Meet the Trainers

Luana Henley has been with the Office of Research since January 2008. During that time, she worked as a Program/Resource Specialist and shortly after was promoted to Administrative Specialist. She is currently a Coordinator I working on the Pre-award side assisting PI’s with proposal preparation and submission. Luana also manages the Department of Education awards. Prior to joining the Office of Research she worked in the Animal Science Department and up until December 2008 taught the ANR 290 class for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Luana earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Tennessee.

Linnea Minnema has been in the Office of Research for almost one year. During that time, she has worked with PIs primarily on the pre-award phase of their projects, with some experience in post-award negotiation and administration. Prior to coming to UT, Linnea worked as a federal formula grants administrator for National Heritage Academies, an Education Management Company based out of Grand Rapids, MI. While with NHA, Linnea was responsible for the programmatic functions of the Title I program at five K-8 charter schools in North Carolina and for the daily administration of the grants. Linnea holds a B.A. from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations.

Robert Porter, Ph.D., has presented grant writing workshops at leading universities and medical schools nationally. Currently Director of Research Development at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Porter has 30 years of experience as a tenured professor, private consultant, and research administrator. His proposals have won more than $5 million in awards from government agencies and private foundations. He has presented papers and workshops on grant writing at national conferences and has published prize-winning articles on this subject in the Journal of Research Administration. Dr. Porter has previously taught at Swarthmore College, Susquehanna University, and Eastern Washington University. He holds graduate degrees in Speech Communications from the University of Michigan.

David Smelser has been with the Office of Research assisting PI’s with proposal preparation, as well as in award administration for The National Science Foundation (NSF) and UT-Battelle. Before coming to the Office of Research, he served as a grant writer for UT’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In this role, he assisted in the development of numerous proposals, resulting in over $5 million in funded awards in just over two years. David also has several years of research experience from working as a Research Specialist in both genomic and proteomic laboratories at UT. He holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from The University of Tennessee, with a concentration in Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology.

Kelly Steele has been with the Office of Research for just over one year. During that time, she has worked with PI’s to complete and submit proposals for a wide variety of agencies. Kelly manages all DHHS post award administration and assists with the management of State of TN contracts. Prior to coming to UT, Kelly worked as an information management specialist with the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge and with Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Knoxville. Kelly has a Masters of Library Science from the University of Tennessee.

Lesli Rowan is the Training Coordinator, Coeus Administrator, and an IT Analyst and has been with the Office of Research for four years. Prior to her work in the Office of Research, she was project manager for several federal grants to digitize rare historical documents for the UT Libraries. She is an experienced website designer. Ms. Rowan has a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Gerontology, and is currently working on a Master’s in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Instructional Technology.