Sue Porterfield

Senior Associate Vice Provost for Research Operations

As Senior Associate Vice Provost for Research Operations, Sue Porterfield is responsible for operations at both the School of Medicine’s Office of Research Administration (ORA) and Johns Hopkins Research Administration (JHURA), as well as supporting other university wide research operations.

Porterfield has a long history of success in leading collaborative efforts that have bolstered Johns Hopkins research activities. She helped build the Office of the Vice Provost Research (OVPR) from the ground up, joining the team in 2014. As OVPR’s Senior Associate Vice Provost for Research, Porterfield was integral in developing the office’s signature initiatives, including the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program, the Research Development Team, and internal funding programs like the Catalyst and Discovery awards. Prior to her work in the OVPR, Porterfield was Executive Director of the Institute for NanoBioTechnology, where she oversaw major multidisciplinary, multi-divisional research and education initiatives at the interface of engineering, life science, and medicine.

Porterfield spent the last two years as the Vice President for Research at Kean University in New Jersey where she founded a research administration office (pre- and post-award, and compliance) and helped Kean achieve R2 status in February.

Porterfield holds a Bachelor of Science in business management and psychology from Grove City College, a Master of Science in human resources management from Towson University, and a Doctor of Organizational Leadership from Stockton University.