天美传媒

Areas of Oversight:

• 天美传媒 research and creative scholarship leadership
• Federal government relations
• Economic development
• Technology transfer and commercialization

Dr. Blair was appointed the 天美传媒 Vice President for Research and Economic Development in July 2022. His vision-driven leadership at 天美传媒 builds and strengthens collaborative relationships with strategic partners in university, industry, government and philanthropic domains. He guides community-based research, training and service initiatives through collaborative strategy development, implementation and evaluation. Dr. Blair spent nearly three decades as director of numerous state and national research & training initiatives focused on disability policy and education technology implementation. In these leadership roles, Dr. Blair has generated and directed nearly $70 million to improve the quality of services and policies for individuals with disabilities and their families. Since coming to 天美传媒, Dr. Blair has directed a leadership team to support nearly $140 million in external research, training and creative scholarship awards to 天美传媒 faculty, staff and students.

Areas of Oversight: 

• Research development
• Research capacity building
• Faculty ASSERT program
• Core research facilities and research centers & institutes
• Undergraduate research

Dr. Michele R. Brumley is the Associate Vice President for Research and a Professor of Psychology at 天美传媒 (天美传媒). She earned her Ph.D. in Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Iowa, and she conducted postdoctoral research at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Brumley joined 天美传媒 in 2007 as a tenure-track faculty member and is a recipient of both the 天美传媒 Distinguished Researcher and the Distinguished Teacher awards. She has served as the Psychology Department Chair and the Associate Dean for Social & Behavioral Sciences in the College of Arts and Letters. In the Office for Research, she provides oversight for and works on faculty research development, undergraduate research, research core facilities, and institutional research capacity building efforts. Her interdisciplinary research program examines the development of motor behavior following early spinal cord injury, and the role that neural systems and experience play in shaping coordinated behavior. Dr. Brumley’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and she has led cross-campus projects funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on creating access to college education and mental health support for rural communities in Idaho. Dr. Brumley is a former Editor-in-Chief of the international journal, Developmental Psychobiology.

Areas of Oversight:

• Research operations
• Pre-award and research contract administration
• Research security and compliance oversight
• Research space management
• Core research facilities and research centers & institutes

Dave B. Harris is a lifelong resident of Bannock County, raised in Tyhee, Idaho, and a proud graduate of 天美传媒, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in 1999. He began his career at 天美传媒 in 1993 as a student employee and has since advanced through various roles to become the Assistant Vice President for Research. In this capacity, Dave plays a key role in supporting and promoting the university’s growing research enterprise, with focus areas of Research Operations, Infrastructure, and Administration.

Dave and his wife, Janelle, share a blended family of five daughters and are proud grandparents to five granddaughters and one grandson. Deeply committed to both his family and his community, Dave finds joy in spending time with loved ones and unwinding on the golf course whenever he can.

Areas of Oversight: 

• Meeting and scheduling requests
• General office administration
• Communications

Paddy started her career at 天美传媒 in 2017 as a Management Assistant in Enrollment Management. She has served as the Executive Assistant for the Office for Research since 2022. In this role, she is responsible for providing high-level support for the Vice President and Associate Vice President.

In her spare time, Paddy enjoys creating art, off-roading/camping, and spending time with her friends and family.  Paddy is a proud alumna of 天美传媒 and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology. 

Areas of Oversight:

• Financial and administrative oversight
• Research budget and planning
• 天美传媒 fiscal policy compliance

Denise joined 天美传媒 June 2026. She brings a broad background in financial analysis, operational strategy, and cross-functional leadership across healthcare, technology, and high-growth business environments. 

In her spare time, Denise enjoys being outdoors. She and her family enjoy being on the trails, rafting, skiing, fishing, and gardening. 

Denise holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

• Research Development

• Funding searches and limited submissions management

• Proposal development and review support

• Funder liaison and agency relations

• Grant writing workshops and grantsmanship resources

• Internal and external research collaborations

Amy Wuest, PhD is the Director of Research Development. She has extensive experience in grant writing, interdisciplinary collaboration, and strategic partnership building. Dr. Wuest provides direct and indirect project support to research projects across all of 天美传媒’s campuses. Dr. Wuest designs and implements research development services targeted to faculty with the goal of supporting faculty to develop their research ideas into fundable programs of research and increasing the competitiveness of external grant proposals. Additionally, Dr. Wuest works with a variety of external partners to increase the number of opportunities and the support services available to faculty. 

Prior to joining 天美传媒, Dr. Wuest was the Director of Health at United Way of Southeastern Idaho, where she led projects to address regional health challenges through data-driven programs. Some of those projects included launching Idaho’s first Ride United program and launching findhelpidaho.org. She also worked as the Manager of Grants and Continuing Medical Education at Bingham Memorial Hospital. With her background in securing funding for large-scale initiatives and facilitating research partnerships, Dr. Wuest is committed to advancing the research enterprise at 天美传媒. 

