Explore the Lifecycle Summit

Research administration doesn't happen in silos. Your professional development shouldn't either.

The SRAI Lifecycle Summit brings every stage of the research lifecycle together in one conference and gives you the flexibility to build the learning experience that fits your role, your responsibilities, and your career goals.

Why the Lifecycle Summit?
Research administration has become increasingly interconnected. Yet many conferences still ask attendees to choose between broad programming or highly specialized education.

Organized around the SRAI Professional Development framework, the Summit allows you to choose the Journeys most relevant to your work while gaining a broader understanding of how every stage connects. The result is practical, immediately applicable education that's designed around the way research administration actually works.

Each Journey is a focused learning path centered on a key stage of research administration, with dedicated programming designed to help you go deeper in that area. Choose one Journey or combine Journeys to create the Summit experience that fits your work and goals.

How is this Summit different?

The Lifecycle Summit was created to offer a different approach. 

An Annual Meeting gives you the breadth of the research administration profession. The Lifecycle Summit gives you the opportunity to go deeper in the areas most relevant to your work.

Programming intentionally overlaps across Journeys, with sessions exploring Compliance in the context of Pre-Award and Post-Award. Choose from multiple sessions to focus on the topics most relevant to your work!

A Welcome from Your Co-Chairs

Welcome to the SRAI Lifecycle Summit for Research Management!

As co-chairs, we are thrilled to help launch a meeting built around the way research administration actually works—and the many people, perspectives, and areas of expertise that make that work possible.

Our hope? That the Summit sparks new ideas, forges valuable connections, and gives you a broader view of the research lifecycle. Most importantly, we hope you will help us shape the future of this Summit.

We cannot wait to welcome you to San Francisco!

Cathy Le, MBA, CRA

Director of Research Administration
University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

Michelle Stevens, CRA

Director of Proposals and Grants, Office of Sponsored Research
University of California, San Francisco

Stuart Tenney

Associate Vice President, Finance and Operations, Clinical Labs and Research Enterprise Operations
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Jennifer E. Woodward, PhD

Vice Chancellor for Sponsored Programs and Research Operations
University of Pittsburgh

Designed for Every Stage of Your Career

  • Early-Career Research Administrators looking to build confidence, strengthen practical skills, and gain strategies they can put into practice.
  • Mid-Career Research Administrators ready to deepen their expertise, solve more complex challenges, and return with solutions that make their entire team more effective.
  • Leaders & Decision-Makers looking to strengthen their teams, encourage cross-functional collaboration, and invest in professional development that delivers value long after the conference ends.

Build the Experience That's Right for You

  • Practical Strategies — Gain tools, ideas, and approaches you can apply to real-world challenges.
  • Connected Thinking — See how decisions made across the research lifecycle influence your work and the work of others.
  • Meaningful Connections — Build relationships with peers who understand your challenges and can become resources long after the Summit.

  • Focused Learning — Spend more time on the topics most relevant to your work and go deeper in the areas that matter most.