A message from Penny Gordon-Larsen, Vice Chancellor for Research
Dear colleagues,
It is with great excitement that I share Nathan Blouin has been named assistant vice chancellor for research development, effective Monday, April 29th. In this role, he will provide strategic vision and leadership in growing the University’s capacity for innovative, groundbreaking research and will oversee the Office of Research Development (ORD) within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.
Since 2017, Blouin has served as director of ORD, managing a team that provides Carolina researchers with key resources that significantly improve the competitiveness of their grant proposals. These resources include support for project ideation, resource identification, and multidisciplinary team formation. As a result of Blouin and his team’s efforts, Carolina has seen a significant increase in its success rate in securing funding for research and scholarly projects. As ORD director, he oversaw support for over 100 faculty-led proposals, resulting in awards exceeding $65 million from public and private sponsors. He also spearheaded the development and expansion of several internal funding mechanisms, notably the highly successful Creativity Hubs seed funding program.
Blouin was the deputy director of ORD from 2016-2017. Prior to that, he served as the inaugural projects officer for mega grant initiatives at New York University (NYU), where he worked to develop nearly $650M in grant applications to federal, state, and foundation sponsors. He first joined NYU as a laboratory administrator and subsequently served as a projects officer in NYU’s central research administration office, supporting researchers in many schools and units within the university.
Blouin holds an MBA in finance, marketing, and strategy from the NYU Stern School of Business, and a bachelor’s in biochemistry/molecular biology and philosophy from Boston University.
Please join me in welcoming Nathan to this new role.