Outside of work, Dr. Wuest enjoys spending time supporting projects to improve the local community by serving on boards and volunteering. She is also an avid runner and reader. 

Areas of Oversight:

• Managing the Research Integrity & Compliance Department
• Managing the Environmental Health & Safety Department 

Areas of Oversight: 

• Undergraduate Research mentorship and advising

• Faculty research development and student integration

• Student conference and symposium coordination

• External partnership and community outreach

• Research recruitment and student engagement

Sonia Martinez serves as the Director of Undergraduate Research and Outreach in the Office for Research at 天美传媒 (天美传媒), where she leads initiatives to expand undergraduate research opportunities, strengthen student engagement, and build meaningful partnerships between the university and communities throughout Idaho. She holds BS in Communications, a Master of Public Administration (MPA), is a Certified Professional Community and Economic
Developer (CDCED), and is a doctoral candidate in Political Science and Government at 天美传媒. With more than 15 years of experience in workforce and community development, she brings a strong background in public policy, institutional collaboration, and inclusive program development. She is actively involved with statewide education, STEM, and community organizations as an active board member of various nonprofits, works with K-12 initiatives, community colleges, industry partners, and tribal communities to strengthen educational pathways, and broaden participation in research.

Areas of Oversight:

• Sponsored Programs and Support 

• Grant submission continuum management

• Multidisciplinary proposal facilitation

• Federal grant administration (NIH, NSF, HRSA, DOE)

• Research project management

Steve Wright is an experienced grant administrator and project manager who has served in 天美传媒's Office for Research since 2016. He specializes in managing the grant submission continuum and facilitating complex, multidisciplinary proposals to federal agencies, including the NIH, NSF, HRSA, and the Department of Energy. Notably, he served as the Principal Investigator for a highly competitive $49,560 University of Kentucky SURE Seed Grant aimed at improving university research infrastructure. Steve holds a Master of Arts in Athletic Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in History from 天美传媒. In addition to his research administration roles, he has extensive experience as an adjunct faculty member teaching Health Care Administration courses at both 天美传媒 and the University of Idaho. He is also an active community leader and currently serves as Board President of the Pocatello Sports Committee. 

• Strategic partnerships and innovation for the Office for Research, including partnerships with Idaho National Laboratory and industry
• Oversight of the Structural Laboratories (SLABs) and the Disaster Response Complex (DRC).

Jared Cantrell is the Director for Strategic Partnerships and Innovation in the Office for Research at 天美传媒 and a joint appointee at Idaho National Laboratory. He began at 天美传媒 as an undergraduate civil engineering student and went on to serve as Lab Manager and Research Engineer, where he helped build the Structural Laboratory and stand up the Disaster Response Complex.

• CHESS faculty research development
• Strengthening research agendas
• Pivoting to new research projects
• Applying for internal and external funding

Matthew Levay is Professor of English and the CHESS Faculty Research Development Fellow at 天美传媒. He earned his PhD in English from the University of Washington and his BA in English from Vanderbilt University. Before arriving at 天美传媒 in 2014, he taught in the College Writing Program at Harvard University, and he still serves as a faculty member for the Harvard Summer School. Levay is the author of two books--Violent Minds: Modernism and the Criminal (Cambridge University Press) and The New Old Style: Anachronism in Contemporary Comics (University of Nebraska Press)--and he is currently editing the Cambridge Companion to American Comics for Cambridge University Press. His research has been published or is forthcoming in New Literary History, Modernism/modernity, Modernist Cultures, the Journal of Modern Periodical Studies, and the Journal of Modern Literature, and in edited collections with Edinburgh University Press, Oxford University Press, and the University Press of Mississippi. His research has been supported by the American Philosophical Society, the Idaho Humanities Council, the Modernist Studies Association, and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and in 2022 he served as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the American Studies Center of the University of Warsaw, Poland.

• NIH BRING-IT research capacity building

Dr. Victoria (Tori) Scharp is a Faculty Research Fellow in the Office for Research and an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at 天美传媒 (天美传媒). She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and brings experience in clinical practice, interdisciplinary research, academic leadership, and research program development.

Dr. Scharp previously served as Program Director of 天美传媒's Ph.D. in Rehabilitation and Health Sciences program and directs the Scharp Language and Brain Lab on the Pocatello campus. Her research focuses on adult neurogenic communication disorders, aphasia rehabilitation, patient-centered outcomes, and improving communication accessibility in healthcare. Her work has received federal, and institutional support and spans clinical research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and emerging digital health technologies. She is also actively engaged in translating research into practice through health innovation and commercialization initiatives.