Research administration training, education, and support

The UCLA Department of Medicine's Office of Research Administration (DOM ORA) office was created for the purpose of training, educating, and providing support and assistance in all areas of research administration, covering both pre- and post-award components.  DOM ORA is supported by Dr. E. Dale Abel, the Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Yanina Venegas, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Department of Medicine.  See the Department of Medicine's full Research Administration Organizational Chart.


Our mission is to provide Departmental specific research administrative support to fund managers, managers, research staff and Principal Investigators by:

  • Sharing "best practice" procedures and more efficient ways to approach various research administration tasks.
  • Providing guidance on "how to's" in the form of detailed step-by-step instructions, complete with background information and hints and tips, in the DOM Fund Manager's Manual.
  • Answering questions and troubleshooting various issues.
  • Disseminating information regarding new or updated Agency Sponsor and University policies and procedures in a timely manner.
  • Educating by providing training, both on an individual basis and in group settings.

DOM ORA is comprised of the following individuals:

  • Cathy Rujanuruks - Director of Research Administration
  • Raellen Man - Departmental Research Associate (DRA)
  • Kayla Brown - Manager of Training & Compliance
  • Tsegaye Teshome - Senior Project Analyst
  • Leslie Cortez - Manager of the Clinical Trial Research Program
  • Peter Vittachi - Primary DRA
  • Katie Lui - DRA
  • Ross Divinagracia - Senior Clinical Trial Regulatory Coordinator
  • Ashna Sethi - Clinical Trial Regulatory Coordinator
  • Jaila Coleman - Senior Study Coordinator
  • Emily Montgomerie - Study Coordinator
  • Kim Hamer - Charge Reviewer
  • Raquelle Alamat - Fund Manager
  • Leticia Arias - Fund Manager
  • Mayara Bledsoe - Fund Manager
  • Shehan De Silva - Fund Manager
  • Daniel Finn - Fund Manager
  • Vanessa Hernandez - Pre-Award Fund Manager
  • Kat Hirayanagi - Project Coordinator
  • Esai Leanos - Fund Manager
  • Frank Munoz - Fund Manager
  • Daila Reyes - Clinical Trial Fund Manager
  • Bridget Rios - Fund Manager
  • Graciela Rivera - Clinical Trial Fund Manager
  • Lisette Saucedo - Clinical Trial Fund Manager
  • Ricky Singh - Fund Manager