Funder Initiatives to Foster Investigator and Community Research Partnerships [Spring 2025 HRA Members Meeting]
This session will provide lessons learned from the development of funding initiatives to promote and support investigator and community partnerships. Speakers will discuss specific tips for developing funding opportunities, novel programmatic elements, how to foster equal and mutually beneficial partnerships, and where feasible, the results of the partnerships. The session will demonstrate patient/community-driven organization value to institutions, gather a take-away tool kit for best practices and resources for partnership, and provide community perspectives on what communities need from funders and academic institutions.
Moderator
Amber Haley, PhD, MPH
Associate Director, Healthcare Delivery and Disparities Research, PCORI
Speakers
Stefania Forner, PhD
Director, Medical & Scientific Relations, Alzheimer’s Association
She provides leadership to the International Research Grant Program (IRGP), which funds investigations to advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, identify new treatment strategies, improve care for people with dementia, and further our knowledge of brain health and disease prevention. She also oversees numerous fellowship programs, including the Zenith Fellows Program and the Global Health Leaders Program alongside the Global Brain Health Institute and Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom.
Representing the Alzheimer’s Association, Dr. Forner serves as member of the Board for Healther Research Alliance (HRA) and as a co-chair of the Research Workforce and Early Career Development Learning Community of HRA, which works to foster “an equitable, diverse, motivated and healthy research workforce.” She is passionate about helping early career investigators to advance in the field through the development of resources such as webinars about the Association’s funding programs and networking opportunities for awardees.
Dr. Forner holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in pharmacology from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Dr. Forner did her postdoctoral training at University of California, Irvine.
Shireen Javandel
Assistant Director for Operations & Impact, Global Brain Health Institute, UC San Francisco
Shireen provides oversight for resource allocation, risk mitigation, budgeting, and logistics for the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. She oversees GBHI’s growing impact portfolio in partnership with Global Atlantic Fellows and UCSF Memory and Aging Center faculty. In particular, she provides leadership for the Pilot Program for Global Brain Health Leaders and the Capacity Building in International Dementia Research Program, in close partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association.
Heather Caine
National Director, Research and Grants Administration, American Heart Association
Lisa Puglisi, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Yale University
William Basel
Vice President of Program Strategy and Impact, JustLeadershipUSA
A proven servant leader over his work career, Bill Basel is Vice President of Program Strategy and Impact at JustLeadershipUSA, which is a role that develops program strategy aligned with JLUSA’s strategic plan and provides oversight of program design, delivery, quality assurance, and evaluation. Bill provides support to the JLUSA Executive Team and Organization Directors as a thought partner, strategic advisor, capacity builder, and interdepartmental project manager. In the VP of Program Strategy and Impact role, Bill leads the JLUSA Leadership Training Institute and related programs that provide Directly Impacted people across the nation with the expertise & skills needed to become effective leaders, while ensuring that all programs are planned and delivered in compliance with International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) standards.
Prior to coming onboard at JLUSA in September 2022, Bill held various roles at Towards Employment, a leading workforce development organization in Northeast Ohio that connects people – a majority of which have been involved in the criminal justice system – to career pathways. Bill provided oversight for career pathway programming, training, and other barrier-removal related services. A major component of this role was developing strong relationships with other nonprofits, government agencies, credential training providers, and local employers. Bill also has career experience in K-12 education, having served as a teacher and school administrator. A resident of the Cleveland, Ohio area, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master’s of Arts in Education Administration.
Kim Lezak, PhD
Managing Director of Biomedical Research Grantmaking, Health Resources in Action