GENERAL CONTACT INFORMATION

University of California Research Initiatives (UCRI)
University of California, Office of the President
300 Lakeside Drive, 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612-3550

Email: ucri@ucop.edu

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RESEARCH INITIATIVES TEAM

Kathleen Erwin, PhD
Director, UC Research Initiatives
Contact: Kathleen.erwin@ucop.edu | (510) 987-9889
Kathleen oversees all UCRI programs and leads special projects including initiatives in Valley Fever, President’s Catalyst Awards, MRU reviews and others. You may also contact her with questions related to research proposals in arts, humanities and cultural studies.

Christopher Spitzer, PhD
Program Officer; Team Lead UC-National Laboratory Fees Research Program
Contact: Christopher.Spitzer@ucop.edu | (510) 987-0246
Chris has a PhD in physics from the University of Washington, and held positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and as a AAAS Policy Fellow. He is the UCRI contact for proposals in physical and computational sciences, engineering and security studies. 

Jessica Wu, PhD
Program Officer; Team Lead Cancer Research Coordinating Committee
Contact: Jessica.Wu@ucop.edu | (510) 987-0329
Jessica has a PhD in organic chemistry from Harvard University and served as a AAAS Policy Fellow and Policy Analyst at the National Institutes of Health. She is the primary UCRI contact for research proposals in chemistry, and health and biomedical sciences.

Leila Sievanen, PhD
Program Officer; Team Lead Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives
Contact:  Leila.Sievanen@ucop.edu | (510) 987-0498
Leila has a PhD in environmental anthropology from the University of Washington, and has held positions at California Ocean Science Trust, Brown University, and the Peace Corps. She is the UCRI contact for proposals in social science and environmental/climate science.  

Susan Witt
Post-Award Team Lead, RGPO Contracts and Grants
Contact: Susan.Witt@ucop.edu| (510) 987-0613
Susan coordinates post-award grants management for UCRI through her role in the RGPO Contracts and Grants unit.

Marta Belanger
Administrative Analyst
Contact: Marta.Belanger@ucop.edu