PROTECT’s Puerto Rico Team Receives Outstanding Staff Teamwork Award from Northeastern
On April 13th, PROTECT’s Puerto Rico Team was awarded the Outstanding Staff Teamwork Award by Northeastern’s College of Engineering. The award was presented during the College of Engineering Awards Ceremony, with team members joining over Zoom. Those awarded were Genesis Agosto Roman, Ishwara Ayala Ortiz, Rocio Cuevas Gines, Zulmarie Díaz Reguero, Chrystal Galán Rivera, Lilliana Gonzalez Medina, Natacha Guilloty-Rodriguez, Xiodenis Guzman Santiago, Gredia Huerta-Montañez, Joselyn De Jesus Rodriguez, Jessica Medina, Aryam Muñoz-Burgos, Nilda Otero, Mayra Rivera Robles, Priscilla Roman Alvarez, Zaira Rosario-Pabón, and Carlos Vergara-Herrera.
The Outstanding Staff Teamwork Award celebrates a team that collaborates on major projects in innovative ways and demonstrates open communication among members as well as outside collaborators. PROTECT’s team was selected because of their work and communication within their team and with PROTECT faculty, staff, and students throughout the country that pushes research forward. The team works especially close with University of Puerto Rico team members Héctor Torres, Abigail Figueroa, and Juan Tejada. The Puerto Rico team, led by Zaira Rosario Pabón, takes on many responsibilities, such as coordinating samples, recruiting participants, and abstracting data. One major responsibility is exporting data and forms so that data is accessible to every PROTECT researcher and collaborator. The team’s continued work on PROTECT’s shared data repository is what makes the center’s multidisciplinary research possible. Everyone in PROTECT relies on the Puerto Rico team, and their open communication and collaboration is consistently evolving to push science forward.
Members of the PROTECT team also actively work with study participants and the greater community. Study nurses build trust with study participants and clinic patients through multiple visits and consistent communication regarding health and study practices. Members of the team focused on communication work with Community Engagement Core members Carmen Vélez-Vega, Nancy Cardona, Nobel Hernández, and Amailie Santos to make PROTECT’s research and environmental health discussions more engaging. This communication with the community builds a level of trust that can only be earned. The team is just as dedicated to developing relationships with community members as they are with colleagues.
Each member of the Puerto Rico team is vital to PROTECT’s success, from the study nurses to the field coordinators to the data managers. Each person plays an important role in pushing PROTECT forward, and yet they are all dependent on each other to get the job done. The effective communication, mutual respect, and overarching team goal of the Puerto Rico team exemplifies dedication to research and outstanding teamwork.
Congratulations to our incredible Puerto Rico team on this well-deserved honor!