Research Development Team
Helping to grow research activity, capacity, and competitiveness
About Research Development
Our Pillars
Research Development supports UCF’s research mission through four pillars of focus.
Research Strategies
- Building research capacity – Supporting strategic initiatives, institutional priorities, and capacity-building efforts that position researchers for future funding success.
Faculty Engagement and Outreach
- Connecting the research community – Building relationships through programs, events, networking opportunities, and activities that strengthen UCF’s research ecosystem.
Proposal Development
- Strengthening proposal competitiveness – Providing resources, guidance, reviews, and specialized support to help researchers develop competitive proposals.
Competitive Intelligence
- Informing strategic decisions – Delivering funding insights, research analytics, and strategic intelligence to support planning and opportunity identification.
Meet the team
Tamara Gabrus
Sr. Director, Research Advancement & Strategy
- Institutional research strategy
- Faculty Cluster Initiative (FCI)
- Large/complex proposal support (EARLIER)
- PreAward Shared Services (PASS)
Joshua Roney
Director, Research Development
- RD Team operations
- Special Initiatives and Strategic Programs
- Proposal Development and EARLIER
- Competitive Intelligence
Madhavi (Maddy) Chokshi
Pillar Lead, Research Strategies
- Strategic Programs
- Special Initiatives
- Limited Submissions
April Torre
Pillar Lead, Faculty Engagement and Outreach
- Workshops and Special Events
- Networking Opportunities
- New Faculty Orientation
Megan Kellogg
Research Development Specialist II
- NSF REU Site Support
- Internal programs
- Proposal Development
Emilie Rott
Research Development Specialist II
- Proposal Development
- Internal programs
- Funding Opportunities
