Madison Gray new director of Sponsored Programs Administration

Madison Gray, J.D., UNMC’s new director of Sponsored Programs Administration, an office under the auspices of the vice chancellor for research, said she “stumbled and fell” into research administration.

That’s the joke within her field — no one ever dreams of growing up to be a research administrator.

But, joke’s on us. Dr. Gray enjoys an intriguing blend of law, science and an occasional healthy dose of crisis management.

“A good sense of humor is an essential skill,” she said.

Sponsored programs administration serves as final review and authorized signatory for the majority of the proposals and awards from external sponsors that come into UNMC. Dr. Gray assumed her new role in early December after Deb Vetter’s retirement.

“Our job is to protect the institution and to protect our PIs (principal investigators) while allowing business to flow,” Dr. Gray said. “Our business is doing research.”

Most everyone on campus understands that grants, getting them or not getting them, are a big deal. They are essential to the advancement of research, research careers, and jobs.

It’s high-stakes stuff, and there’s always more to learn. More i’s to dot and more t’s to cross as the regulations and sponsor systems change often.

It’s not a profession she knew existed when she was in law school. After completing her B.A. in biology, Dr. Gray worked as a research assistant in a lab for a year. It gave her an appreciation and unique perspective for investigators in academic medical research. She completed her J.D. at the Vanderbilt University School of Law, but, “I didn’t want a traditional career in a law firm.”

She browsed the job listings at Vanderbilt University and saw a job listed in sponsored programs: “I had some intuition it might be perfect for me,” Dr. Gray said.

Now, with more than 15 years of experience in research administration, she was most recently an associate director of sponsored programs at Emory University in Atlanta.

She looked at the UNMC director position because, during her time at Emory, she had worked on the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) grant, where Emory and UNMC are active partners.

“We are very excited to have Madison Gray join us as the director of UNMC’s Sponsored Programs Administration,” said Jennifer Larsen, M.D., vice chancellor for research. “She brings a wealth of experience at just the right time as we continue to grow and diversify our research portfolio.”