On behalf of the Board of Regents, I am pleased to present a KUDOS Award to Lauren Lesiak, administrative coordinator in the Niedfelt Nursing Research Center in the UNMC College of Nursing.
As the College of Nursing’s grants specialist, Lauren plays a critical role in grant submissions and management. Since joining UNMC in 2015, she has submitted nearly 250 grants on behalf of nursing faculty and students.
Said her nominator, “Lauren is the master of her craft and has earned the reputation of being the ‘go to’ person for all research-related questions in the College of Nursing…The Niedfelt Nursing Research Center could not function without Lauren.”
Described as a self-starter, Lauren works to identify innovative solutions to improve the efficiency of the grant submission and execution processes. As an example, she re-imagined the post-award financial ledger documentation process so principal investigators more easily could view disbursements and balances on grant funds. Lauren’s nominator called it a “much-needed improvement” that has pleased faculty.
In addition, Lauren helps grow the next generation of nurse scientists by voluntarily helping doctoral students in the college’s grant writing course. She also reviews all nursing research posters presented at regional, national and international conferences to ensure they meaningfully demonstrate nursing’s research expertise.
And when a grant is rejected, Lauren debriefs with each investigator to see what could have been addressed differently. Said her nominator, “Lauren is the unsung hero of the UNMC College of Nursing research mission.”
Today, Lauren is joined by Dr. Juliann Sebastian, Dean of the College of Medicine and Dr. Alyson Hanish, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing-Omaha Division at UNMC.
Please join me in thanking Lauren for her invaluable service in elevating UNMC and the College of Nursing’s research mission.