Operations
Operations directly supports the Foundation, by providing the managerial and professional services needed to achieve its mission, including Research Recruitment, Grants Administration, and the Kessler Medical Resource Library. Kessler Foundation’s Institutional Review Board and Information Technology services ensure the safety and security of study participants and research data, and adherence to best practices. During 2016, Operations addressed pressing needs for additional work space, expanded recruitment efforts for volunteers for research studies, and provided administrative support critical to the Foundation’s major success for sponsored research.
VIDEO: Checking out the new office space video
The Adventures of Jody and Cherie. Before the big move, employees Jody Banks and Cherie Giraud were curious about our new address. Unable to wait for the ‘big reveal,’ they took a road trip down Eagle Rock Avenue from West Orange to East Hanover, to check out our new space at 120.
In October, employees, trustees, and friends of the Foundation were invited to the ‘big reveal’ of our new headquarters at 120 Eagle Rock Avenue.
SLIDESHOW: Celebrating our new space at the open house on October 24.
SLIDESHOW: Expanding into new spaces for meeting, working, and dancing.
Making Room for Growth
In 2016, the Foundation moved from its location at 300 Executive Drive in West Orange to a large state-of-the-art facility in East Hanover, N.J., nearly doubling available space, from 17,000 to 30,000 square-feet; accommodating a modern conference center, 42 workstations and additional space for expansion. The newly renovated space accommodates corporate offices, Communications, Development, Finance, and the Program Center, and scientists in Disability & Employment, as well as Neuropsychology, Neuroscience and Traumatic Brain Injury Research. To accommodate research participants, there is a dedicated entrance and reception area, four testing rooms and convenient parking.
The new building features a 5,000 square-foot event center with a café, lounge, and integrated conference room; and a fully equipped fitness center. Walking paths surround the facility, which is situated within a preserve-like setting.
Our Information Technology (IT) department continually strives to bring an extensive array of secure data services to support the Foundation's mission. IT played a critical role in our relocation in 2016, having acquired a cutting-edge emergency standby generator as well as implementing a new first-line firewall and best-in-class BMT cyber security training software. In December, Michael Levin, Founder and CEO of The Center for Information Security Awareness, gave an in-person security awareness training session on the importance of employees’ treatment of sensitive data and best practices that apply both at work and home.
The Foundation maintains its location at 1199 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, on the Kessler West campus.
Subject Recruitment Campaign
Competing Successfully for Research Funding
Success in applying for research grants is fundamental to our mission. Since the addition of a dedicated Grants Administration and Clinical Trials Manager in 2008, the number of applications has increased, as well as our success rate, which is substantially higher in comparison with other U.S.-based biomedical research centers. In 2016, of the 81 grants submitted through our grants administrator, Matthew Weiner, 27 were awarded, for a success rate of 33%. This translated to approximately $8.5 million in external grant funding, including major multi-year grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Recruiting Volunteers for Research Studies
Conducting rehabilitation research that changes lives depends on our ability to recruit both healthy and patient volunteers. To assist in this critical effort, in 2016 Operations hired research recruitment specialist, Justin Stanley, whose outreach at community events, conferences, and support groups resulted in the enrollment of 135 individuals for research studies in multiple sclerosis, brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, and Gulf War Illness.
VIDEO: To support 2016 recruitment efforts, Communications produced various media, including video, podcasts, and print pieces. This promotional spot aired at the Claridge Theater in Montclair.
PODCAST: Stanley and Dr. Glenn Wylie discussed our research on Gulf War Illness on Veterans Now, a local radio program produced by the GIGO Fund, a veterans’ outreach program based in Newark.
PODCASTS: Informative podcasts about our research were hosted on Sound Cloud and distributed through social media. To listen to all these podcasts, go to our subject recruitment playlist
BROCHURE: To address the needs of the diverse populations we serve, Communications produced a research recruitment brochure in Spanish
Operations maintains the Kessler Medical Resource Library, which provides access to specialty medical journals and other resources that support the planning and implementation of rehabilitation research. Marita Delmonico, the Foundation’s Medical Librarian, has managed the library for more than a decade, providing assistance to Kessler scientists and clinicians, and fulfilling thousands of requests from outside libraries and universities through inter-library loan programs. In 2016, the library cataloged the Foundation’s impact in literature, including 79 peer reviewed articles, two books, six book chapters and 128 presentations.
John L. Giraud
Director, Operations &
Grants Administration
Providing Resources for Research
