This week’s Staff Spotlight shines on Katherine Misuraca, PhD. Misuraca is the director of research development for the Department of Pediatrics who uses her talents in scientific research and grant writing in an ever-evolving role centered on reviewing and editing individual grants for faculty, coordinating department-wide grant submissions, and overseeing a variety of research development and research training/education initiatives and programs. She talks about her primary interest in graduate school focused on cancer biology and her acquired interests in many other areas of research from oncology to genetics to clinical trials to health disparities. She also shares what she enjoys most about her work and her passions and hobbies outside of work.
What made you decide to come to Duke? How long have you been with the Department of Pediatrics?
What originally led me to Duke was my undergraduate education—I came to Duke in 2000 for college, and aside from a short break of a couple years after graduation, I have been here ever since. I was a graduate student at Duke in the PhD program for Molecular Cancer Biology. During that time, I worked in a lab in the Pediatrics Department, so I have essentially been with Pediatrics since ~2010. After completion of my degree, I did some scientific writing/editing work with the Department, and then settled into a role in Research Development.
What are your responsibilities in the Department of Pediatrics? What does a typical day for you look like?
Research Development, as a field, is relatively new, and there is not a well-defined path; as a result, my role has evolved quite a bit. Initially, my work centered on reviewing and editing individual grants (i.e., NIH R01s, Ks) for faculty members and coordinating department wide training grant submissions (NIH T32s, R38s, and K12s). Currently, I still review individual grants and prepare training grant applications, but I also oversee many Research Development and Research Training/Education initiatives and programs in the Department. For example, I oversee and manage grant development programs, including the Concept Review and (new) K Club Programs, which consist of meetings and workshops to support faculty or fellows submitting major grant applications and helping them fine tune their writing. I oversee research-related programming, like Research Rounds, Faculty Development, and the Research Retreat, as well as manage internal funding programs. I have contributed to the funding of a department wide T32 program (UPTiC) in 2019 and a K12 program (CAtCH) in 2021, both of which I now spend quite a bit of time managing. For these programs, I participate in programmatic and curriculum development; provide grant writing assistance, research navigation services, and overall career development support to the fellows/scholars supported by the programs; and prepare grant related documents for the NIH. A typical day for me includes some combination of dedicated grant writing and reviewing time, administrative meetings, participating in educational/grant writing sessions with either faculty or fellows, and 1:1 meetings with faculty or trainees.
What are some of your academic interests?
In graduate school, my interests were in cancer biology, specifically brain cancer. I worked in several different areas, including glioblastoma stem cells, mouse models of medulloblastoma, fetal development of brain progenitor cells in mice, as well as ultimately my primary thesis work which was on the transcription factor Pax3 and the mechanisms and cellular origins of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, DIPG, which is a particularly devastating type of pediatric glioma that occurs in the brainstem. Since graduate school, my work in Research Development has led me to an acquired interest in the science (and art) of grant writing and to be involved in any/all areas of pediatric research, from oncology to genetics to clinical trials to health disparities, and everything in between.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I most enjoy working with individual faculty members and fellows on their grants. I love delving into someone’s grant, trying to understand what they meant to say, and then providing suggestions for the most efficient and clear way to express their thoughts in order to get their point across. The most rewarding part of what I do is hearing back from faculty or fellows their appreciation for my work—it gives me a sense of accomplishment and that I am contributing to the progress of their research. Writing grants can be very prescriptive, in the sense that you need to include specific components in a specific order; but at the same time, grant writing is an art, and I enjoy getting to “practice” that art on a daily basis. I also really enjoy learning about and being a part of such a vast array of research in my role here.
What passions or hobbies do you have outside of work?
My passions outside of work are centered around my family—most of my time is focused on raising my two daughters, ages 6 and 8, and spending time with them and my husband. We enjoy trips to the beach, spending time at the pool, socializing with neighborhood friends, watching Duke basketball, and catching up with extended family whom we have not been able to see during the pandemic.
