By Stephen M. Gavazzi, Ph.D.

The Latest News, Views, and Announcements

What's New at CHRR

I’m pleased to share that I have accepted another four-year term in the role of CHRR Director. It has been a privilege to work alongside my talented and dedicated CHRR colleagues, and I am incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished together over the past several years. From expanding our research portfolio to strengthening partnerships and advancing our mission, the momentum at CHRR is clear, and it is the direct result of the commitment and creativity of this team. While there is much to celebrate, I am even more excited about what lies ahead. The best is truly yet to come, and I look forward to continuing this work together as we build on our successes and pursue new opportunities. Thank you for all that you do to make CHRR such a special place!

CHRR’s Leadership Team

Building on the positive momentum from my previous “Donuts with the Director” sessions, I recently had the opportunity to meet with members of CHRR’s Special Projects Team for another engaging and thoughtful conversation. As with the prior gatherings, I appreciated the invitation from Special Projects Director Jen Hoffman to join her team in this exercise, and I am grateful to everyone who joined and contributed their insights and perspectives.

This discussion produced several practical and forward-looking takeaways, particularly centered on how we support CHRR employees at key transition points. First, there was a strong and shared interest in strengthening our onboarding processes. Participants emphasized the importance of helping new staff quickly gain familiarity not only with our projects and organizational structure, but also with the people and everyday language that define our work. In that regard, the suggestion of developing a CHRR glossary (particularly to demystify the many acronyms we use) stood out as a simple but potentially high-impact improvement.

Second, our “dessert” conversation highlighted opportunities to bring more consistency and clarity to the logistical aspects of joining and leaving CHRR. Suggestions included ideas related to equipment assignment and retrieval, with the goal of ensuring that these processes are smooth, transparent, and well-coordinated across teams.

Finally, there was an appreciation for the role that intentional moments of welcome can play in shaping an employee’s experience from the very beginning. The suggestion of creating a more formalized welcoming event reflects a broader commitment to fostering connection and a sense of belonging within our community.

Taken together, these insights underscore the importance of being just as thoughtful about how people enter and transition within CHRR as we are about the work they do while they are here. I left this conversation encouraged by the team’s focus on both the practical and cultural dimensions of our organization, and with a renewed sense that these small-group discussions continue to surface ideas that can make a meaningful difference in how we operate.

CHRR Team Member Celebrations

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." -Robert Collier

This month we are observing the work anniversary of one very special CHRR employee – Jeremy Alexander – who is celebrating his 20th year of service to our center. His contributions over the past 2 decades have helped shape our center’s success, and we couldn't be more grateful for his dedication to excellence. Thank you, Jeremy!

Things You Might Want to Know

Nick Ramser Presents at the Stronger Together IT Conference

Nick Ramser was CHRR’s representative presenter at the inaugural OTDI IT Conference entitled “Stronger Together: Merging Minds. Multiplying Impact,” which was meant to highlight the power of collaboration, innovation and shared expertise across the Ohio State IT community.

Nick’s presentation provided an overview of CHRR’s development of a secure, flexible data repository designed to meet emerging federal requirements for public access to research data, particularly in response to the OSTP Nelson Memo. Nick situated his remarks on these efforts within CHRR’s long-standing expertise in managing longitudinal data and highlights our center’s partnerships, security infrastructure, and data dissemination capabilities.