NU-RES 2025 Virtual Conference
NU-RES 2025 Virtual Conference June 17–18, 2025 | Virtual Event
Join us for the NU-RES 2025 Virtual Conference—a two-day virtual event designed to inform, engage, and support the Northeastern research community. Held via Teams on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 17–18, this conference offers a mix of strategic discussions, professional development, and hands-on systems training for research administrators, faculty, and staff.
Conference Overview
Day One: Community, Careers, and Compliance
Tuesday, June 17 | 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST
Day One opens with a Community Forum featuring NU-RES leadership, followed by sessions focused on career development, research security, and data reporting. Topics include:
- Supporting employee growth and career pathways
- Exploring diverse career trajectories
- Understanding the role of research security across the research lifecycle
- Accessing and communicating research data effectively
Day Two: Systems in Action – Tools, Training, and Transformation
Wednesday, June 18 | 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST
Day Two is dedicated to systems training and operational insights. Through the ePAWS and Workday Finance Learning Series, attendees will gain practical knowledge on:
- Navigating proposals, transactions, and awards in ePAWS 2.0
- Accessing award data, dashboards, and payroll tools in Workday
Faculty and PIs are also encouraged to attend the Workday sessions.
The day concludes with a fun and interactive Conference Jeopardy session, featuring questions from both days of content to reinforce learning and wrap up the event on a high note.
Session Recordings
All sessions will be recorded and made available to registered attendees following the conference.
Submit Your Questions
Help shape the conversation by submitting your questions in advance for the Community Forum:
Submit Your Information
Schedule & Session Details
- Download Schedule of the full conference schedule with session descriptions.
| Tuesday, June 17, 2025 | |||
| Time | Session Title | Session Description | Speakers |
| 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Research at a Crossroads – Community Forum on the Evolving Landscape | Kick off the conference with a dynamic community forum that brings together leadership and attendees to reflect on the current state of research at Northeastern. This session will highlight recent institutional achievements, examine how federal policies and executive orders are shaping the research environment, and explore the university’s vision for the future. Attendees are encouraged to engage in this dialogue by submitting questions in advance via a Qualtrics form, helping ensure the conversation addresses the community’s most pressing interests and concerns. Join us as we set the stage for a thoughtful and forward-looking conference experience. | Robin Cyr, Vice Provost – Research Administration, NU-RES |
| 1:10 PM – 2:00 PM | Pathways to Success: Supporting Employee Development | In this engaging plenary session, designed specifically for managers, we will explore strategies for fostering the professional growth and career development of your employees. Whether they are on a management track or seeking to enhance their skills as individual contributors, this session will provide valuable insights into creating effective career pathways and supporting your team’s aspirations. Our panel will share their experiences and best practices for mentoring, coaching, and developing talent within your organization. The discussion will also focus on key areas such as building resiliency, effective networking, and adapting to challenges and opportunities, particularly in our primarily remote world. Additionally, we will explore actions that can improve career satisfaction and overall employee well-being. Learn how to assist your employees in navigating their career trajectories, ensuring they have the tools and opportunities to succeed in a dynamic work ecosystem. Join us to discover how you can empower your team and drive organizational success through thoughtful and strategic employee development | Dana Carroll, Associate Vice Provost – Research Administration, NU-RES (Moderator) Lenko Tankov, Director – Post-Award Administration, College of Engineering Scott Breiding, Associate Director – Research Administration, Bouve Jennifer Akula, Director – Research Administration, College of Social Sciences and Humanities |
| 1:10 PM – 2:00 PM | Career Ladder or Career Lattice? | Join us for an insightful panel discussion exploring the diverse career trajectories available in today’s dynamic work environment. This session will delve into the traditional career ladder approach, which emphasizes progression within management and leadership roles, as well as the career lattice model, which highlights the value of varied experiences and backgrounds to excel as an individual contributor. Our panel will share their professional journeys, offer practical advice, and answer your questions on how to navigate your own career path. Whether you’re aspiring to leadership or seeking to broaden your skill set as an individual contributor, this session will provide valuable perspectives to help you achieve your professional goals. | Michael Marino, Associate Director – Research Administration, NU-RES (Moderator) Curtis Van Slyck, Director – Research Compliance, NU-RES Nicole Magni, Associate Director – Hub, NU-RES Kenzie Moore, Senior Research Administrator – Hub, NU-RES Laura Beaupre, Data Quality & Research Administration Analytics Manager, NU-RES |
