Molly Losh, PhD
Associate Dean for Research
m-losh@northwestern.edu

Dr. Molly Losh is the Jo Ann G. and Peter F. Dolle Professor of Learning Disabilities in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Associate Dean of Research in the School of Communication at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions, with a specific focus on understanding the basis of language and communication impairments that span diagnostic boundaries. Work from her lab has helped to identify key cognitive mechanisms that may underlie the social-communicative impairments in autism, in order to bridge gaps between observable clinical behaviors and underlying biology, necessary for understanding the causes of autism and related conditions.  

Molly provides oversight for the SoC research office. She works on SoC research policy and is the research compliance officer for the School of Communication. She can provide support for issues involving the IRB, INVO, Sponsored Research, and the University Library. She administers the SoC internal grant programs, EREA, and helps identify funding sources for faculty and graduate students. 

 

Sheri Carsello, MA, CRA
Assistant Dean for Research
sheric@northwestern.edu
847-491-2425

Sheri Carsello is the Assistant Dean for Research for the School of Communication. Sheri manages the research staff and oversees the grant proposal submissions and non-financial post award items, such as effort reporting and annual progress reports. Sheri has been involved in research administration at Northwestern for over 25 years, with 18 years of work focused upon NIH grant support. Sheri has held positions at the Program of African Studies (PAS), Accounting Services Research and Sponsored Programs (ASRSP), and the Sponsored Research (SR) office. 

Sheri received her M.A. in production from Northwestern University’s SoC’s Department of Radio, Television and Film, with a focus on video and film production. She is a visual person and loves all forms of art! In her free time, Sheri enjoys gardening and visiting gardens, yoga and exercise, and playing with her dog, Ruby. 

Sheri has served on numerous sponsored project pilot and advisory committees at NU and is an active member of the Northwestern University Research Administration Leadership (NU RAL) group headed by the SR Executive Director. She supports faculty proposal development, annual reporting, effort reporting (CS&D), and grant compliance. Contact Sheri to help problem-solve your sponsor project complex issues. 

 

Sharra Vostral, PhD
Assistant Dean of Research
sharra.vostral@northwestern.edu

Sharra joined us in September 2023 as the Assistant Dean of Research. Sharra’s supports faculty and students in the arts, humanities, and social sciences by matching their research goals with funding and award opportunities. She is also a faculty member and Professor of Instruction in Communication Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in History and an M.A. in American Studies, both from Washington University in St Louis, and a B.A. Religious Studies with Honors, University of Michigan Ann Arbor. Sharra was most recently in the History Department at Purdue University, with affiliations in the School of Engineering Education. 

Sharra’s research explores gender, technology, and medicine and the cross-section of their histories. Her current research explores how stigma is communicated and challenged through menstrual products. She is the author of Under Wraps: A History of Menstrual Hygiene Technology (Lexington, 2008) and Toxic Shock: A Social History (NYU Press, 2018). She co-edited Feminist Technology (University of Illinois Press, 2010) and The Politics and History of Menstruation: Contextualising the Scottish Campaign to End Period Poverty (Open Library of Humanities, 2022). She has also appeared in interviews in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, Newsweek, BBC Radio 4, and Le Monde among others. 

 

Bridget Illian, CRA
Senior Research Administrator
bridget.illian@northwestern.edu

Bridget Illian provides assistance with proposal development and post-award support for reporting and compliance. She previously worked for the Medical Social Sciences Department for the Feinberg School of Medicine. Her portfolio has included a wide variety of grants from the NIH, DOD, and private foundations. She is excited to now be working with faculty in the diverse arts, sciences, and intersectional spaces of SoC. Bridget has a background in classical studies, and in her free time enjoys the outdoors and her two cats.

 

Hernsa (Nsa) Druinaud, MPH
Senior Research Administrator
847-467-4781

Hernsa (Nsa) Druinaud provides additional proposal development and post award non-financial support for the research team. She comes to us from the University of Chicago, where she was Managing Director of budgets for various federally funded projects, which totaled over $24M. She ensured that each funded project completed its milestones, recommending adjustments to project timelines and workflows as necessary. This role involved collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that each program remained consistent with the proposed research plan.

Nsa is inspired by the diverse ways that faculty and investigators address societal challenges with science. She is energized by the opportunity to collaborate with trailblazing faculty to address disparities with scientific innovation. Nsa also managed the operations of the Chicago Center for Theoretical Chemistry (CCTCh) Research Fellowship program and Catalyst Design for Decarbonization Center (CD4DC), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the United States Department of Energy. This involved coordinating the hiring and onboarding of fellows and postdocs, administration and logistics, marketing and outreach, and assessment. She served as the Manager of Research and Lab Operations of TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at UChicago, where she managed the IRB protocols of several studies, hiring of research and student staff, and daily operations. In her free time, she enjoys exploring various Chicagoland nature preserves, botanical gardens, arboretums, and conservatories. Nsa is always up to try a new hobby – currently trapezing, indoor climbing, and knitting.

 

Anuradha (Annie) Rajurkar, MS
Program Coordinator of Research & Graduate Studies
anuradha.rajurkar@northwestern.edu
847-467-4781

Anuradha (Annie) Rajurkar coordinates programs in both Research and Graduate Studies offices. In the Research Office, she plays an important role in supporting the grant proposal process and the research office’s priorities. She also provides support for graduate student enrollment and funding activity, and communication between the Dean’s Office and the graduate programs within SoC. 

Annie earned both her BA in Sociology and MS in Education from Northwestern, where her interest in research was first ignited. She served as an educator for thirteen years, many which involved creating then heading the math intervention department at a Milwaukee area public school. Annie is also the author of award-winning American Betiya (Knopf/Penguin Random House), honored by the American Library Association as a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults title. Her next novel, a gothic thriller entitled Temporary Bodies, releases next year. In her free time, when she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, gardening, and spending time with her family, including its newest member: a fluffy rescue dog named Cleo.  

 

Anne Taylor, BA
Lab Manager for Dr. Molly Losh & Program Assistant
anne.taylor@northwestern.edu

Anne Taylor joined the SoC research team in December 2021 as an interim program assistant. Anne had previously worked closely with the SoC research team as part of her existing role in Dr. Losh’s lab and was excited to begin devoting additional time to helping the team with other faculty grants on a part-time basis during a time in which the office had a shortage of staff support.  

Anne has thoroughly enjoyed learning about the exciting research, and artistic and scholarly work being conducted throughout the school. Her help has been invaluable, so she has continued to contribute time to the office and has played an important role in supporting grant proposal development, submissions, and progress reports for faculty across departments, including several large-scale studies. Outside of work, Anne enjoys spending time with her family and seeing live music with friends.