Jill Szczesek, PhD, was named associate vice president for health sciences research administration and finance in May 2023. In this role, she leads efforts to strengthen research infrastructure, foster interdisciplinary collaboration and advance strategic research initiatives across UB's health sciences schools and throughout the university. Her work focuses on creating the systems, resources and partnerships that help faculty build successful research programs, develop large-scale collaborative initiatives and secure significant external funding.

Szczesek brings particular expertise in team science, research leadership and the organizational structures that support complex research enterprises. In 2026, she received a National Science Foundation award as principal investigator for a project examining collective leadership and organizational experiences within NSF Science and Technology Centers. The study seeks to identify transferable practices for leading large-scale interdisciplinary research collaborations and sustaining their scientific and organizational impact, building on Szczesek's longstanding interests in team science, research resource optimization and research leadership.

Szczesek previously served as chief operating officer of the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute from 2009 to 2021 and as managing director of the BioXFEL National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center from 2013 to 2021. In those roles, she helped lead the administrative, financial and operational infrastructure supporting a complex, multi-institutional research enterprise. She later served as assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations in UB's Division of University Advancement before joining the Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences.

In addition to her administrative leadership role, Szczesek holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and serves on the Dean's Advisory Council for UB's Graduate School of Education. These roles reflect her broader interests in research leadership, organizational learning, team science and workforce development.

Szczesek earned her doctoral degree in educational leadership and policy from the University at Buffalo, where her research focused on science policy, research resource optimization and team science. She also holds a Master of Arts in social and philosophical foundations of education from UB, a Master of Science in higher education administration from Canisius University, and a Bachelor of Science from Rochester Institute of Technology.