Jennifer Lyon Gardner

Jennifer Lyon Gardner, PhD, has led research capacity-building efforts at The University of Texas at Austin since 2008 and was appointed Assistant Vice President for Research in 2016. Formally trained as analytical chemist, Jennifer applies her acquired skills in analytical method development to design initiatives that promote collaborative research, including UT’s research grand challenges program, Bridging Barriers, which involves >800 researchers campus-wide. The first Bridging Barriers grand challenge, “Planet Texas 2050,” launched in January 2018; a second grand challenge will launch in January 2019. Jennifer also leads UT’s Research Development team, which provides competitive intelligence and proposal development guidance to teams of researchers pursuing major external funding. She serves on the Board of Directors for the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) and was the inaugural recipient of the organization’s Rising Star Award.

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