As part of CTSI’s Global Health program, Teresa Moeller works to support collaboration between CTSI and UCSF’s Global Health Sciences to develop more efficient systems to support Global Health Research.
How long have you been working at UCSF?
People are shocked when they learn I have been at UCSF since 1991.
What do you do at UCSF and how is it connected to the UCSF mission?
I guess I work directly on our tagline! I work across all the units on campus to enable UCSF to "improve health worldwide". My charge is to identify and mitigate barriers to research in the context of Global Health. I work with faculty who conduct research internationally to identify UCSF and UCOP policies and practices that don’t translate to an international setting. I then work within campus structures to identify alternatives that can be implemented, and I do some communications publicizing the new standard. I also work to create a community of Global Health researchers on a campus-wide scale, which is important to foster collaborations and knowledge sharing. Global Health is a wide net of disciplines, and it’s difficult for the hundreds of researchers to keep abreast of all the work going on in a global context. To address this, I have worked to create the UCSF Global Research Projects website, which includes an interactive project map . I am working with the Office of Research Compliance to create a subsection on compliance specific to Global Health (modeled on the HUB, hub.ucsf.edu); I publish a monthly newsletter on Global Research activities, listing events, publications, awards, news and gossip; as well as running an interactive forum for UCSF global researchers, which catalogs UCSF currently funded projects, interest groups, and FAQ forums.
What are the most challenging and rewarding parts of your job?
Wow! So much! What I do is a blast! I get to meet the most amazing people! I get to stay abreast of research going on under the UCSF name all over the world, I convene and assist in meetings and journal clubs that really address the nitty-gritty details of that research, and I get the honor and responsibility of really impacting the effectiveness of the university by developing systems that are accessed by the entire campus, as well as the public, students, and of course researchers from other universities. The challenges are mostly about thinking innovatively to create efficiencies, and how to create a “voice” that captures such a broad range of research endeavors, from so many projects, in so many countries.
What do you like most about working with Global Health?
How can you not be excited to be making an impact on the health of the world? I spent many years doing bench research, which I loved, because I felt that I was working on real, tangible issues—questions that needed to be answered. Now I am translating my bench training and understanding of research culture to a world stage, interfacing between researchers and administrative personnel at UCSF.
What are some things that people may not know about the global health research community?
I think most people are unaware of the breadth and history of UCSF international research. More importantly, I think UCSF folks don’t know about all the research that is happening, and so they stumble upon one another in an airport in Tanzania. For example, of HIV+ Kenyans in an antiretroviral therapy (ART) program, one fifth receive care through the UCSF administered FACES program. That’s HUGE! Or that we have been collaborating at Aravind Eye Hospital in India since1991? Did you know that the Gladstone Institute has a sister institute in Uganda, located on the grounds of Makerere University Kampala, similar to the way the Gladstone sits within UCSF? You might know that UCSF is working on a drug to combat Chagas, but did you know that the researchers who are doing that work are also forging a pathway for UCSF to shepherd the process from bench to bedside, instead of spinning it off to the whims of commercial enterprise? Maybe I’m a geek, but I think that’s so fascinating.
If you chose another career path outside UCSF what would it be?
If I hadn’t been a scientist, I would have followed my first dream: working for Jim Henson making muppets. My first crush was Kermit the frog, and as a seamstress I have a love of fabrics and textures. It’s the path untaken.
What's something that members of the UCSF community would be surprised to know about you?
I’m an obsessed armchair archeologist, and most of my vacations center around early bronze age archeology. Oh, and I worked in comedy clubs in the eighties, my claim to fame is Robin Williams recognized me on the street. My kids were impressed that Spongebob Squarepants and Bob the Builder are old friends.
What are your favorite things to do with your free time?
I’m a mom, so getting my kids to engage their city takes up a lot of time. If I have “me time” I dive right into the archeology or break out the sewing machine. Yeah, I’m a geek, through and through.
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.