Auditorium
3:00 pm-4:00 pm	Keynote Speaker	Clinical Trials: How you matter more than you can imagine John B. Buse, MD, PhD, Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine Kirkland Auditorium
4:00pm – 4:20pm	Awards, Recognitions, and Closing Remarks	Susan Moist, MPH, CCRP Chair, UNC Network for Research Professionals Director of Clinical Trial Operations, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease (CGIBD) Kirkland Auditorium

View highlights from the 2025 Conference