The Office of Research has named Cynthia Carnes, PharmD, PhD, FAHA, FHRS, senior associate vice president for research operations effective July 5. Carnes currently serves as professor of outcomes and translational science and senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Pharmacy at Ohio State.
“Dr. Carnes is an incredibly talented leader, mentor, and researcher. She will play a critical role in expanding research and creative expression at The Ohio State University,” said Peter Mohler, vice president for the Office of Research.
As the senior associate vice president for research operations, Carnes will work with key leaders across the Office of Research to support research and creative expression compliance programs, training, monitoring and reporting; be a key liaison with academic colleges and associate deans for research, regional campuses, the graduate school, lead critical initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion; and serve as an integral member of the Office of Research executive leadership team.
The Office of Research is a part of the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge. The enterprise focuses on expanding the university’s cutting-edge research, creative expression and scholarship, stimulating technology commercialization and entrepreneurship, building strategic partnerships and developing the innovation district.
“Ohio State has long been a leader in knowledge creation, innovation and change and I look forward to engaging in this work with the university's research and creative expression community and my new colleagues in the Office of Research,” said Carnes.
As senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Pharmacy, Carnes built a culture of compliance and research safety, reduced the time to degree for PhD students, implemented a holistic admissions process for graduate studies and led the creation of a position dedicated to pharmaceutical industry collaborations and research commercialization which has led to an upward trend of licensing deals for researchers in the college. Additionally, over the past five years, the college has seen the highest totals of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and total research funding ever recorded by the college – more than $58 million total – up almost 60% from the previous five years.
Carnes has over 90 peer-reviewed publications focused on cardiac ion currents in heart failure and atrial fibrillation and optimization of care and outcomes for patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
At Ohio State, Carnes was also the program director of the KL2 Scholars Program with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, an investigator of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, and a specialty practice pharmacist at the Ross Heart Hospital where she initiated an ambulatory care pharmacist antiarrhythmic monitoring clinic.
Carnes received a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of Texas at Austin, completed a combined residency and doctorate of pharmacy program at the University of Utah and University of Utah Hospitals. At Utah Hospitals, Carnes served as the chief pharmacy resident. While at Ohio State, Carnes received an American College of Clinical Pharmacy sponsored Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy Fellowship, a doctorate in pharmacology and veterinary Clinical Sciences, and a post-doctoral fellowship in medical biochemistry.