NEOMED Appoints German VP for Research

ROOTSTOWN, Ohio– Northeast Ohio Medical University recently announced the appointment of Rebecca Z. German, Ph.D., as vice president for research.

German will provide strategic advice and guidance to the president, the university and faculty to ensure research activities and initiatives continue in collaboration with members of NEOMED’s clinical and academic network, which includes several of the nation’s top health care systems.

German is a National Institutes of Health R01-funded researcher – the gold standard for NIH research – with more than 30 years of research and academic leadership experience. Over the last nine years, she has served as a professor of anatomy and neurobiology at NEOMED. She studies swallowing dysfunction (dysphagia) and the protection of respiratory airways in pre-term and other medically compromised infants. Her research with the youngest population has potential applications for older adults, who often develop swallowing problems along with neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s.

In August 2022, she was appointed interim vice president for research. In that role, she led the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to provide research and research development as well as support for technology transfer services. She also provided oversight of compliance related to grants accounting, environmental health and safety, as well as the university’s Institutional Review Board.

“I am thrilled to be able to continue in this position and have a positive impact on NEOMED’s research and innovation portfolio,” says German. “Working with academic health center members of the NEOMED Network such as University Hospitals, Akron Children’s Hospital and Summa Health, presents important opportunities to NEOMED’s researchers as transformational leaders in high-impact research.”

She earned a B.A. degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago, an M.S. degree in geology from the University of Rochester and a doctoral degree in biology from Harvard University.

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