Office for Research

Jennifer Williamson joined Dr. Shelanski in the VP&S Office for Research in October 2015 as the Associate Vice Dean for Research. Jennifer and the VP&S Office for Research team support the clinical and basic science research faculty, working with the VP&S departments, centers and institutes to facilitate interdisciplinary research and new initiatives through research support services and core research facilities.

Since 1998, she has worked with faculty and administrative leadership in both research and clinical operations at Columbia University. In Richard Mayeux’s lab, she served as the research coordinator and manager of the genetic research studies of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disorders in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s disease and the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center. Prior to joining the Office for Research, she was the director of clinical operations in the Department of Neurology. Additionally, she was genetic counselor for 12 years in the Columbia University Huntington Disease Center of Excellence directed by Karen Marder. She holds a MS in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College, a MPH in Health Policy and Management from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and a BS in Molecular Genetics from the Ohio State University.

Dr. Daichi Shimbo received a B.S. from the Johns Hopkins University in Biomedical Engineering (1991) and a M.D. from the Albany Medical College (1995). After completing an Internal Medicine residency (1998), Dr. Shimbo went on to complete Chief Medical residency in Internal Medicine (1999) and fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine (2003) at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, before joining the faculty at Columbia University in September 2003. As faculty, Dr. Shimbo is a clinician-scientist, committed to creating and disseminating an evidence-base of clinical and translational research in how hypertension and its different phenotypes are related to cardiovascular disease onset. In particular, Dr. Shimbo’s work has led to  improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension subtypes associated with the highest cardiovascular disease and mortality risk. Dr. Shimbo is currently the Director of the TRANSFORM (Training and Nurturing Scholars for Research that Is Multidisciplinary) Resource and Associate Director of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center Clinical and Translational Research Award (CTSA). Dr. Shimbo is also co-leader of the workforce development initiative at the Irving Institute, and was recently appointed the Associate Dean of Research Career Development. In his roles, he is responsible for directing and refining training and educational programs for early career clinical and translational scientists at Columbia. 

Danielle Matsushima joined the VP&S Office for Research in August 2016 to provide strategic advice to VP&S faculty writing complex grants or their first individual research proposal. She also facilitates priority initiatives that promote research and research training excellence. She is passionate about science and Columbia’s scientific educational community having served as: Co-President of CUIMC’s Graduate Student Organization; a Board Member for the Columbia Women in Science Club; a lecturer for Columbia Splash; and a mentor for Columbia’s Science Matters Research Internship Program. For several years, she was a Writing and Critical Thinking Mentor for Minds Matter NYC, a non-profit organization helping high school students attain their college dreams. Her graduate thesis work focused on the molecular pathways that regulate hematopoietic stem cell quiescence and her undergraduate research elucidated the role of Sox2 in retinal progenitor cell differentiation. Dr. Matsushima holds a PhD in Genetics and Development from Columbia University and a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Stefanie Makinson joined the VP&S Office for Research in October 2020 to support investigators in securing extramural funding for basic science, translational, and clinical research at Columbia University. She is deeply committed to advancing transformative science having worked at a gene therapy start-up focused on neuromodulation for three years prior to joining VP&S. She also has expertise in translating complex ideas into readily-digestible concepts, developed in part as an HHMI teaching fellow where she co-taught Neuroscience for Non-Majors and through her experiences presenting at scientific advisory board meetings, as well as national and international scientific conferences. Her graduate thesis work was in basic science where she determined the role for a novel scaffold protein in the regulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission. She completed her postdoctoral training in translational science at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, CA where she determined how the thalamus and its microcircuits become pathological in epilepsy and neurodegeneration. Dr. Makinson holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Emory University and a BS in Neuroscience from Furman University.

Francesca Copperi joined the VP&S Office for Research in January 2024 to support and advise investigators at Columbia University in securing extramural funding for their research. Three years prior to joining the VP&S Office for Research, she joined Columbia University as a postdoctoral researcher to study neuronal mechanisms involved in glucose homeostasis and food intake regulation. Dr. Copperi has honed her scientific and persuasive writing skills through several courses during her graduate studies and postdoctoral training. She was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and has presented her scientific work at national and international conferences. She is deeply passionate about supporting the career development of junior investigators and has served as Secretary and Co-President of the Columbia University Postdoctoral Society. Dr. Copperi holds a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Bonn, Germany, and a MSc in Molecular Biotechnology and BSc in Biotechnology from the University of Torino, Italy. 

