Staff
Karen Emmons, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research
Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Kresge 1001E
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Phone: 617.432.1209
kemmons@hsph.harvard.edu
In 2009, Karen M. Emmons, Ph.D. was appointed Associate Dean for Research at the Harvard School of Public Health and created the HSPH Office of Research Strategy and Development (ORSD). Under Karen’s leadership, ORSD provides critical services, supports and strategic direction to: increase HSPH faculty competitiveness for extramural research funding, build and diversify the School’s research portfolio, and advance the School’s capacity to adhere to the highest research standards.
Karen is also a Professor in the HSPH Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a faculty member in the Center for Community-Based Research (CCBR) at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). She has an extensive NIH-funded research portfolio in community-based approaches to cancer prevention and control. Her expertise is in behavior change and policy interventions for behavioral cancer risk factors, particularly for low income communities. She also has expertise in cancer disparities, and in efforts to increase dissemination/knowledge translation in low-resource settings.
Dr. Emmons is a Fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and served as its President in 2010-2011. She received the Society’s Distinguished Research Mentor Award in 2004, and the Morse Distinguished Researcher Award from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2005. She completed the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women (2007-2008). She also provides extensive mentoring to junior faculty, and in 2008 she received both a Mentoring Citation from HSPH and the Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award from the Harvard Medical School.
Other Affiliations
Deputy Director, Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Research
Dr. Emmons has an extensive NIH-funded research portfolio in community-based approaches to cancer prevention and control. Her expertise is in behavior change and policy interventions for behavioral cancer risk factors, particularly for low income communities. She also has expertise in cancer disparities, and in efforts to increase dissemination/knowledge translation in low-resource settings.
Amanda Spickard, Master of Public Policy
Senior Associate Director for Research Strategy and Development
Kresge 1001A
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Phone: 617.432.1711
aspickar@hsph.harvard.edu
Amanda Spickard is Senior Associate Director in the Office of Research Strategy and Development. After completing her graduate work in Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins University, Amanda has spent the last 10 years promoting translational research within federal and university-based applied research facilities.
Prior to joining HSPH, Amanda worked at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, directing multidisciplinary research and technical assistance projects; providing leadership to guide the school’s research development strategies; identifying and securing funding to support new areas of research, technical assistance and academic activities; and developing relationships with external partners. In the US Department of Labor’s Office of Policy and Research, Amanda managed national demonstration research projects, chaired federal grant review committees, and assisted in the development of federal research, policy analysis and legislation.
Amanda holds a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelors degree from Earlham College.
Julie Kristian
Research Development Services and Strategic Initiatives Specialist
Kresge 1001F
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
kristian@hsph.harvard.edu
617.432.7962
Julie Kristian joined the ORSD in February 2012 as Research Development Services and Strategic Initiatives Specialist. Julie provides planning and implementation support for a variety of ORSD initiatives, including deployment of a new PI career information and training grant data management system.
Julie’s work is informed by 8 years of experience in research administration policy, organization, and operations, with a focus on transformational change to align with strategic goals. She joined ORSD from Huron Consulting Group. Past consulting projects have included: assessment and organizational redesign of research administration infrastructure at a variety of institutions; managing and training a team to provide proposal development support to PIs; developing standard policies and procedures and enhancing efficiency in central pre- and post-award units; and deploying a grant management system. Her consulting projects at Harvard have included HSPH’s Research Transformation Project, assisting HSPH PIs with proposal development, interim staffing in an Associate Director of Finance role, and project management support for the Cambridge-area deployment of GMAS. Julie has enjoyed working with approximately ten universities, research institutes, and hospitals during her career, and is glad to join HSPH.
Kirsten O’Brien
Program Coordinator for Strategic Initiatives & Communication
Kresge 1001
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
kobrien@hsph.harvard.edu
617.432.7886
Kirsten O’Brien coordinates the communication and program activities within the office, while providing the Associate Dean and Senior Associate Director with administrative support with special projects.
Prior to joining HSPH, Kirsten held roles in the corporate environment in Los Angeles, as well as in her home city of Johannesburg, South Africa. She holds a degree in Business Management from the University of South Africa, and is currently pursuing her graduate studies in International Relations through the School’s Division of Continuing Education.