PhD Career Stories: Research Development
Please join us for the September PhD Career Stories session with Dr. Janice Ascano, Associate Director, and Dr. Phil Ko, Associate Director, Vanderbilt Research Development and Support.
Janice Ascano, PhD
Janice joined the Research Development and Support team in October 2020. With the goal of mapping Vanderbilt University research strengths to external federal and foundation sponsors in mind, Janice assists faculty across the university to identify potential funding opportunities that match with their research interests. She also provides strategic proposal development and critical reviews.
Prior to joining RDS, Janice worked in Vanderbilt’s Development & Alumni Relations, where she supported faculty with interest in private foundation sponsors. Before coming to Vanderbilt in March 2019, Janice managed the grants and research programs for the International Rett Syndrome Foundation for nearly 8 years. In this role, she provided oversight on grant application evaluations and research award administration and worked with researchers in academia and industry located in the US and abroad.
Janice received a PhD in Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati and her BS in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College and Rockefeller University. Janice has received federal funding to support her own research project as a postdoc, and has also volunteered to provide grant writing support to elementary schools and small non-profits in need.
Phil Ko, PhD
Phil joined the Research Development and Support team in April 2022. He maps Vanderbilt University’s research strengths to federal and foundation funding opportunities and assists faculty in developing submission teams and preparing grant proposals.
Before joining the RDS team, Phil was a Science Officer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs within the Department of Defense. He also worked in science communication and analytics for the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Phil brings research and grant preparation experience from his time at Yale University, the VA Boston Healthcare System, and Vanderbilt University.
Phil received his BA in Psychology from Amherst College, his PhD in Psychology from Vanderbilt University, and was an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He has served as faculty at Vanderbilt University and Austin Peay State University, and was a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the Executive Branch of the federal government.