Sarah Woods, research administrator in the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, was approached in late 2021 with a daunting task.

Members of her department had been invited at the last minute to apply for a large Department of Defense (DOD) grant on vaccine research. While the five-member team thought it could compile the 30 pages of scientific writing needed in three weeks, the grant required 200 pages of administrative paperwork that Woods would need to put together.

“Not surprisingly, she not only offered to do all this extra work in a short time, but over the next week kept encouraging me to submit it, because she felt, ‘We can do this.’ It speaks volumes to her grit, passion, and work ethic,” said Nevil Singh, PhD, assistant professor.

Woods’ hard work paid off: A year later, the team was selected for the project and received $10.8 million in research funding to explore how vaccines can work over a long time without frequent boosters.

Her efforts on that project and on her department’s other research funding including COVID-19 work were recognized by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, during a videoconference Jan. 13 when he surprised her with the news that she had been named UMB’s December Employee of the Month.

Microbiology and Immunology is ranked No. 2 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among public medical schools, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, which Jarrell said is a testament to Woods’ expertise and efforts.

“You have obviously played a role in helping this happen,” he said. “I know that the machine cranked up another notch with COVID, and I know that you were in there swinging and getting it all done.”

James B. Kaper, PhD, chair of Microbiology and Immunology, said, “Sarah’s outstanding work is a big reason for that ranking since having Sarah allows our faculty to compete for larger and more complex grants, whether dealing with COVID-19 or any other topic in the broad field of microbiology and immunology.”

Microbiology and Immunology has been at the forefront of leading research in the fight against COVID-19. The department’s efforts have relied on a large influx of research funding totaling about $53 million for core faculty members over the past three fiscal years from federal and state government grants and commercial contracts for COVID-19 and other research. A common factor connecting these successful funding efforts is Woods.

“In the past two years, with the COVID pandemic, the department became the face of research and development efforts to fight this new virus. This involved a massive expansion in grant-writing, competition, and contracts, the bulk of which was routed by Sarah,” Singh said in nominating Woods for the Employee of the Month award. “She not only keeps track of this extensive portfolio as it is being submitted, but then works hard to keep the many threads of these grants together — making sure the investigators manage funding appropriately, submit reports, and fulfill the administrative commitments required from all the different funding agencies involved.”

Matthew Frieman, PhD, the Alicia and Yaya Viral Pathogen Research Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, became one of the leading national experts early in the fight against COVID-19 and called Woods’ work invaluable.

“As we worked with other laboratories and companies through the last three years, she has been able to manage all of the paperwork and agreements that were needed to be done through a very hectic time. We could not have been as successful as a lab without her skill and hard work,” he said.

Woods, who often worked 16-hour days during the early part of the pandemic, said much of her work was urgent.

“COVID was a struggle, but we were able to push through it, and I think having to go through that changed my entire perspective of my position here within the department and the University,” she said. “There’s nothing like submitting a proposal, seeing it be awarded, and then the faculty member completing that research and publishing their data.”

Woods’ work with faculty members to submit grant proposals includes budget and proposal development and acting as a liaison to the federal government and private industry. Some grants, such as a standard NIH proposal, she can put together in about a day, but others can take weeks.

During the videoconference, Woods’ colleagues praised her willingness to help, patience, and pleasant demeanor. Kaper also emphasized how important her knowledge is not only to his department, but also to others at UMB.

“In terms of the knowledge base that Sarah has, other departments or colleagues may have questions that their grants administrator can’t answer and ask, ‘Do you have any ideas?’ ” he said, adding his response is, “Oh, yes, we can ask Sarah.”

Woods, who started at UMB in 2014, said she loves her job.

“My mission is to help and serve,” she said. “I believe in the research and the work being done by my faculty.”

For the DOD grant, Woods said her work on similar grant proposals during COVID-19 gave her the foundation to work on the application during the short time frame.

“Dr. Singh was so excited,” she said. “Then he told me the proposal was due in three weeks, and my heart sank because I knew that if I agreed to it, I would have no life for three weeks. But I said, ‘You know what? Go for it.’ We submitted the proposal at 4:59 p.m. on the day it was due. Once we submitted it, it felt like the biggest weight had been lifted off our shoulders.”

Singh said the application was “more onerous” than a typical grant.

“In most grant applications, we propose an estimated budget to cover specific experimental costs. But in this one, we had to get competitive quotes and justifications for every line item that was required. The extra 200 pages Sarah compiled was an incredible amount of work,” he said.

While Woods was handling this difficult work project, she was faced with personal tragedy. Her sister, the mother of two small children, died suddenly in a motorcycle accident. Within six months, the children’s father also passed away, and Woods became the guardian of her 8-year-old niece and 3-year-old nephew.

“You have to shift to making sure that their well-being is the priority, and managing my own grief, my parents’, and the family’s has been tough,” she said.

The support from her department during this painful time helped alleviate some of the burden that came with the tragedy.

“The outpouring of support has just been amazing,” Woods said.

Singh said the tragedy further highlighted her spirit.

“I would think that most people would not be able to function in a work setting under those circumstances, let alone continue to operate at a high level through all the pain,” he said.

Woods said she was surprised and honored to win the Employee of the Month award and thanked Kaper; Singh; Jennifer Mathers, her pre-award team member; her supervisor, administrator Olugbenga Adewunmi, MBA; as well as her department’s faculty.

“I feel so supported and appreciated,” said Woods, who will receive a plaque, a letter of commendation, and an extra $250 in her next paycheck for the award. “I’m just so proud to work for the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.”

— Jen Badie