Joey Gaynor, Chair-Elect

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland

Joey is a Senior Research Funding Specialist for International Funding at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. In this capacity, he leads all aspects of pre-award and post-award support for U.S. and international funding.

Joey is an active member and contributor to NCURA Region VIII since 2021.

Markam Halawani, Immediate Past Chair

American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Makram Halawani is an Assistant Director in the Office of Grants and Contracts at the American University of Beirut. Managing pre- and post-award responsibilities of Federally-funded Institutional projects and introducing best practices in procedures and compliance since 2010. 

Makram has been an NCURA member for over 9 years, and has engaged with members in seminars, annual meetings, and other volunteer opportunities.

Daniela Amadio, Treasurer

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.

Isabelle Leung, Secretary

King’s College London, UK

Isabelle is as a Senior Research Grants Administrator with a dual role within the Post-Award Unit at King’s College London. She specialises in financial management of projects funded by the European Commission and NIH within the International team. Additionally, she contributes to the implementation of new systems and provides key performance data for the Unit within the Data & Systems team.

Isabelle has been a member of NCURA since 2022.

Beatrice Sakyibea Biney Nyamekye, Volunteer Coordinator

University of Ghana, Ghana

Beatrice is a Research Development Officer at the Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID). Beatrice is responsible for coordinating the university’s pre-award operations from the central office. Her work includes managing a team of research support staff identifying, disseminating funding opportunities, supporting proposal development and submission to external donors, managing limited submissions among others.

Beatrice has been a member of NCURA since 2016.

Joey Gaynor, Chair-Elect

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland

Joey is a Senior Research Funding Specialist for International Funding at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. In this capacity, he leads all aspects of pre-award and post-award support for U.S. and international funding.

Joey is an active member and contributor to NCURA Region VIII since 2021.

Markam Halawani, Immediate Past Chair

American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Makram Halawani is an Assistant Director in the Office of Grants and Contracts at the American University of Beirut. Managing pre- and post-award responsibilities of Federally-funded Institutional projects and introducing best practices in procedures and compliance since 2010. 

Makram has been an NCURA member for over 9 years, and has engaged with members in seminars, annual meetings, and other volunteer opportunities.

Daniela Amadio, Treasurer

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.

Isabelle Leung, Secretary

King’s College London, UK

Isabelle is as a Senior Research Grants Administrator with a dual role within the Post-Award Unit at King’s College London. She specialises in financial management of projects funded by the European Commission and NIH within the International team. Additionally, she contributes to the implementation of new systems and provides key performance data for the Unit within the Data & Systems team.

Isabelle has been a member of NCURA since 2022.

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.

Bella Blaher, At Large Member (Chair appointed)

University of Melbourne, Australia

Bella is the Manager, Research and Industry at the Melbourne Education Research Institute in the Melbourne Graduate at the University of Melbourne. First with Monash University and currently with the University of Melbourne, Bella has been immersed in the university environment, in research and then administration for over 25 years. Working in various departments, she has coordinated efforts in achieving relevant research goals and outcomes that are in alignment with the funding bodies around the world. 

Bella has been involved with NCURA since 2015 and was the Chair of Region VIII in 2019.

Grace Martey, At Large Member

University of Ghana, Ghana

Grace is a Research Development Officer at the University of Ghana. She oversees the grant negotiation
and acceptance processes for the Pre-and Post-Award Services team and provides oversight to the Contracts sub-team and guides the negotiations of contracts and agreements between collaborating institutions.

Grace has been involved with NCURA since 2022.

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.

Connie Killey, At Large Member (Chair appointed)

Deakin University, Australia

Connie is the Director, Research Finance at Deakin University, Australia. She currently contributes to NCURA by participating through the collaborate forums, writing for
the NCURA magazine and
also volunteered at the NCURA AM64 conference.

As part of her international activities, she was a member of the “Research Administration As A Profession “(RAAAP) global taskforce as the Australasian representatives on the taskforce. Working with colleagues, she worked on advocacy for the survey, promoting it across the Australian and New Zealand sectors to ensure maximum participation from the region.

Julie Ward, Past Chair (Chair appointed)

University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia

Julie is the Research Impact Coordinator at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Julie leads the submission to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and the Australian Research Councils Engagement and Impact Assessment. Julie has over 15 years of research management experience across higher education in Australia and the US. Julie has been involved with NCURA since 2011 and was Chair of Region VIII in 2018. Julie developed the Advisory Board for Region VIII and has served nationally on the Board of Directors, the Nominating & Leadership Development Committee and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program.