Good Project Management: The Backbone of a Successful Research Project
Usually, research takes place in a laboratory or hospital setting. Surrounded by viles, samples, microscopes or lots of white robes. But supporting research can happen in any capacity. And project management is an integral part of this process. From the University Medical Center Utrecht, Ram Venkatachalam leads the Project Management Office (PMO) of COMBACTE-CDI - our consortium dedicated to C. difficile research.
From Cancer Genetics to Project & Grant Management
Ram Venkatachalam’s path to becoming a Project Management lead is very diverse. He grew up in India, and got his degrees in Germany and The Netherlands – the latter being his home for the last 14 years. Ram got his Bachelor of Engineering on Biotechnology in India, after which he did his Masters degree in Biotechnology at the Hamburg University of Technology, and his PhD in Cancer Genetics at the Radboudumc in Nijmegen. After his PhD, Ram continued as postdoctoral fellow and worked on the genetics of bladder cancer.
He ultimately decided to pursue a career in project and grant management in the area of infectious diseases and palliative care. Prof. Johan Mouton (Radboudumc) offered him this opportunity in his Department of Medical Microbiology, in the management of European projects.
Role in COMBACTE
Ram is currently involved in the project management of Innovative Medicines Initiatives (IMI)’s COMBACTE consortium, where his experience in grant management is very useful. He is a member of COMBACTE-NET, -MAGNET and –CARE’s PMOs. As COMBACTE-CDI’s PMO lead he works closely with the academic and EFPIA partners involved.
“The close collaboration of academia, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies provides unique levels of expertise and forms a strong basis for reaching the ambitious COMBACTE-CDI project goals. In this indispensable collaboration the partners share data and groundbreaking technologies. The access to information and openness drives competitive advantage and in turn helps to resolve obstacles and bottlenecks more quickly and efficiently”
PMO Lead and Project Management
“As the COMBACTE-CDI PMO lead I provide support to the management board and the scientific coordination board. In addition, I work very closely with the COMBACTE-CDI Scientific Lead Dr. Kerrie Davies”says Ram.
Besides the position of PMO lead, Ram has other specific tasks as project manager in COMBACTE-CDI. He has the overall scientific and administrative leadership. There is daily communication with the project partners and frequent contact with internal and external stakeholders.
“Another important responsibility of the project manager is to monitor the project progress with the overall milestones and deliverables in mind. I therefore make sure that the operational activities within the project are performed within the timelines”. To account for the work being performed, Ram coordinates and ensures that the annual reports are submitted in time.
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In collaborating with various partners in this consortium it is very important to have mutual trust, a positive team spirit, an open culture and true willingness to collaborate. Transparency about sharing information and data is another crucial element.
Ram Venkatachalam
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