This session will provide an overview of what convergent research is, what the key components and strategies are for building successful convergent research projects, and illustrate a rich set of convergent research projects developed at DePaul.  The session will also serve as a forum to discuss best practices on how to utilize DePaul existing partnerships such as with Rosalind Franklin University, Rush University, Sinai Health, and Illinois Science and Technology Coalition to move forward your own ideas for convergent research.

Elissa Foster
Professor, Graduate Program Director – Health Communication
College of Communication

Elissa Foster, PhD is a Professor and Director of the MA in Health Communication. She has held a number of academic appointments at universities and in the Department of Family Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvania. Her principle areas of research are health communication and interpersonal relationships with special interests in communication at the end-of-life and at the beginning of life. Elissa has an abiding commitment to critical qualitative inquiry, particularly autoethnographic and narrative methodologies as they are applied to difficult communication contexts. She has published over forty academic articles and chapters and one book, Communicating at the End of Life (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007). Elissa is passionate about health care and, in her teaching, research, and service, focuses on building relationships between the academy and health care professionals.

Leonard A. Jason
Director of Center for Community Research; Professor, Clinical Psychology, Community Psychology
College of Science and Health

Leonard A. Jason is currently a Professor of Psychology at DePaul University and the Director of the Center for Community Research. Jason is a former president of the Division of Community Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Jason has edited or written 30 books, and he has published over 900 articles and 100 book chapters. He has served on the editorial boards of ten psychological journals. Jason has served on review committees of the National Institutes of Health, and he has received over $46,500,000 in federal research grants. 

Marty Martin
Research & Innovation Leadership Faculty Fellow
Professor, Department of Management & Entrepreneurship
Driehaus College of Business

As the newly selected DePaul Research & Innovation Leadership Fellow, Dr. Marty Martin, a Full Professor in the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship, brings a wealth of diverse academic, entrepreneurial and operational knowledge, and skills to his new role. Dr. Martin has been instrumental in many of the university’s successes over the years, including designing new courses, developing mission aligned, student centered concentration programs and launching dual/joint degree.

Dr. Martin began his career at Xavier University of Louisiana (his alma mater) after completing his Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology. Later, he served as a manager and executive at Tulane University Hospitals & Clinics and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Based upon his scholarly work, he was selected as a Visiting Scholar in Residence at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH).

Dr. Martin first joined DePaul as Senior Executive for Institutional Diversity, then served as AVP of HR & HRIS and later as Associate Dean at Barat College of DePaul. In 2004, he joined the faculty and launched his academic career.

Maija Renko
Professor & Coleman Chair of Entrepreneurship
Driehaus College of Business

Maija Renko teaches entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship classes at DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business. Her research and teaching interests are focused on the early stages of the entrepreneurial process, social entrepreneurship, and technology entrepreneurship. Her research has been published in leading management and entrepreneurship journals, and she has received a number of grants to support her research activities. Dr. Renko’s teaching and research contribute to a better understanding of how entrepreneurs build successful businesses that not only generate financial rewards for those involved, but also contribute to positive social change, a sense of achievement for those– often disenfranchised members of the society– involved, and the advancement of society through the introduction of innovations.

Lauren K. Miller (moderator)
Director of Research and Innovation Strategies
Chief of Staff of Office of Research Services

Lauren Miller joined DePaul as the Director of Research and Innovation Strategies and the Chief of Staff in the Office of Research Services in 2020.  In this role, Dr. Miller oversees the administration of the URC, QIC, PSC, and AGIF internal grant programs, the URC and QIC Paid Leave programs, as well as other initiatives to promote the research and creative activities at DePaul. Prior to joining DePaul, Dr. Miller oversaw all institutional grants at Robert Morris University (RMU), including private foundation, state, and federal grant programs. She has collaborated with faculty to design and write grant proposals for funding, has experience with financial reporting and compliance, and currently serves as an Advanced Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission. Dr. Miller’s extensive experience in fostering partnerships, research and assessment provide both process-focused and outcome-focused evaluations to improve and grow higher education research enterprises.