Irina Zhygalko leads the Sponsored Research Administration Team and oversees pre- and post-award processes at Harvard Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department. She has extensive research administration experience at Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital managing complex research projects, collaborating with diverse stakeholders, and developing initiatives to drive sponsored research goals. Prior to discovering research administration profession Irina had worked in international development projects at the United Nations Development Program Office in Belarus and Community Connections Program at the International Research and Exchanges Board. She received her Master of Public Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpretation from Minsk State Linguistic University. Irina speaks Russian and English. When working with SCRB faculty and researchers to interpret sponsors’ guidelines and policies she makes sure that nothing is lost in translation.