Office of Research Administration

The UCLA Department of Medicine's Office of Research Administration (DOM ORA) office was created for the purpose of training, educating, and providing support and assistance in all areas of research administration, covering both pre- and post-award components. DOM ORA is supported by Dr. E. Dale Abel, the Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Yanina Venegas, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Department of Medicine.

Office of Research Administration's Mission:

The ORA's mission is to provide Departmental specific research administrative support to fund managers, managers, research staff and Principal Investigators by:

  • Sharing "best practice" procedures and more efficient ways to approach various research administration tasks.
  • Providing guidance on "how to's" in the form of detailed step-by-step instructions, complete with background information and hints and tips, in the DOM Fund Manager's Manual.
  • Answering questions and troubleshooting various issues.
  • Disseminating information regarding new or updated Agency Sponsor and University policies and procedures in a timely manner.
  • Educating by providing training, both on an individual basis and in group settings.

DOM ORA is comprised of a whole support team, including:

Cathy Rujanuruks Director of Research Administration
Raellen Man Departmental Research Associate
Kayla Brown Manager of Training & Compliance
Tsegaye Teshome Senior Project Analyst
Leslie Cortez Manager of the Clinical Trail Research Program
Alan Wagner Lab Safety & Regulatory Coordinator
Peter Vittachi Departmental Research Associate

If you would like to learn more about the Department of Medicine's Office of Research Administration, please visit their website at https://medschool.ucla.edu/research/researcher-resources/administrative-support/department-medicine-office-research-administration.