| 2:10 PM – 2:55 PM | Securing Research at Every Stage: Integrating Compliance into the Research Lifecycle | Research security is no longer a standalone concern—it’s a critical component woven throughout the entire research lifecycle. This session will discuss the different stages where principal investigators and research administrators intersect with the Export Control & Research Security team, highlighting how security considerations align with research development and administration. We’ll explore how maintaining a security-conscious mindset from proposal to closeout strengthens compliance, protects intellectual assets, and supports institutional integrity. The session will then dive into emerging trends in research security and export controls, including evolving federal expectations and how Northeastern is collaborating across departments to stay ahead of the curve. Whether you’re new to these topics or looking to deepen your understanding, this session will provide practical insights and timely updates to help you navigate the increasingly complex research landscape. | Tessa Seales, Research Security Analyst, NU-RES Lissette Gilster, Export Controls Officer, NU-RES Morgan Fielding, Associate Director of Training and Learning, NU-RES (Moderator) |
| 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM | From Data to Impact: Navigating Research Reporting at NU | Have you wondered where to find data about your research proposals, awards, transactions, or contracts? Or maybe NU’s overall research performance? Are you looking for fresh ideas on how to share your data with others, to tell impactful stories? In addition to sharing ideas on these topics, presenters will also share insights on how NU system changes could impact data and reports. | Laura Beaupre, Data Quality & Research Administration Analytics Manager, NU-RES Shruti Walawalkar, Senior Data Analyst, NU-RES |
| Wednesday, June 18, 2025 | |||
| Time | Session Title | Session Description | Speakers |
| 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM | ePAWS Learning Series: Proposals | ePAWs 1.0, the Electronic Proposal Approval Workflow System is being replaced with ePAWs 2.0, an Electronic Proposal and Award Workflow system. This session will demonstrate the new application which will be used for Proposal submission in FY26. | Dziyana Aydin, Lead eRA Administrator – Systems Manager, NU-RES |
| 11:50 AM – 12:30 PM | ePAWS Learning Series: Transactions | Manual Transaction form PDFs used today for many post-submission transactions will be replaced with the ePAWs 2.0 Transactions function! This session will demondatrate the electronic transaction workflow in ePAWs 2.0. | Dziyana Aydin, Lead eRA Administrator – Systems Manager, NU-RES |
| 12:40 PM – 1:20 PM | ePAWS Learning Series: Awards | ePAWs 2.0 will pull the curtain on Awards, allowing the user to see details related to awards right in the system! Information on New and Renewal Awards will automatically flow to Workday to Draft a Grant setup. This session will demonstrate how to see status of your award, including competitive segments linked. | Dziyana Aydin, Lead eRA Administrator – Systems Manager, NU-RES |
| 2:00 PM – 2:40 PM | Workday Finance Learning Series: How to Access and Navigate the Award Screen | In this session, you will learn how to navigate the Awards Screen in Workday | Michelle Acas-Hyun, Workday Finance Trainer |
| 2:50 PM – 3:30 PM | Workday Finance Learning Series: How to Use Dashboards and View Reports | In this session, you will learn how to generate, customize, and analyze reports in Workday | Michelle Acas-Hyun, Workday Finance Trainer |
| 3:40 PM – 4:20 PM | Workday Finance Learning Series: Payroll Costing Allocations & Payroll Accounting Adjustments | In this session, you will learn how to manage and update costing allocations and how to process payroll accounting adjustments in Workday | Christen Yee, Financial Services Design Team Lead, Office of the SVP Finance & Treasurer |
| 4:25 PM – 5:00 PM | Conference Jeopardy – What Did You Learn? | Wrap up the conference with a lively and interactive round of Conference Jeopardy! This quick, game-style session will test your knowledge of key takeaways from the event—from research updates to career development insights and everything in between. Whether you’re in it to win or just want to cheer on your colleagues, it’s a fun way to reinforce what we’ve learned and end the conference on a high note. | Host: Joan Cyr, Director – Research Operations and Systems, NU-RES |