Talila joined the VP&S Office for Research in January 2022. In her role as program coordinator, she provides planning, logistics, and communications support for research development activities and educational programming. In particular, she manages the New Faculty Meet and Greet Program, the K-POPP (K-Award Program for On-time Proposal Preparation) Program, the K to R Transition Scholars Program, the EPIKAGE (Enhancing PI Knowledge About Grant Elements) Program. She received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in 2019, where she also earned a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Liz Swift DiMaria joined the VP&S Office for Research in February 2024 and has worked at Columbia University Irving Medical Center since 2012 in various clinical, translational research, and administrative roles. Most recently, Liz was the Assistant Director of Interdisciplinary Initiatives and Operations for the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. She has extensive experience in academic medical center strategic initiatives, clinical trial innovations, informatics and evaluation, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, community engagement, and grants proposal and management activities. Through NIH-NCATS, Liz participates in several national and regional committees related to these topics. Liz completed her Masters in Health Administration at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and holds a BA from Syracuse University in History and Hospitality.

Jeff Hoinacki joined the VP&S Office for Research in June 2019, but has been at Columbia since 2012 working as the Finance Manager for Core Research Services at the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.  While at the Irving Institute, Jeff developed budgets for its biobanks and its core facilities, including the Biomarkers Core Lab and the Clinical Research Resource. He also managed the service center license process for the cores and assisted with the day-to-day logistics for the BRIDGE and All of Us biobanks.  As the Assistant Director of Research Financial Planning & Analysis in the Office for Research, Jeff oversees the iLab core facility platform, manages with the service center rate licensing process for VP&S core facilities, and leads various other research-based financial initiatives. Jeff Hoinacki holds a MS in Applied Analytics from Columbia University and a BS in Business Administration from Fordham University.

Claudia Cosentino joined the VP&S Office for Research in October 2020. Claudia has a PhD in Molecular Oncology and Endocrinology from the University of Naples, in Italy. Her graduate studies showed how thyroid cells switch between growth and proliferation signals. She then became a postdoctoral fellow at Clare Hall Laboratories (UK), where she identified a novel link between DNA damage and metabolism. After completing her work in the UK, Claudia joined a laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she investigated the effect of epigenetic changes on metabolism in an in vivo model. Claudia’s graduate and post-graduate work has been presented in international symposiums as well in peer-reviewed publications. During her studies, Claudia also enjoyed mentoring students and teaching genomic and genetic undergraduate classes. Her research and teaching experiences fostered her passion to support the investigators to succeed in their research, and she is incredibly excited to have the opportunity to do so at the VP&S.

John Smerdon joined the VP&S Office for Research in January 2019 to guide institutional and external teams toward the completion of specialized scientific initiatives that promote the growth of the VP&S research mission.  He has been an engaged member of the Columbia and broader New York City communities, cultivating several multidisciplinary collaborative scientific projects throughout his graduate student career, holding an observer’s seat on the University Senate Commission on Diversity, and mentoring multiple student trainees.  He co-founded and directed the Science Matters Research Internship, a successful high school outreach program now in its 6th year, that has matched over 25 under-privileged high school students with mentors in Columbia laboratories.  As a graduate student and NIH/NINDS Kirschstein-NRSA predoctoral fellow (F31), he specialized in electrophysiological analyses aimed to elucidate how electrical tuning in motor neurons lead to their unique action potential firing properties and in turn, make them selectively vulnerable to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.  Dr. Smerdon holds a PhD in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics from Columbia University, and a BS in Neuroscience and a BS in Biochemistry/Biophysics from Washington State University.  Prior to his undergraduate education, he also attained World Class Technician status during his decade of work for General Motors.

Anna Cetnerowski joined the VP&S Office for Research in June 2017. As Senior Director of Grant Management Services, she oversees Pre-Award and Post-Award Teams and provides comprehensive administrative expertise and support throughout the grant lifecycle, from proposal preparation through award closeout. Since 2012, she has supported Columbia’s faculty and administration in the basic sciences and clinical departments. She has extensive experience in pre and post-grant management. She has previously successfully managed submissions of complex, multi-projects awards, including NIH P, T, and U series grants. Before joining the Office for Research, she worked as a program coordinator in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and as a Grants Manager in the Department of Medicine. She holds an MPA in Public Management from Baruch College, CUNY and a BS in Business Administration Management from the University of Gdansk in Poland.

