Beverly Jacobik’s educational journey started in community college, continued at Harvard University, and culminated with advanced degrees at the University of Memphis.
Her professional positions took a similar route — with positions at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Harvard, Boston University Medical Center, and most recently the University of Memphis, where she led research compliance for 10 years. Then UNLV came along.
Jacobik started at UNLV in October 2023, working remotely from Mississippi as human research administrator in the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). She was enjoying the role when one day her supervisor posted a listing for the research protections director position in the group chat.
Once she saw she knew the research protections director position in the Division of Research was an ideal position.
“I was so thrilled to see that it was IRB and the animal care program,” said Jacobik. “It is structured how I wanted my job to be in Memphis, but it couldn’t happen there. At UNLV, it’s the perfect position for me.”
But there was one caveat, it was an in-person job in Las Vegas; would her husband want to move? Turns out he was thrilled with the opportunity of living in Vegas and that made her decision to apply and come here an easy one.
What do you like about working in person at UNLV?
It gives me an advantage. Being on campus, I get to be the person who can meet with principal investigators (PIs) and department chairs face-to-face to set the tone for where we need to be and what we are looking to accomplish.
It also helps me because I really understand the role. I understand what our analysts do, what our investigators are doing, and I have a good perception of where the hurdles are and how I can help us work through them.
That said, most of my team is remote so I still have a lot of Zoom meetings! But I love the team, I wouldn’t have applied for the job if I didn’t. Our team members are highly knowledgeable, capable, smart people who I respect for their work ethic and talents.
Tell us about your job.
My work ensures the protections of animal and human research subjects as is required by federal regulations as well as local laws and university policies. No two work days are ever the same, but I can say that just about every day contains both proactive and reactive efforts that are focused on helping our researchers meet their regulatory requirements in their working with the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and Institutional Biosafety Committee.
How did you get interested in this field?
Just about everyone I know in research administration did not plan to end up here, and neither did I. I expected to become an accountant but, in community college, I fell in love with science.
Looking back, working in research administration seems to be a natural path stemming from my early business education and later science education. Working in research protections, in particular, was where I found my niche. I thoroughly enjoy regulatory interpretation and implementation, and especially helping researchers understand the regulatory nuances so they can focus on their research.
What was your educational journey?
I have an associate’s degree from a community college. I’m very proud to say I’m the first in my family to earn a degree!
I started my career in a corporate job, before shifting to research. I was at Beth Israel and I really loved what I was doing, however, I was bound and determined to continue working on my bachelor’s degree and they didn’t have the budget to support me. I was already working on a Harvard general medicine fellowship program so I went to work there.
Harvard had a program where I could basically complete my undergraduate degree through the Extension School for minimal fees. It was there I learned a lot about science, research and grant proposals. It was an incredible experience. I was able to do the work and finish my degree.
Later, working at the University of Memphis, I realized everyone qualified to work for me had a master’s degree, but I did not. I rectified that situation by finishing an MPA in 2020. I have definitely mastered the acquisition of excellent education opportunities where I work.
Tell us about your career.
My career in research started at Beth Israel and I was doing pre-award for multi-million dollar research grants right out of the gate. I was good at following directions, reading the requests for proposals and understanding the language of what they needed. I made sure our proposals met all the requirements and were submitted on time. I really liked what I was doing.
I made the shift to Harvard working at the Bauer Center for Genomics Research. Here I learned a lot about the research enterprise and worked on another multi-million dollar grant proposal. I realized I really liked working with grants and working in research. In one position I supported ten post doctoral research fellows who managed their own labs. I also worked in the Institute for Quantitative Social Science for a single professor supporting his classwork, his publications, grant proposals, and even his IRB submissions. It was an incredible experience!
At Boston University Medical Center, I worked for the associate provost for research, where I learned about managing boards and how the institution operated, it gave me a broader perspective on the reaches of my work. Wanting to focus on grant submissions, I left Boston for Memphis for a position called sponsored programs administrator-IRB. The position turned out to be all IRB, and not so much sponsored programs.
My director took a lot of time to train me and provided the necessary resources. I learned quickly and was promoted a year later to managing all research compliance initiatives. I had found my calling.
Why UNLV?
My master’s work at the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Memphis sparked a greater concern and understanding of urban issues. I especially appreciate being able to support a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and another Carnegie R1 research institution.
Also, to be fair, I targeted UNLV as a location I would like to live. I had been to the Strip a few times before, and this is my husband’s favorite vacation spot. This is where he wanted to be, and after working here now for a year, I agree.
I like how transparent the university is and how they handled the December 6 tragedy. I love the communication here, especially UNLV Today — they do a good job at keeping us informed — and to this day I haven’t regretted my decision.
We asked you to share an object that is special to you. Tell us about it.
A life-long aspiration of mine stems from the title of the album this poster is promoting, “Grace Under Pressure.”
In work and in life, I seek to be the dependable calm in an otherwise turbulent environment. I can’t say I have always succeeded, but that is why it is an aspiration. The signatures on the poster represent a teenager’s dream come true in meeting my favorite band: Rush.
This meeting set the stage for my future, knowing that implausible dreams can happen. My future step-mother arranged this back-stage signing. Her intention in providing this incredible opportunity, among others, was to ensure I gave some priority to education or at least to graduating high school. I may have taken a rather roundabout route to meeting her expectations, but I think I exceeded them in the end.
How is life in Las Vegas?
There are a lot of great things going on here. My husband and I love to play golf and there are a great number of golf courses here, although it was too hot to play so far this summer. I’m thinking it’s a winter sport here! And speaking of winter, I'm looking forward to needing a jacket. I don’t think it gets as cold as Memphis does, but it is certainly hotter.
We are ready to be tourists in our new hometown. Our favorite dinner place is Tao on the Strip. We like to go to concerts, see shows, go to the casinos, and spend an evening out. We are excited to enjoy all that Vegas has to offer. I imagine we’ll be tourists for our first year here — or forever!
