Five Questions

MyHMS chats with Matthew Barstow, senior pre-award officer in the Office of Research Administration

Matt Barstow

Matt Barstow

The Office of Research Administration, under the leadership of chief research administration officer Rachel Cahoon, supports Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty and other investigators with grant management support during the life cycle of an award, from submission to closeout.

Composed of four central teams—pre-award, grants and contracts, research finance and reporting, operations and communications—research administration works closely with investigators to create timely, accurate and well-developed proposals that support research projects and provides financial guidance and direction on proper use of funds ensuring adherence to federal, sponsor and University guidelines.

MyHMS sat down with Matthew Barstow, a member of the pre-award team, for an overview of the department and his work at HMS.

What was your path to your current position at HMS?

I had worked as a pre-award administrator at the Joslin Diabetes Center for eight years before joining HMS. As an undergraduate, I studied journalism and English at UMass. Then I worked for two years at WCVB-5 and the Hampshire Daily Gazette covering local sports. I’ve been at Harvard for seven years now. My position and title have changed a bit, but I’ve always been a pre-award administrator.

How would you describe your role here?

I am on the proposal team. Day-to-day my role depends a bit on grant applications in the pipeline. Typically, a PI will work with a grant manager within their department to put together a proposal, and then submit it to our office for review. I review the grant for compliance, making sure everything follows the instructions, federal requirements, Harvard and HMS policies and guidelines, and then submit it to the sponsor. I might also submit progress reports or connect with grant managers or sponsors on other items, depending on the day.

When an award comes in, the grants and contracts team negotiates any terms and conditions that HMS must agree to.

Then ORA’s operations team sets up the sponsored fund so the Office for Sponsored Programs across the river can draw down the funds for the departments to access and manage.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I enjoy working with, and helping, HMS PIs and administrators prepare and submit the highest quality grants possible, one of my overarching goals as a research administrator.

But it’s also about solving the current puzzle. Each grant, or any application we review, will present a unique set of challenges. I’m lucky to be on a great pre-award team. Kelly, Barbara, Patrick, Debby, Pernille and I—we all work really well together.

I get to work with a huge variety of people in Harvard’s Office for Sponsored Programs and Office of Technology Development, the HMS Office of Finance and the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Research Compliance at the Harvard Chan School, to name a few. Research administration plays a major part in the research efforts at HMS and our affiliates.

What challenges do you face in your work?

A big challenge is high volume. I think our record was submitting 15 or 20 grants in one day. PIs at HMS submit large, highly complex grants because they are at the top of their profession and go for the largest gold rings of competitive awards. We sometimes get complicated applications or budgets that need to be reviewed and submitted the next day, or even same day. That results in constantly shifting priorities.

Then there is the administrative aspect. Often, sponsors grant a large sum of money to HMS that has to be divided among our affiliates and beyond. So while my colleagues in the departments are managing the sponsored funds, and the research teams are conducting the research, there’s a huge coordinated effort behind the scenes to ensure that everything runs smoothly from a compliance perspective.

What do you do to take a break from the spreadsheets and proposals and nitty-gritty details of your work life?

With two young kids, I’m pretty busy on off days, too! My wife and I enjoy spending time with them, exploring local outdoor spots in our hometown and surrounding areas on the North Shore. I am also an avid Boston sports fan. I not only enjoy watching games, but also listening to all the major sports reporters and journalists on the local radio and podcast markets.

The Office of Research Administration Teams at a Glance

The Pre-Award Team supports Principal Investigators and Grant Managers as they prepare proposals for submission to external funding sources. Pre-Award Officers review and submit proposals for new funding, create/modify accounts, generate progress reports and enter approvals (i.e. IRB, IACUC, cost sharing).

The Grants & Contracts Team reviews, negotiates and signs incoming award documents, submits requests for sponsor prior approval, coordinates set-up and maintenance of award accounts, negotiates, and signs all outgoing Subaward Agreements, Billing Agreements and Data Use Agreements.

The Research Finance Team provides financial compliance services to ensure that all direct charges to sponsored awards are allowable, allocable, reasonable and consistent. The team is also responsible for audit functions, monitoring the allowability of spending in accordance with Uniform Guidance and University Guidelines for Sponsored Expenditures; reporting of sponsored funds in collaboration with the University Research Finance Office; Effort Reporting; Subrecipient Monitoring; Cost Transfers and Sponsored Systems Tools and Resources.

Research Administration Systems Reporting creates suites of reports to better manage the school’s sponsored portfolio while maintaining existing reports and developing meaningful metrics that inspire innovative conversations.

Operations sets up and maintains sponsored accounts in GMAS and maintains data integrity of account information and manages incoming communications regarding new and ongoing awards, ensuring timely distribution of award-related notices.

The Communications Team keeps abreast of current issues that impact our community and stakeholders in research; creates and maintains strategic communication tools such as a weekly Research Administration Digest (RAD) and an up-to-date website to reach target audiences. We communicate timely, clear and consistent messages to the HMS and HSDM research administration community and collaborating with other teams to create solutions that address administrative burdens and compliance.

For more information, visit the Office of Research Administration website.