Task Force Charter

The Research, Discovery, and Innovation Task Force will focus on assessing the research lifecycle to identify and understand opportunities for integration that will yield increased research collaboration, propel new areas of research, and support the attainment of research recognition. The Research, Discovery, and Innovation Task Force will also focus on asset mapping and evaluating strengths of existing supporting infrastructure (e.g., processes, policies, roles & responsibilities, organizational units, technologies) at both institutions to make recommendations about infrastructure necessary to achieve the desired research outcomes as an integrated entity.

Task Force Updates

Members are holding listening and input sessions with internal and external audiences to gather insights for developing our new university brand narrative. Concurrently, our brand consultant, Prophet, is conducting brand audits of peer institutions and synthesizing audience perception research from both UTSA and UTHSA.

With approval from the Integrated Executive Committee, the task force has selected a highly-respected national branding agency partner, Prophet, to develop our world-class brand narrative, engage stakeholders and roll out a high-impact, national awareness campaign.

Members are selecting a pre-qualified national branding agency partner to assist us with our world-class narrative, developing a scope of work and timelines, and researching integrated brand best practices at peer institutions.


Task Force Members

Task Force Co-Chairs

Jennifer Potter, PhD
Senior Vice President for Research
Heather Shipley, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Members

UT Health San Antonio

Manzoor Bhat, PhD
Vice Dean for Research, Long School of Medicine
Claudia Delgado
Associate Vice President, Research Administration
Kenneth M. Hargreaves, DDS, PhD
Dean, School of Dentistry
Laurence Morel, PhD
Chair, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine
Vasan Ramachandran, MD
Dean, School of Public Health
Patrick Sung, DPhil
Director, Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute
Elena Volpi, MD, PhD
Director, Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies

UTSA

Eric Brey, PhD
Dean of the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Jenny Hsieh, PhD
Professor and Chair, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology and Director, Brain Health Consortium
Jianwei Niu, PhD
Dean of University College
Stephanie Santorico, PhD
Dean, College of Sciences
Lori Schultz
Senior Associate Vice President for Research Administration
Erica Sosa, PhD
Associate Dean for Research Success, College for Health, Community and Policy

Timeline

The Research, Discovery, and Innovation Task Force launched in February 2025.

Working Groups

Research Operations Working Group

The mission of the Research Operations Working Group is to assess the current state of research administration policies and procedures, evaluate future-state models, conduct a comprehensive gap analysis and develop a strategic roadmap for integrating research operations in Phase 2 and beyond.

Leads

Anson (Joo) Ong, PhD
Senior Director for Research Integrity and Infrastructure and Research Integrity Officer
Claudia Delgado
Associate Vice President, Research Administration

UTSA

Gabriela Ciocarlie, PhD
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Chris Combs, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Melinda Cotten
Interim Senior Associate Vice President for Research Administration
Wendell Griffith, PhD
Director, Mass Spectrometry & Proteomics
Jose Lopez-Ribot, PhD
Professor, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, College of Sciences
Leslie Neely, PhD
Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Assistant Dean for Transdisciplinary Research Development, Director, Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute, Associate Director, Brain Health Consortium
Jennifer Silver
Senior Director of Office of Sponsored Projects
Cynthia Villareal-Garcia
Director, Grant & Contracts, Financial Affairs Melinda Cotten, Interim Senior Associate Vice President, Research Administration
Jason Yaeger, PhD
Senior Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Anthropology, College of Liberal and Fine Arts
Xiuhong "Helen" You, PhD
Associate Director and Senior Demographer, Texas Demographic Center (TDC)

UT Health San Antonio

Mai Dinh
Director of Finance Operations, Long School of Medicine
Chris Green
Assistant Vice President, Office of Sponsored Programs
Reuben S. Harris, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Shaun K. Olsen, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology
Susan S. Padalecki, PhD
Associate Director for Research Administration, Mays Cancer Center
Thomas F. Patterson, MD
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vice Chair, Faculty Development
Eric L. Shipp, PhD
Associate Director of Clinical Finance and Administration, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Brij B. Singh, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, School of Dentistry
Carmen R. Valdez, PhD
Associate Dean of Research and Partnerships, School of Public Health
Rebeca Wong, PhD
Professor, Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies
Melanie M. Zuñiga-Rapp
Director of Research Administration and Quality
Research Finance Working Group

The mission of the Research Finance Working Group is to assess the current state of research finance policies and procedures, evaluate future-state models, conduct a gap analysis and prepare business processes to support unified reporting for national research ranking programs. The group will also develop a strategic roadmap for integrating research finance activities.

Leads

Greg Yturralde
Associate Vice President of Financial Affairs and Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Claudia Delgado
Associate Vice President, Research Administration

UTSA

Sheri Hardison
Vice President for Financial Affairs & Chief Financial Officer
Jacqueline Ortiz
Director, Fiscal Administration & Business Service Center
Kirstin Wilsey
Assistant Dean for Fiscal Administration, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design

UT Health San Antonio

Ginny Gomez-Leon
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Richard M. Nuttall
Vice Dean of Finance and Administration, Long School of Medicine
Amber Sharp
Associate Vice President, Financial Planning Services
Commercialization and Innovation Working Group

The mission of the Commercialization and Innovation Working Group is to strengthen intellectual property (IP) and commercialization strategies by reviewing existing IP and revenue-sharing agreements, assessing potential patents and commercialization efforts affected during the first year of integration and identifying associated risks. Using data-driven forecasting, the group aims to uncover new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Leads

Anthony Francis
Associate Vice President for Innovation and Development

UT Health San Antonio

Robert A. De Lorenzo
Vice Chair of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine
Robert A. Clark, MD
Assistant Vice President for Clinical Research
Jean X. Jiang, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology
Lindsay Sanford, PhD
Director of Technology Commercialization
Micah C. Wright, PhD
Assistant Director of Impact and Innovation, School of Nursing
Daohong Zhou, MD
Co-Director of the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery

UTSA

Nikolaos Gatsis, PhD
Associate Professor, Energy and Electrical Engineering, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Lyle Hood, PhD
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Diana Huffaker, PhD
Associate Vice President, Research Partnerships & Strategy
Stan McHardy, PhD
Associate Professor and Assistant Chair of Research, Medicinal Chemistry and Synthesis Core Director, College of Sciences
Rod McSherry
Associate Vice President for Innovation and Economic Development, Director, Institute for Economic Development
John Quarles, PhD
Professor, Computer Science, College of Sciences
Paul Rad, PhD
Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Sciences