Sheila L. Vrana recently joined the Office of the Vice Dean for Research in the Penn State College of Medicine as the associate dean for basic research.
Vrana will enhance Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's efforts to support faculty and staff in their development and processing of grant proposals, and will oversee the efforts of the Office of Research Affairs, which is responsible for procurement and administration of grants and contracts, compliance, development of budgets, proposal review, award negotiation and more. In addition, Vrana will work with Jay Moskowitz, vice dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Medicine, to set and direct efforts to reach the institution's goals for research.
"Dr. Vrana brings us considerable experience, and a thorough understanding of basic science research and administration of sponsored funding," said Moskowitz, who also is associate vice president for health sciences research, Penn State University, and chief scientific officer, Penn State Hershey Medical Center. "Her knowledge and leadership will ensure that we continue to gain momentum and maintain an upward trajectory for sponsored research funding."
After earning bachelor's degrees in biology and psychology from Emory University, Vrana pursued a doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from the West Virginia University School of Medicine. She was a research associate and National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Wake Forest University School of Medicine before being named an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Wake Forest. Vrana's research program addressed drug addiction.
In 1997, Vrana was named research administrator in the Office of Research at Wake Forest, and subsequently became director of sponsored research. She was named assistant dean for research at Wake Forest in 2001.