UAL Graduate Student Data Management Ambassador Program

The University Libraries Graduate Student Data Management Ambassador Program invests in transforming University of Arizona PhD students into the next generation of leaders who will make an impact on their academic community.

We're looking for passionate, motivated students from all U of A colleges and departments who: 

• enjoy working with people
• get things done
• are curious and analytical
• get excited about open research and data management
• are good instructors who like to share knowledge and teach others

Through our program, which is specifically focused on the National Institutes of Health Data Management and Sharing Policy, library mentors will help you become a champion in advancing Data Management & Sharing Plan (DMSP) literacy across campus.

Your work as a Data Management & Sharing Ambassador will focus on:

• building a culture of DMSP literacy at your college/department;
• providing resources, training, and support to researchers at your college/department; and
• developing customized programs that cater to the specific needs of your college/department.

Ambassadors will receive:

• A $2,500 stipend for an academic year commitment,
• Training and support to foster DMSP literacy, and
• An incredible opportunity to contribute to the success of data management practices at the University of Arizona.

The application deadline for the F2025-S2026 period is currently closed. Please check again next year!

Call for Participation for all UArizona Colleges

Important

• Please share this opportunity with department heads, chairs, and PhD students. 
• This initial debut is specifically focused on National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded requirements.
• This program requires participation of a college/department sponsor who agrees to support the student with their DMSP outreach efforts.

We are seeking submissions from enthusiastic PhD students to support data management & sharing plan (DMSP) literacy at the University of Arizona. 

• Selected applicants will develop a program of support and engagement that reflects and advances the data management & sharing plan needs of their college. 
• All ambassadors will receive training and support to foster DMSP literacy in their respective college/ department.
• Ambassadors will also receive compensation of a $2,500 stipend ($1,250 each semester) for an academic year commitment and approximately ~90 hrs for the program. 
• Applications for the F2025-S2026 period is currently closed.

Program Description

The Data Management & Sharing Ambassador Program capitalizes on disciplinary knowledge and networks in the UA graduate/professional student population. 

Data Management & Sharing Ambassadors serve as a resource within their college to help researchers with: 

(1) data management & sharing plan related questions through consults, training, and/or referrals to the right resource and experts on-campus or online and 

(2) developing training or other data management & sharing plan (DMSP) literacy programs that are specific to the needs of their college/department. 

In short, Data Management & Sharing Ambassadors are champions for data management & sharing plan literacy in their college/department!

Eligibility

Currently enrolled PhD students from all U of A colleges/departments are encouraged to apply.

Priority will be given to PhD Students who have:

• Completed at least one year of their program,
• Demonstrated interest in data management & sharing plan literacy,
• A college/department sponsor who agrees to support the student with their DMSP outreach plan, and
• Are from U of A colleges focused on NIH funded requirements.

Application Process

Eligible candidates must submit a single PDF that includes the three required items listed below to LBRY-DMSP@email.arizona.edu by May 16, 2025, at 11:59pm. The application period for the F2025-S2026 session is currently closed. Please check again next year!

1. A signed Sponsor Agreement Form from the college/department-level support for the ambassador
2. Current résumé or CV (3-page limit)
3. A statement (1-page limit) that addresses the following: 
   1. What year you are in; 
   2. Why you’re interested in DMSP literacy and the DMSP ambassadorship; 
   3. Your relevant previous and/or current work or educational experiences, such as applications of DMSP or teaching/instructional experience; and 
   4. One or two preliminary ideas about how you would like to engage with and/or serve your college/department or the University of Arizona in the context of DMSP training and literacy.

If you have any questions, contact us at LBRY-DMSP@email.arizona.edu.

