In a nutshell, he writes RFAs of proposals, to state to researchers that his program has a strong interest in a particular area. Again, these needs are identified by reading widely and keeping close contact with PIs. In early 2001 she will have been at NIH as an HSA for 20 years. They both began to look for administrative jobs so they could live in the same state. Her husband, Stephen Eckstrand, is a program officer at the Department of Energy.
Grants administration is similar in the private sector.
Victoria McGovern, a program officer at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund in Durham, N.C., says she also feels as if she's making a difference in the direction of the science she covers. She oversees grants in infectious diseases, toxicology, and pharmacology. Administratively her duties include handling the yearly cycle of the grants process, moderating committees of reviewers, and dealing with the board of directors so grants reflect the fund's mission. She also answers grant-writers' questions and stays current in her fields of responsibility by reading widely and going to meetings. They work in government, universities, and private foundations, with titles such as grant administrator, compliance officer, vice president of research, and director of sponsored research.