I would like to nominate Nina Johnson, Research Specialist in IUCAR, for the One Regenstrief award for this year. Nina has been employed at Regenstrief for more than 2 years, coming to us with a career change from sales and customer service to excel in her role. Nina’s contributions to the project have been extremely impactful, including authoring the project operating procedures and staff training manuals. These tools have proven to be invaluable when hiring and training new staff to proficiency very quickly. Additionally, Nina worked tirelessly to keep the project enrollment on target for more than 1 year, while the project was not fully staffed.
Not only are her project contributions notable, Nina has stepped into informal leadership roles and has been asked by several other teams in IUCAR to share her knowledge and communications skills for successful recruitment. For the study which she is working, the refusal rate is less than 11%, much lower than most research studies. We can attribute that to Nina’s excellent recruitment skills, and her compassion and open engagement with the potential participants. Nina has been asked to share her insights with other groups to share her expertise in this fundamental and important research area.
Not only is Nina’s contribution on the project and within the center felt, she embodies dedication to Regenstrief’s mission and values. As research was a new career for her, she has sought out every opportunity to learn about research regulations, observe the research discovery process, and share her excitement for research innovations. She has demonstrated this though her presence at Regenstrief: from consistent attendance at the RI WIPs, preparing to sit for the Certified Research Professional exam, and presenting a research poster at a national conference (and being named Top 10 poster distinction). She represents her role and the institutes’ work when attending community events with the Alzheimer’s association, and the APA student conferences.
Finally, because of her optimism and happy demeanor, she is a fun person to work with and encounter during the work day. She contributes to the IUCAR weekly newsletter, shares her published writings with her colleagues, and she brings a genuine excitement and wonder about the excellent work the institute is doing each day.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to nominate Nina Johnson for this award.
Respectfully submitted,
Laura Holtz