Biography of Suzanne M. Rivera
Dr. Suzanne Rivera is the Associate Vice President for Research at Case Western Reserve University. She has broad responsibility for oversight of the research enterprise, including development of research policy, pre- and post-award management of sponsored projects, scientific integrity, compliance with research regulations and education of faculty and students regarding the responsible conduct of research. Since arriving at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Dr. Rivera has implemented numerous research support initiatives, including the selection and roll-out of a new pre-award proposal management system and the development of an export controls program.
Dr. Rivera also is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics, where she teaches research ethics to graduate and medical students. She is the Principal Investigator on a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and she has published numerous articles and book chapters about research ethics and public policy.
In addition to her university duties, Dr. Rivera serves as a member of the U.S. DHHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections, is on the Research Compliance and Administration Committee of the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) Board and was selected through a national election to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA).
Prior to arriving at CWRU, Dr. Rivera spent over seven years at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. As Vice President for Research Administration, she oversaw a variety of research support programs, including grants and contracts management, clinical trial negotiations, research compliance (four institutional review boards (IRBs) and one Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)), laboratory animal resources, export controls and a number of scientific core facilities.
From 1996 to 2003, Dr. Rivera worked in the Office of Research Administration at the University of California-Irvine (UCI). As Director of Research Protections at UCI, she had responsibility for the operation of three IRBs, one IACUC, and one rDNA Use Committee.
Before entering higher education management, Dr. Rivera spent several years at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the San Francisco Regional Office, first as a Presidential Management Intern and later as a Program Specialist with the Administration for Children and Families.
Dr. Rivera holds a BA from Brown University, a Master of Social Welfare degree from UC Berkeley and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs (health policy emphasis) from the University of Texas at Dallas.