Mid-Career Excellence

UHCOP Research Director Earns Award from Society of Research Administrators International

November 8 — UH College of Pharmacy’s Courtney Hunt, Ph.D., who was recently appointed director of Strategic Research Development at the college, was recognized with the Mid-Career Excellence Award from the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) during the organization’s 2021 Annual Meeting Oct. 23-27 in New Orleans.

Hunt is credited with being a highly active member in SRAI since joining the organization in 2015, including serving as chair and/or co-chair of working groups on pre-award and research development and international certificate review, and as a member of the Education and Professional Development Committee. In addition to serving as a module writer for a SRAI micro-credentialing program, she also has presented formal and informal sessions on such topics as "Engaging Faculty," "Proposal Development," "Building Interdisciplinary Research Teams" and "Managing Research Operations with a COVID Concern."

Established in 1977, the Excellence Award recognizes up to three members annually in meeting the society's purpose of expanding the knowledge and tools of research administration. Awards are bestowed in newcomer, mid-career and advanced professional categories, based on years of service in the field.

"I have had the pleasure of contributing to numerous outstanding SRAI initiatives to support knowledge transfer and professional development in research administration," Hunt said.

Hunt joined UH as a research liaison in the Division of Research in 2014 before transferring to the College of Pharmacy in 2018 to serve as a research manager in the university-wide Drug Discovery Institute, which spans more than 120 faculty members from eight colleges. During her time at UH, Hunt has developed a proposal development curriculum for the Research Administrators Certificate program,

Prior to joining UH, Hunt worked as a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in Oklahoma City, O.K.

"I serendipitously came across a job posting for a research development position that supported strategic collaborations, multidisciplinary science, program building and identifying federal research trends, uncovering a passion for a field that I didn’t even know existed," Hunt said. "Over the years, this career path has allowed me to positively contribute to numerous aspects of the research enterprise and engage with cutting-edge scientists across a range of research areas."

Hunt said she most enjoys the teamwork aspect of research administration to synergistically advance research efforts.

"Research administration cuts across disciplinary boundaries, so you get to work with the best-of-the-best to develop and achieve your institution’s research goals," she said.