The Department of Research Administration provides a centralized administrative system that ensures that our research is maintained at the highest quality and safety levels. It includes sponsored-research award administration, the Office of Technology Transfer, the Office of Operation and Facilities, and satellite offices for Human Resources, Accounts Payable, Purchasing and Marketing Communications. It is located on the first floor of the Saban Research Building.
 D. Brent Polk, MD, Director
323-361-2278
In addition to his role as director of The Saban Research Institute, Dr. Polk is also chair of the Department of Pediatrics, vice president of Academic Affairs at Children’s Hospital, chair of Pediatrics and vice dean for Clinical Affairs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Dr. Polk joined Children’s Hospital and The Saban Research Institute from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he had served since 1990, most recently as chief of the D. Brent Polk Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. As a renowned researcher on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease and immune regulation of the gastrointestinal tract, Dr. Polk’s research interests focus on the regulation, growth and development of intestinal cells as related to ontogeny and disease.
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 Richard Simerly, PhD, Deputy Director
323-361-8608
Dr. Simerly is deputy director of The Saban Research Institute as well as director of the Developmental Neuroscience Program. He is a professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Before coming to Children’s Hospital, Dr. Simerly was a senior scientist at the Oregon National Primate Center and Oregon Health & Science University. His research focuses on the effects of leptin on neurological development.
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 Michele Kipke, PhD, Vice Chair of Research
323-361-8424
Dr. Kipke is vice chair of Research in the department of Pediatrics, director of the Community and Behavioral Health, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program and associate director of Community Engagement in the Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). She is professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Preventative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Her own research encompasses a wide range of topics including pediatric autism, medical errors, maternal predictors of birth outcomes, HIV risk among young men, risk/protective factors involved in childhood obesity and diabetes; and the causes and consequences of homelessness.
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Susan Rubin, JD, Director of Research Administration
323-361-1876
Susan Rubin joins The Saban Research Institute as director of Research Administration and is responsible for the implementation and operational oversight of administrative functions that support research. Prior to Children’s Hospital, Susan was managing director of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. She received her law degree from Southwestern University and her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.
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Kami McClure, Director of Programmatic Development
323-361-5784
Kami McClure joins Children's Hospital Los Angeles as the director of Programmatic Development at The Saban Research Institute and is responsible for identifying and facilitating opportunities for research collaborations, growth and support through work on programmatic expansion and development. Kami received her masters degree in Psychology from Pepperdine University and comes to Children's Hospital Los Angeles with several years of research, administration and management experience at the University of Southern California (USC).
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Jessica Rousset, Director of Business Development
323-361-4531
Jessica Rousset manages intellectual property matters for Children’s Hospital and is co-director of the Center for Scientific Translation of the CTSI, as well as co-director of the Southern California Center for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics (SC-CTIP). Prior to joining Children’s Hospital, Jessica worked as a licensing professional at The Scripps Research Institute and GlaxoSmithKline Biologics. She has a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.
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Ellin Kavanagh, Senior Public Information Officer and Senior Science Writer, Research Communications
323-361-8505
Ellin Kavanagh manages all research communications in The Saban Research Institute and Children’s Hospital. Previously, she worked in medical communications at Amgen and the Al Mann companies. She has also worked in a research lab and on the sponsor side of clinical research at the NIH and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Ellin has a bachelor’s degree in animal physiology from Cornell, and a master’s degree from the USC School of Cinema.
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