Administration

 

 

Ian G Macara, Ph.D., Louise B. McGavock Professor & Chair

 

Tel: 615-875-5565

Dr. Macara received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Sheffield,UK. He did post-doctoral fellowships at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA and in the laboratory of Dr. Lew Cantley at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Dr. Macara joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in the Department of Biophysics then joined the faculty at the University of Vermont in the Department of Pathology and became a member of the Vermont Cancer Center. Dr. Macara then joined the faculty at the University of Virginia, earning the Harrison Distinguished Professorship in the Department of Microbiology. He came to Vanderbilt in 2012 as the Louise B McGavock Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.


Dr. Macara is the recipient of a Mellon Foundation Fellowship, held a Craig Scholarship and was awarded the Distinguished Scientist Award from the University of Virginia. In the past decade he has co-chaired three international conferences and is frequently invited as a Keynote Speaker, Distinguished Lecturer or Plenary Lecturer for significant international meetings. Dr. Macara is a member of the American Society of Cell Biologists and the American Society of Biological Chemists, serves on the Reviewers Reserve of the NIH and on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the NCI. In 2001 Dr. Macara was awarded a patent for Signal-generating oligonucleotide-based biosensors. Dr. Macara has remained fully funded through numerous RO1, NIH, DoD and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation grants and runs an internationally respected research program that has made fundamental discoveries on the mechanisms of cell polarity in morphogenesis and on the role of polarity genes metastasis. Dr. Macara is highly regarded as an educator as well as a research scholar. Over 22 graduate students have completed thesis work in his laboratory and he has mentored over 25 fellows. Dr. Macara’s innovative processes and investigation has made technologic advances and extended methodology in the fight against breast cancer.

 

 

Matthew Tyska, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

 

Tel: 615-936-5461
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary K. Heath, MBA, CFA, CRA,

Department Administrator

 

Tel: 615-343-4905
Mary is Responsible for providing the department chair with insightful counsel to manage financial resources, personnel resources, and space allocations of the department. As Administrator she interprets essential administrative and compliance requirements for department faculty, students, and staff. She provides financial planning for department faculty and compiles the annual Cell & Developmental Biology budget. Mary provides leadership for a knowledgeable, experienced and effective administrative team in order to conduct the daily operations of our the department’s business.

 

 

Kelley Johnston, Grants Manager

 

Tel: 615.936.2112
Kelley provides expertise for all grant proposals and progress reports, application processes, and funding agency requirements for faculty members, graduate students, and research fellows. Post award support includes center requests; budget preparation including budget revisions; and coordination of financial status reports with the Department of Finance. Kelley facilitates assurance of compliance requirements from the perspective of VUMC and the funding agencies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Messamore, Administrative Assistant II

 

Tel: 615-936-3323
Laura works with the Grants Manager and the Department of Finance to prepare and complete financial summary reports and prepares budget reports on a monthly basis for distribution by the Department Administrator. She reviews transactions for individual funding agency restrictions, administrative cost restrictions, and screens vendors to verify legitimate business use, documentation, and compliance with institutional and funding agency requirements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol Johnson, Procurement System Administrator and Office Manager

 

Tel: 615-343-7188
Carol coordinates procurement processes for principal investigators and lab managers at the transaction level, and coordinates the department office environment. She is the System Administrator for Procurement Card Program and e-Procurement Purchase Order, and privilege management systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elaine O. Caine, Graduate Program Manager

 

Tel: 615-322-2294
Elaine guides CDB graduate students from IGP rotation and admission into the department to Dissertation Defense. She schedules their classes, their qualifying exam, yearly committee meetings and dissertation defense. Also, she processes their tuition, insurance and fee payments – and confirms that they are paid, too. She is always available for advising, as the need arises. Elaine keeps track of required reading for several CBIO courses, posting assignments on the web, records all grades, returns graded papers to students, and submits all grade sheets to the Registrar’s office on time.

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony Tharp, Equipment Resource Manager

 

Tel: 615-322-8326
Anthony maintains the common departmental equipment and supervises staff of the dishwashing and autoclave facilities. He provides user training, directs users to the appropriate instrument for their research need, and provides information about new applications, procedures and services. All questions, comments and concerns with regard to the common equipment should be directed to Anthony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc Wozniak, Computer Systems Analyst III

 

Tel: 615-343-3605
Marc Wozniak is responsible for supporting all aspects of the department’s computing & technology environment, supporting research, administration and education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cindy Young, Personnel Manager

 

Tel: 615-343-8342
Cindy personalizes and provides positive experiences for all new recruits by scheduling orientation, preparing documentation for the payroll system, and establishing email accounts. She manages all aspects of the payroll process. Cindy coordinates with Human Resources including Benefits, Payroll, Recruitment and Staffing, and Classification and Compensation concerning the department’s positions and personnel. Cindy also keeps academic appointments of non-tenure-track faculty and research fellows up-to-date.