Enid Vallejo-Juste is the Associate Director for the Post-Award Core.  She first joined the Post-Award Core as a Grants Finance Manager in February 2019 supporting the Department of Systems Biology.  In her current role, she manages a team of analysts and managers focused on post-award management of Sponsored Projects.  The team works closely with both the faculty and the Department, and also assists in the oversight of faculty non-Sponsored accounts, thereby allowing the faculty and Department to have a complete snapshot of their entire portfolio for support of their lab and/or personnel. Enid has extensive experience in pre- and post-award grants management.  She joined Columbia University in 2013 as a Grants Manager with ICAP, at the Mailman School of Public Health.  She supported a grants portfolio for several countries in Africa, as well as two research sites for ICAP based in New York City.  In September 2016, she transitioned to the division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine, where she coordinated the submission of proposals and managed a large and diverse portfolio in the post-award phase for over fifteen faculty and fellows. She holds an MPH in Health Policy from Yale University and earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Biology and Society from Cornell University.

Adrian Austin joined the VP&S Office for Research in January 2021. As Training Specialist, he will work with both the Pre-Award and Post-Award Teams primarily to provide training in the following areas: compliance, policy, procedures and align all research administration guidelines to match University, Federal, and State regulations. Adrian will rely on his nearly 18 years of experience with grants and administration to help strengthen the teams to provide exceptional service to Departments and Researchers. Prior to joining the team, Adrian worked in various roles within Columbia University. His background in research and grants extends to the following areas: higher education research, arts education, secondary education, medical health, substance abuse, mental health, and homelessness. Adrian graduated from New York University – Gallatin School of Individualized Studies with a concentration in Sociology and Cultural Studies in 2004.

Shelby Hochberg joined the VP&S Office for Research in August 2020. Previously, she worked as a clinical research coordinator for the rheumatology departments at Howard University Hospital and the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Shelby managed clinical trials, public health initiatives, and disease registries from inception to closure. She also worked as a research assistant at Binghamton University, writing about team science, research development, and the success of students with disabilities in higher education. In both roles, she was responsible for identifying funding opportunities and writing or helping to write successful grants to foundations and government entities. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MPA with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Binghamton University. As a Grants Coordinator in the Pre-Award Core, Shelby provides pre-award grant preparation and submission support for basic science and clinical research faculty at CUIMC.

Ariana Malave joined the VP&S Post Award team in September 2021. Prior to her position at VP&S, she spent two and a half years at Weill Cornell Medicine as a Grants Administrator, where she also served as an administrator to two concurrent program project grants within the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Previous to her time at Weill Cornell, Ariana spent seven years with the Mailman School of Public Health, where she worked as an Administrative Coordinator within the Office of the Dean. Ariana worked on several school wide projects and initiatives under the direction of the Vice Dean of Finance and Administration, Vice Dean of Research and Innovation, and the Executive Director of the Columbia Population Health Partnership. Ariana holds a Bachelors in Psychology from Seton Hall University, and completed a Graduate Business Certificate from the School of Professional studies at Columbia University.  In Ariana’s new role with the post award team she will be supporting research portfolios from the departments of Neurosurgery, Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology.

Julius Solatorio joined the VP&S Office for Research Pre-award Core as Grants Coordinator in September 2021. In his role, he supports researchers and clinicians with grant submissions and other administrative activities. Before joining Columbia, he worked at the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence as a Program Coordinator, and before that worked as a Clerical Assistant at Rutgers University. He has experience in program management, budgeting, and leading and facilitating the efforts of multiple teams. He graduated cum laude with a BA and highest honors in Philosophy from Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Sandra Yoshida joined the Office for Research as a Senior Research Administrator in August 2021. She received her M.A. in Adult Learning & Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Sandra has over ten years of experience working in pre and post-award management at Columbia University. She has worked with many sponsors, including the DOD, NIH, NSF, NYSTEM, foundations, and industrial grants. Sandra will work in the Pre-Award Core group and manage and provide support for grant submissions and all administrative activities within the Pre-Award Core for the Basic Science Departments at CUIMC.

Lily Greenberg joined the VP&S Office for Research Pre-award Core as Grants Coordinator in September 2022. In her role, she supports researchers and clinicians with grant submissions and other administrative activities. Before joining Columbia, she worked at the Portland Recovery Community Center as Communications Specialist, and before that, Communications Assistant and Grants Editor at the University of New Hampshire. She has experience in writing, marketing, information architecture, and program coordination. Lily holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of New Hampshire.

Chelsea Wicks joined the VP&S Office for Research Pre-Award Core as a Grants Coordinator in June 2023. In her role, she supports researchers and clinicians with grant submissions and other administrative activities. Before Columbia, she worked at Fordham University as a Senior Academic Advisor and served in various academic affairs roles at the University of Louisville. She received her MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and these days, she enjoys learning more about NYC and bantering with her spicy calico named Juliet.