Alice Fishman, MS, is a senior program manager working on various CTSI programs and projects, including Consultation Services (CS), Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS), Regulatory Knowledge and Support (RKS), and the Philippines-California Advanced Research Institutes (PCARI).
What's your role and how long have you worked at UCSF?
I am a Senior Program Manager at CTSI and I have worked at UCSF since 1988, straight out of graduate school. For CTSI, I have program management responsibilities for Consultation Services (CS), Strategic Opportunity Support (SOS) and Regulatory Knowledge Services (RKS). Additionally, I have been one of several planners at CTSI working on the Philippines-California Advanced Research Institutes (PCARI).
How is your work connected to the UCSF mission?
Intimately connected. The programs that I oversee are designed to improve the process of creating innovative science. In Consultation Services, our faculty provide expertise in a wide array of disciplines to other faculty researchers. For PCARI, we are creating an international partnership with jointly funded research projects at UCSF and universities in the Philippines, which are focused on improving health in the Philippines and worldwide.
What are the most challenging and rewarding parts of your job?
Usually what I find most challenging is also the most rewarding. While there are many examples, I think I’ve had the most fun working on PCARI, which involves working on planning a new institute with our partners in the Philippines. (Scheduling conference calls for a time when we are all awake is a singular challenge!) In developing the infrastructure to create the best opportunities for successful and innovative science, I’ve had the opportunity to rely on skills and knowledge from my many years at UCSF. I feel fortunate to collaborate with an incredible team of administrators and faculty.
What do you like most about your work as a Senior Program Manager?
I enjoy the variety of responsibilities, plus working on programs that improve the conduct of research is a big motivation.
What are some things that people may not know about the work you do?
- Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) generates $11 in subsequent funding for each dollar invested in pilot awards.
- Consultation Services (CS) has provided almost 3,000 hours of consultation to faculty in 19 different disciplines.
- Regulatory Knowledge and Support (RKS) has developed a rapid review process for medical chart review studies.
- PCARI’s founding projects include accidents, asthma, diabetes, diarrheal disease, malaria, respiratory disease and infection, schistosomiasis and tuberculosis.
If you chose another career path outside UCSF what would it be?
When I received my Masters in Public Health, I envisioned some day running a health-related non-profit. I definitely would be working where I could create better health for the underserved in the US and beyond.
What's something that your colleagues or members of the UCSF community might be surprised to know about you?
I truly never thought I’d be working at UCSF for 25 years but I’ve been fortunate to have found compelling jobs that have kept me here. Two of my favorites were managing the Department of Medicine at SFGH and planning for the UC Global Health Institute.
What are your favorite things to do with your free time?
One of my favorites is to spend time with my 18- and 14-year-old sons, though those opportunities are fewer now that they are teenagers. I love to knit, read, hike and travel. I am excited about my upcoming trip to India, the first big adventure without my sons.
CTSI Spotlight is part of an ongoing series that offers an opportunity for faculty and staff to learn more about the wide range of people who make CTSI's work possible. See all featured faculty and staff.