Research office strengthens DEI and analytics capacity

The Office for Research (OR) at Northwestern today announced two major organizational changes intended to further increase its ability to support the University’s thriving research enterprise. Aisha Ghori Ozaki joins Northwestern to become OR’s inaugural director of diversity, equity and inclusion, a new role that is responsible for leading and coordinating efforts to create a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace environment for all OR employees.

The position, which reports to Vice President for Research Milan Mrksich with an operational report to Senior Associate Vice President for Research Ann Adams, is designed to align well with the University’s overarching commitment to DEI, including the efforts of Robin Means Coleman, Northwestern’s vice president and associate provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Nicholas Angeloni will move from his current role as OR’s director of strategic planning and coordination, a position he has held since 2017, to become director of research analytics for the office, reporting to SAVP Adams. This new office and responsibility will integrate and expand upon key aspects of his existing position. Angeloni will focus on building and sharing analytics expertise to promote OR’s data-driven culture to derive meaningful insight into research performance measured against internal goals and external peer benchmarks.

Angeloni begins his new role June 1, while Ghori Ozaki starts June 14.

Ghori Ozaki comes to Northwestern with extensive experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. Most recently she was senior manager for inclusive diversity at Allstate Insurance in Northbrook, IL, where her responsibilities included management of enterprise-wide diversity and inclusion training for the company’s 30,000 employees. She also facilitated individual and group intercultural development and coaching across the organization, including for senior executives. In addition, she was integral to launching more online resources for the company, including a robust anti-racism resource center, customized education solutions, and an “Inclusive Conversation” series to foster ongoing development and understanding among her colleagues. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions in career services for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DePaul University. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from DePaul and holds a certificate in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University.

Angeloni arrived at Northwestern in 2006 as a PhD student in the Driskill Graduate Program, earning his doctorate in biomedical science in 2012, later serving as a postdoc in the laboratory of C. Shad Thaxton, urology, from 2012 to 2016. His research resulted in 14 publications and two patents. Prior to joining OR, he was a research associate at the Feinberg School of Medicine. Angeloni earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola University Chicago and a certificate from the Kellogg School of Management program “Management for Scientists and Engineers.” During his tenure as OR’s director of strategic planning, Angeloni’s focus included extensive project management and collaboration with multiple units in the office. He also enhanced analytics development and presentation—including by creating interactive and automated metrics dashboards for Northwestern’s 40 University Research Institutes and Centers and by integrating new functionality into OR’s Research Metrics Dashboard.

“The Office for Research is excited to welcome Aisha and to continue working with Nick in a new capacity,” said VPR Mrksich. “Both of these positions will play key parts in enabling OR’s multifaceted administrative units to deliver even greater support to Northwestern’s research enterprise. Genuine commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion creates a culture in which everyone has an opportunity to contribute their talents and pursue their professional goals while supporting excellence at Northwestern. Likewise, continued success in strategically advancing the impact of our research hinges on leveraging data-driven insights. I look forward to working with Aisha and Nick in these important efforts.”

In their new positions, Ghori Ozaki and Angeloni will engage with every unit across OR’s administrative structure, which provides a wide range of services to the research community to support regulatory compliance, safety, innovation, research development and more. The Office for Research Analytics will collaborate with units to develop and implement projects that enhance performance and support the OR strategic plan, providing metrics guidance to identify risks and opportunities. The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will lead and coordinate efforts to create a diverse, equitable, and welcoming environment across OR, including by identifying impediments to advancing DEI initiatives, recommending and advocating for beneficial training and other resources, and serving as a subject matter expert in areas such as implicit bias and cultural competency.

Ghori Ozaki said that she is eager to join a team that is integral to Northwestern’s institutional success and reputation: “I am absolutely thrilled at this opportunity to contribute toward such meaningful work. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are utterly central for organizations and society as we aspire to better understand and disrupt systems of racism and oppression. It is the responsibility of each of us to be accountable and come together to pursue this important work during these critical times.”

As Angeloni shifts into his new role, he says he is “tremendously excited” to continue working with his colleagues across OR and the University. “I look forward to expanding upon current successes and building new partnerships to further enable a culture of data-driven decision making,” he said. “Data analytics can be a powerful tool to guide positive change and I am eager to collaborate with the University community on this journey.”