Core staff have a cumulative 35 years of education and curriculum development experience that researchers can draw on to gain advice or feedback on their research education programs.

Julie Hawk, PhD serves as the Core Director and Proposal Development Associate. Julie received her PhD in English at Georgia State University in 2012 and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Georgia Tech, where she began working with federal grants. She then spent six years creating a Research Development Office within the Office of Sponsored Projects at the University of West Georgia. She is deeply familiar with most federal granting agencies as well as the private foundation funding landscape.

Megan Vallowe, PhD serves as the Core Co-Director and the Associate Director of Programs for the Coordinated Pediatric Pathway Planning Office (C3PO). Megan received her PhD in English from the University of Arkansas in 2017. She taught at the university level for 10 years before transitioning away from a faculty role and into research development in 2021 when she joined Emory's Department of Pediatrics. As an Associate Director of Programs, she leads the post-doctoral arm of C3PO, an office that works to encourage more people to enter pediatric careers and to foster connections across the Department's multiple pediatric scientist training programs. 

The Core is generously supported by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University. When presenting or publishing work completed using the core, please include "Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Pediatric Research Development Core" in the acknowledgments.

To determine if you should use "Children's Healthcare of Atlanta" in your author affiliations, please see guidelines here.