Expectations: Ambassadors are expected to support DMSP literacy in their respective college/unit through a variety of means. Examples may include:

• Connect with key research administrators, e.g., Associate Deans of Research for support of work
• Design and administer a DMSP survey for UArizona dept / college level that captures disciplinary needs and existing knowledge
• Align survey results to design customized disciplinary training
• Advocacy for training such as DMSP workshops
• Ambassadors will generate a calendar of training opportunities on campus and share it with respective units and other means for the campus community
• Develop and deliver training workshops, either as stand-alone sessions or in existing programs such as the UA Libraries’ Workshop series or in established college or departmental programming, e.g., research symposiums, during departmental lab meetings, at faculty meetings, etc.
• Developing free and accessible learning resources, such as video instructions or written documentation
• Design assessment and feedback to use during the evaluation of the DMSP outreach plan efforts
• Providing DMSP consults and guidance to researchers

Meet your mentors: 

Elizabeth Kline	Jim Martin	Angela Murrell	Ahlam Saleh

Meet the Ambassadors:

Kelly Kim	Liliana Salas-Niño	Paulina Colombo	Pedro Flores Gallardo

About Kelly Kim and her sponsor: 

Kelly Kim, MA, is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program and part of the Insomnia Lab, directed by Dr. Daniel Taylor. Kelly’s research explores granular relationships between sleep and mental health, especially in insomnia and depression, using advanced quantitative methods and special populations. Outside of her student role, Kelly provides assessment and therapy services, is a freelance REDCap consultant, and taught research methods. Kelly is passionate about best and ethical practices in data management and sharing, especially due to her experiences creating and overseeing data collection platforms (e.g., on REDCap, Qualtrics) for multiple studies, her 3-year role as a project coordinator for a multi-site grant, running her dissertation study, and her frequent exposure to human subjects research and patient identifiers. She aims to advocate for and facilitate the understanding of best practices in data management and sharing for researchers in the College of Science to advance good scientific and ethical practices in research across disciplines.

Daniel Taylor, Ph.D., Kelly Kim’s sponsor, is a Full Professor of Psychology, a licensed psychologist, and board certified in both Sleep Medicine and Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Dr. Taylor is an expert in multiple sleep related domains, including assessment, epidemiology, and treatment of sleep disorders in various populations, and has particular expertise in randomized controlled trials on the treatment for insomnia, including in clinical training and supervision of therapists.

About Liliana Salas-Niño and her sponsor:

Liliana is a doctoral candidate in the College of Information Science. Her research focuses on the full data curation lifecycle, from data collection methods and technologies to the dissemination of data through open repositories. Through her work she examined how agencies interpret the 2022 OSTP Public Access Memorandum, revealing a wide range of data management plan (DMP) expectations based on data types and project scope. While this flexibility can be beneficial, it also creates challenges for interoperability and consistent public access, issues that she is committed to addressing during her ambassadorship.

About Paulina Colombo and her sponsor:

Paulina Colombo is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with research interests in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship. She brings prior experiences in epidemiologic research, public health practice, and the biotechnology industry. While developing her dissertation proposal on the role of patient movement across healthcare settings in multidrug-resistant organism burden, Paulina saw a large opportunity to broaden her understanding of data management and sharing plans and help others do the same. She recognizes that effective data management is essential to strengthening epidemiologic research by promoting transparency, enhancing reproducibility, and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration. Her faculty advisor and Data Management Ambassador Program sponsor, Dr. Katherine Ellingson, is an expert in infectious diseases, occupational health, and applied research methods, as well as a strong advocate for data stewardship.

About Pedro Flores Gallardo and his sponsor:

Pedro Flores Gallardo is a PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences with a minor in Health Behavior and Health Promotion in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) at the University of Arizona. He obtained his M.S in Chemistry from Ohio University. His current research focuses on chemical exposures in occupational settings. He investigates intervention effectiveness by intertwining risk perceptions and risk exposure assessments of chemical exposures in small workforces using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis and methodologies. 

Supporting Pedro through the ambassadorship is Dr. Paloma Beamer is an environmental engineer and Professor at the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, holding joint appointments in Chemical & Environmental Engineering and serving as Interim Associate Dean for Community Engagement. Her research investigates how vulnerable populations, including children, low-wage immigrant workers, Native Americans, and U.S.–Mexico border residents, are exposed to environmental contaminants, with the goal of shaping interventions and policies to prevent diseases such as asthma.