On April 15, 2021, the Office of Research Administration (ORA) celebrated its first virtual annual ORA Dragon Service Awards. The presentation of the Dragon Service Awards first began in 2018 as a commitment of ORA to recognize the contributions and achievements of its staff members as well as Faculty/Research Community members that demonstrate an exemplary partnership with ORA throughout the year. The finalists of the annual Dragon Service Awards are determined by a call for nominations by fellow staff members and faculty members that partner with ORA.
The award categories and criteria presented are:
| Award Category | Criteria |
| Leader Dragon | Recognizes an ORA staff member for their exceptional leadership |
| Staff Dragon | Recognizes an ORA staff member who delivers outstanding work in multiple performance areas |
| Admin Dragon | Recognizes an ORA staff member who goes above and beyond to ensure office efficiency |
| Faculty Service Dragon | Nominated by Faculty: Recognizes the effort, partnership and collaboration that is required between the Research Administration Units and the Research Community to further our Strategic Framework of One Emory: Engaged for Impact |
| Whatever It Takes | Recognizes an ORA/RAS team member who embodies characteristics in the areas of leadership, innovation, character, performance, customer service and collaboration who consistently goes above and beyond to deliver timely, effective and friendly faculty service |
| Faculty Dragon | Recognizes a member of our Research Community for their exemplar partnership with ORA |
This year we are happy to announce the 2021finalists and awardees for each category. The finalists are indicated in Bold.
- Leader Dragon
- Fran Davis (RAS Hospital and Specialty Services)
- Brian Miller (Research Grants and Contracts)
- Kalpana Rengarajan (Environmental Health and Safety Office)
- Scott Thomaston (Environmental Health and Safety Office)
- Staff Dragon
- Daniella Carter (Industry Contracting Group)
- Jackson Parker (Institutional Review Board)
- Tiffani Patterson (Office of Sponsored Programs)
- Admin Dragon
- Lyn Cooper (Research Business Operations)
- Jennifer Gore (Research Data Analytics)
- Faculty Service Dragon
- Erin Butler (RAS Basic Sciences)
- Blake Cowing (RAS Basic Sciences)
- Sonja Griffin (RAS Colleges and Professional Schools)
- Yevgeniy Kovalenkov (RAS Public Health & Nursing)
- Whatever It Takes
- Jessica Blackburn (Institutional Review Board)
- Kanika Moss (Office of Sponsored Programs)
- Tiffani Patterson (Office of Sponsored Programs)
- Faculty Dragon
- Michael Gottschalk, MD (Orthopaedics)
- Nieraj Jain, MD (Ophthalmology)
- Nadine Rouphael, MD (Infectious Diseases)
Please join us in congratulating this year’s finalists and awardees for their dedication and partnership to ORA and the Research Community.
