Tine Heylen, Chair

KU Leuven, Belgium

Tine is a Senior Advisor for European, US and other international Research Funding. Since 2009 she is involved in both pre and post award management of research grants. Her focus is compliance, legal, financial and administrative management.

She first became an NCURA member in 2015. 

Daniela Amadio, Chair-Elect

University College London, UK

Daniela is the Director of Award Services at University College London. Daniela leads a central office that supports all Faculties and academics applying for research grants and negotiate contracts with funders and collaborators. Daniela has experience in grant writing, pre-award support and project management. She is getting more interested in compliance issues and internationalisation of research nowadays.

Daniela has been an active member of NCURA since joining in 2019.

Ellen Thompson, Treasurer

LEES Accountants, UK

Ellen is a Senior Grant Audit Manager at LEES Accountants, in Norwich, UK, where she co-manages their dedicated grant audit department. They audit approximately 750 projects per annum, covering funders such as US federal, H2020, and InnovateUK (among others). Ellen is a Chartered Accountant, and an alumni of both the University of Stirling, Scotland, and University of Massachusetts, Amherst, US. As well as being Treasurer-Elect for NCURA Region VIII, she is also the co-champion of the ARMA Audit & Compliance Special Interest Group.

Pankaj Gupta, Secretary

Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), India

Dr Pankaj Gupta is a senior program manager. In this capacity, he manages diverse research management and administration, collaborative partnerships, scientific project management, regulatory and compliance matters.

Pankaj has been an active member of NCURA since joining in 2021.

Carrie Manning, Volunteer/Engagement Coordinator

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

Carrie is the International Funding Manager for the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, with a focus on non-European funding sources. Her remit is in pre-award, working across a range of international funding streams and agencies (both UK and Global) and covering key strategic regions for the university including North America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Eva Bjorndal, Region VIII National Board Member

King’s College London, UK

Eva is the Director of Post-Award at King’s College London. She leads the post-award services which are responsible for the financial management, audit preparations and financial compliance of externally funded grants, both national and international. Eva has 18 years of Research Management experience and has worked for universities in both Sweden and the UK. Eva has been an active member of NCURA since 2010, serving twice as Chair of Region VIII. She has also served as a member of the Select Committee on Global Affairs, the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee and on the PDC Educational Programming Subcommittee.

Elly Pineda, At Large Member

The University of New South Wales, Australia

Elly Pineda is the Business Manager for the ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health at UNSW. She is an experienced professional in managing research grants portfolios. Her expertise lies in pre- and post-award management and developing operational plans for research centers from a central office to department level.

Elly is an active member and contributor to NCURA Region VIII since 2019.

Patrcia Gigliuto, At Large Member

University of Melbourne, Australia

Patricia (Trish) is Manager of the International Grants team at the University of Melbourne in Australia. With a focus on pre-award, she is passionate about promoting best practice for international research collaboration and administration. Trish has been an active member of NCURA since 2023.

Luigi Pellegrino, At Large Member

Bocconi University, Italy

Luigi is the Head, Research Area at Bocconi University, Italy. Luigi focusing on the University research policies, the research support services and research evaluation. In the past he has been in charge of Pre-Award including the relationships with donor institutions, Post-Award management of the Research Centers’ staff and also of the relationships with the European Union.

Luigi has been involved with NCURA since 2019.