The Research Technical Staff Award recognizes staff for their distinguished service to the University of Minnesota (UMN) research community and celebrates exemplary leadership that positively impacted their colleagues and advanced the University's mission.
Each of the 10 recipients below was awarded a personal honorarium of $2,000. Selected quotes are taken from the nomination materials.
Lisa A. Duvick is retiring this year after 40 years of dedicated service at the University of Minnesota, where she serves as research manager in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and the Institute for Translational Neuroscience (ITN). Since joining the University in 1986 as a senior lab technician, she has been a central technical pillar in investigating Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Lisa designs, maintains, and analyzes transgenic mouse models using advanced immunohistochemistry, microscopy, behavioral testing, and molecular assays, while managing complex project data and ensuring shared equipment across the Molecular and Cellular Biology building remains fully functional. Beyond managing core lab operations, she has mentored over 40 students and trainees while providing crucial technical guidance to neighboring laboratories across the institute.
“Lisa’s research expertise made her the point of reference for research advice, and she was essential for the research in my lab to obtain NIH funding,” wrote nominator Marija Cvetanovic. “Lisa has an excellent work ethic and is the role model for many researchers at the U.” Her four decades of technical rigor have yielded co-authorship on 38 peer-reviewed publications, directly supporting foundational discoveries in SCA1 gene identification and therapeutic approaches that contributed to Harry Orr receiving the 2022 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. Most recently, she served as lead investigator on a major study published in JCI Insight that established a novel SCA1 mouse model to elucidate disease phenotypes across distinct anatomical regions and cell types—generating data that will serve as a foundational resource for neurodegenerative research efforts for years to come.
Samantha (Sam) Getty is a curatorial research associate in the Bell Museum’s Research and Collections Division, where she has transformed operations in the Zoology collections since joining the team in 2024. Funded through the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (LCCMR) to support the Salvage Wildlife program, she established standard operating procedures that maximized specimen quality and data collection efficiency across the museum’s bird and mammal collections. Sam manages holistic specimen preparation, tissue curation, and database documentation for hundreds of species, ensuring these materials meet the highest professional standards for long-term scientific use. In addition to her core curation responsibilities, she coordinates public engagement events and collaborates across university divisions to expand the visibility of the museum’s biodiversity resources.
“I can say without hesitation that Sam's contributions are the most transformative I have witnessed in more than two decades at the University of Minnesota,” wrote nominator Sharon Jansa, curator of mammals. Since taking on her role, Sam and her supervised trainees have prepared and cataloged over 1,500 bird and mammal specimens to build permanent records for research in ecology, evolution, conservation, and emerging diseases. On her own initiative, she developed and leads the “Carcass Crew” training program, through which she has mentored 12 undergraduate and four high school students in museum practices—inspiring several to pursue graduate research and careers in public science education. Her passion and technical leadership have more than doubled the Bell Museum’s presence at public outreach events, establishing a vibrant community around the collections and ensuring their impact for generations of researchers to come.
Matthew (Matt) Grimley is a research fellow in the Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (CSTEP) at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, where he has served as a central intellectual force in energy policy research since 2019. He designs and executes place-based social science research, qualitative field studies, institutional coding schemes, and policy data visualizations focused on clean energy transitions, utility governance, and rural electric cooperatives. As a core thought partner across flagship university projects—including the Distributed Energy Resource Innovation Initiative and the Electric Cooperative Innovation Center—Matt leads research design, field logistics, and trust-intensive stakeholder engagement with utilities, municipal partners, and tribal nations. Beyond driving field operations, he actively mentors graduate student researchers each year in qualitative coding, interview methodology, and academic writing.
“Matt has been the central intellectual force in our lab's work since joining in 2019,” wrote nominator Gabriel Chan. “I can say without reservation that he is the most essential member of our team and that our contributions to the University's research enterprise would be a fraction of what they are without him.” Over his tenure, Matt has led or co-authored 11 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and major technical reports in high-impact journals such as Policy Studies Journal, Energy Policy, and Energy Research & Social Science. His community-embedded research—including longitudinal studies of Minnesota electric cooperatives—bridges rigorous applied scholarship with real-world energy equity solutions. Additionally, his dedicated mentorship has propelled former student researchers into key policy and technical roles at the National Laboratories, MISO, Great River Energy, and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gudrun (Gunna) Kilian is a research manager spanning the School of Public Health’s Division of Epidemiology and Community Health and the Medical School’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, having served the University of Minnesota for nearly three decades. As the operational backbone for complex public health research initiatives, she oversees study management, regulatory compliance, IRB submissions, and long-term fiscal planning for both domestic research and multi-site international clinical trials currently underway at four Universities in Tanzania. Gunna conceptualizes and writes project budgets, manages complex contracts, establishes standard operating procedures, and navigates changing NIH policies to ensure seamless project implementation across cross-cultural and interdisciplinary teams. Beyond managing daily research operations, she hires project staff and provides hands-on mentorship, structured guidance, and career development support to project staff, trainees, and junior faculty across multiple departments.
“More than any one of us, she is the reason we can be so successful in grants and productive in research,” wrote nominators Dr. Kristen Mark, Dr. Jennifer Connor, Dr. B. R. Simon Rosser, and Dr. Tetyana Shippee. Gunna currently manages the financial, operational, and programmatic execution of six major active NIH R01 awards. These multi-year projects address critical health disparities, including the treatment of health complications from female genital mutilation/cutting, sexual and reproductive health training for healthcare professionals serving persons with disabilities, and sexual and gender minority care competency in healthcare and long-term care settings. Her exceptional institutional knowledge, technical rigor, and compassionate leadership make her an indispensable anchor for the University’s global health and public health research enterprises.
Eunji Kim is a research professional 3 in the Lillehei Heart Institute within the Department of Medicine, having served as a core technical anchor for cardiovascular research at the University of Minnesota since 2018. She bridges cardiac electrophysiology and molecular biology, leading complex cellular experiments that translate electrical phenotypes into mechanistic insights into heart disease. Kim possesses specialized expertise in high-precision, low-tolerance techniques, including the isolation of viable adult mouse primary cardiomyocytes and non-myocytes from single-cell suspensions. Her technical repertoire spans advanced molecular cloning, alternative splicing assays, confocal microscopy, proximity ligation assays, and transgenic mouse colony management.
“Dr. Kim has been the ultimate technical bridge and collaborative partner for our team,” wrote nominator An Xie, highlighting her role in correlating genetic regulation directly with electrophysiological readings. Her rigorous experimental data serve as the technical bedrock for competitive federal grant proposals funded by the NIH and Department of Defense. Kim’s extensive record includes contributions to 43 peer-reviewed publications and two IP disclosures for novel gene therapies targeting heart failure and acquired arrhythmias.
Taylor Otness is the research project manager at the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC) in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, having advanced to leadership after starting his University of Minnesota tenure as an undergraduate researcher. He plans and manages PPIC's industry projects, daily operations and pilot plant activities including overseeing equipment performance, maintenance, safety compliance, and facility logistics across multi-disciplinary research projects. Taylor's technical scope spans analytical chemistry, protein and metabolite testing, and the pilot-plant scale-up and extrusion of plant protein ingredients. In addition to managing core facility operations, he serves on the departmental safety committee, coordinates equipment installations between facilities leadership and principal investigators, and leads technical outreach for visiting collaborators, industry partners, national conferences, and public events like the Minnesota State Fair.
“Through exceptional organizational skills, technical expertise, and a proactive approach to problem solving, Taylor helps create an environment where researchers, students, faculty, and industry partners can successfully achieve their goals,” wrote nominator B. Pam Ismail. His technical resourcefulness has repeatedly solved complex operational and equipment challenges, delivering creative, cost-effective solutions that keep high-stakes research projects on schedule while maintaining strict safety standards and data integrity. Taylor plays a key role in executing industry-sponsored scale-up and extrusion projects, while actively training laboratory staff and guiding student researchers. His seamless integration of operational leadership, technical versatility, and commitment to collaborative partnerships makes him an indispensable driver of the center's mission.
Michelle Roesler is a research project manager in the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research within the Department of Pediatrics, serving the University of Minnesota since 1997. She manages complex childhood cancer epidemiology studies from initial pilot stages to final closure, directing study protocol design, IRB applications, regulatory compliance, survey implementation, and data quality control. Michelle oversees nationwide patient recruitment, medical record acquisition, and data collection, collaborating extensively with national networks like the Children's Oncology Group as well as patient advocacy organizations such as Momcology. Beyond directing core research operations, she has hired, supervised, and mentored more than 25 undergraduate student researchers, guiding them into medical and public health careers while actively participating in departmental and community outreach.
Her nominators describe her as indispensable and she has earned a national reputation as the person with the most 'know how' in the business of conducting epidemiologic studies with this vulnerable pediatric population. Over her tenure at UMN, Michelle has coordinated 13 NIH-funded studies and co-authored 41 peer-reviewed publications in top journals, including the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, JAMA Network Open, and Cancer. Her support of pediatric germ cell tumor research began nearly thirty years ago supporting a classic epidemiology case control study. The work in this area continues today supporting the largest study of germ cell tumor outcomes. Her technical persistence and relationship-building with cord blood banks and other key partners has resulted in the world’s largest collection of matched leukemia and cord blood samples to backtrack pre-leukemia to birth. Her rare combination of deep epidemiological expertise, rigorous data management, and compassionate family engagement makes her an irreplaceable anchor for the University’s pediatric cancer research enterprise.
Kelli Trauger is the study manager in the Oral Health Clinical Research Center at the School of Dentistry, where she has served since 2020 and assumed the role of Interim Director in June 2026. She acts as the operational leader overseeing all ongoing and planned clinical trials, longitudinal cohort studies, and electronic data capture systems across multi-disciplinary research tracks in restorative dentistry, pain pathophysiology, dental-dedicated MRI, and pharmacogenomics. Kelli directs protocol development, IRB submissions, participant tracking, and Good Clinical Practice compliance while maintaining seamless daily operations across the center. As a strategic liaison to over eight principal investigators, she coordinates complex multi-center research partnerships with institutions including Harvard University, UIUC, UT Health San Antonio, and The Rockefeller University.
“Overall, she serves as the operational leader who helps ensure that research is conducted efficiently, ethically, compliantly, and with the highest scientific quality,” wrote nominator Eric Schiffman. Kelli’s operational oversight has driven numerous clinical studies to successful completion, yielding co-authored research in top-tier publications such as Clinical Oral Investigations, The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, and the Journal of Periodontology. Her institutional contributions extend well beyond trial management; during pandemic shutdowns, she designed custom Telehealth Dentistry Examination Templates for specialized clinics, and she independently developed administrative encounter forms that continue to save faculty hours across student review sessions. Her technical mastery, meticulous standards, and dedicated leadership make her an essential driver of the University’s clinical oral health enterprise.
Kelley Wells is a researcher 6 in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, having served the University of Minnesota for over 16 years since joining as a postdoctoral associate in 2010. An internationally recognized scholar in atmospheric chemistry, she bridges satellite remote sensing data with global atmospheric modeling to measure Earth's atmosphere from space and track critical greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Wells pioneered the first-ever global satellite-based measurements of atmospheric isoprene and ethane—a key marker for oil and gas emissions—and created a novel global modeling framework for atmospheric nitrous oxide. As a self-directed research leader, she serves as a Co-PI on multiple federal awards, including three active NASA projects, while partnering with investigators at NASA JPL, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, and the University of Colorado. Beyond her computational research, she serves as the primary point of contact for student training in group modeling tools, sat on the Departmental Consultative Committee, co-organized the departmental seminar series for four years to emphasize environmental justice, and co-taught the department’s core freshman course in 2026 during faculty sabbaticals.
“My group would not be anything close to what it is today if not for Wells's sustained contributions,” wrote nominator Dylan Millet, with department head Brent J. Williams added that she “represents the absolute best of our research community: a brilliant scientist and invaluable collaborator who elevates the work of everyone around her.” Wells's discoveries have contributed to 42 peer-reviewed publications in top journals, including a co-authored global nitrous oxide study in Nature receiving more than 2,000 citations.
Erin Zielinski is the director of research operations in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she provides strategic and operational leadership for the department’s growing women’s health research enterprise. She has served the University of Minnesota since 2013, bringing more than a decade of experience in clinical research operations, regulatory oversight, program development, and multidisciplinary collaboration. After eight years managing complex clinical trials at the Masonic Cancer Center, Zielinski joined the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health in 2021 to build its research infrastructure from the ground up. She established a centralized research operations model and built a multidisciplinary team of program managers, research nurses, and clinical research coordinators supporting nearly 60 IRB-approved studies across both East Bank and West Bank facilities and all five clinical divisions.
Zielinski oversees the operational, financial, and regulatory management of investigator-initiated, industry-sponsored, cooperative group, and federally funded research. She developed department-wide standard operating procedures that streamline study start-up while strengthening compliance with federal regulations and Good Clinical Practice standards. She also partners closely with faculty to develop research programs, navigate regulatory and institutional requirements, pursue funding opportunities, and build multidisciplinary collaborations. Her leadership has helped transform the department’s clinical research portfolio. In gynecologic oncology, she supported the expansion of clinical trials and the infrastructure necessary for the University of Minnesota to transition from probationary status to full NRG Oncology voting member status in 2026. She also spearheaded major research infrastructure initiatives, including the Gestational Outcomes and Pediatric Health Repository (GOPHER), which has collected maternal and neonatal specimens from more than 300 pregnancies to support multidisciplinary research.
Beyond trial operations, Zielinski is committed to developing the next generation of researchers. She guides research training for medical students, residents, fellows and collaborators connecting with faculty mentors while reducing the administrative burden on investigators. She also works to expand clinical trial access to regional satellite clinics and develops industry and international partnerships to bring innovative research and technologies to Minnesota.
“As vice chair of research, I would not be able to maintain a research program during these difficult times within the department without Erin’s support and leadership,” wrote nominator Deanna G.K. Teoh. Zielinski’s strength lies in translating ambitious scientific ideas into sustainable, high-quality clinical research programs. Through strategic leadership, operational expertise and a commitment to expanding research access, she has become an indispensable leader in women’s health research at the University of Minnesota and across Minnesota.