Research Board

The Research Board consists of faculty members representing the four colleges, one at-large, the library, and one academic professional staff member serving three-year terms (staggered). The Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation chairs the Research Board.

Lucía Vazquez, Chair
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
Professor, Biology

Carrie Allen (2024-2026) 2 yrs
Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment
Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education

Martin Martsch (2018-2024) 4 yrs
Associate Professor, Counseling and Social Work Department
College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Tih-Fen Ting (2022-2025) 3 yrs
Associate Professor
College of Health, Science and Technology

Mallory Jallas (2023-2025) 2 yrs
Clinical Associate Professor
Library Administration

Sudeep Sharma (2024-2027) 3 yrs
Assistant Professor, Management, Marketing and Operations
College of Business and Management

Liang Kong (2023-2026) 3 yrs
Associate Professor, Mathematical Science and Philosophy

Frances Shen (2022-2024) 2 yrs
Professor, Psychology
College of Health, Science and Technology

Neetu Singh (2022-2024) 2 yrs
Assistant Professor, Management Information Systems
College of Business and Management

Carissa Craven
Program coordinator
Office of Research & Sponsored Programs
Staff (non-voting)

VACANT, Director, Research Administration Staff (non-voting)

Faculty interested to serve on this committee, please reach out to ora@uis.edu.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a group of people who review research that involves human subjects. IRBs ensure that research studies meet ethical standards, follow institutional policies, and protect research participants. IRBs are federally mandated to review research before subjects can be enrolled in a study. At UIS, the IRB is chaired by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

John Barker
Associate Professor, Mathematical Science & Philosophy College of Health Science and Technology

Brandon Derman
Associate Professor,
College of Integrated Science, Sustainability & Public Health

Alan Freedman
Associate Professor,
College of Health Science and Technology

Tih-Fen Ting
Associate Professor,
College of Integrated Science, Sustainability & Public Health

John Transue
Associate Professor,
School of Politics and Internal Affairs

Lucia Vazquez
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Zihan Liu
Assistant Professor, Management, Marketing and Operations
College of Business and Management

Neeraj Rajasekar
Assistant Professor, Sociology & Anthropology
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Gary Reinbold
Associate Professor, School of Public Management and Policy

STARS Planning Committee

The STARS Planning Committee is responsible for planning and organization of the annual STARS Conference we have on campus annually. Student researchers on campus present the findings of their research works they have worked on throughout the year during this event and also compete for several awards. The committee is chaired by the Associate Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

Sahar Farshadkhah
Assistant Professor, Management Information System. College of Business and Management

Eric Hadley-Ives
Associate Professor, Counseling & Social Work, College of Health, Science & Technology

Jessica Flynn
Director of Office of Engaged Learning

Isabel Skinner
Assistant Professor, School of Politics and International Affairs

Rick Stokes
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health

Anne-Marie Hanson
Interim Associate Dean, College of Health, Science and Technology

Te-Wei Wang
Associate Professor, Management Information Systems. College of Business and Management

Lucia Vazquez
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Carissa Craven
Program coordinator
Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

Yuan Wen
Assistant Professor of Marketing, College of Business and Administration

Brian (Cheng-Chia) Chen
Associate Professor, School of Integrated Science, Sustainability and Public Health

Abhi Soni
Student Representative, UIS '25

Student Research Steering Committee

The Student Research Steering Committee is responsible for reviewing the applications submitted by UIS Students for a funding request for research works they plan on doing or are already involved in. The grants applications are considered on a first come basis. The committee is chaired by Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

Hua Chen
Assistant Professor. School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability, and Public Health

Matthew Geras
Assistant Professor of Political Science, College of Public Affairs and Education

Sally LaJoie
Clinical Assistant Prof./Instructional Services Librarian. Brookens Library

Lucia Vazquez
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Yuan Wen
Assistant Professor of Marketing, College of Business and Administration

Livia Woods
Associate Professor, English and Modern Languages. College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Abhi Soni
Student Representative, UIS '25

Animal Care Committee

The Animal Care Committee oversees all research protocols involving animals.

John Barker
Committee Chair
Associate Professor, Mathematical Science & Philosophy College of Health Science and Technology

Joel Horwedel
Affiliated externally to UIS

Amy McEuen
Research Associate Professor, School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health

Sheryl Reminger
Professor of Psychology
College of Health Sciences and Technology

Sean Synder
Affiliated externally to UIS

Tom Rothfus
Director, Therkildsen Field Station
College of Health, Science and Technology

Lucia Vazquez
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation