BDP Team and Services

The BDP team is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program. We serve these preeminent researchers as they fulfill the three-part mission of the BDP gift from Michael Bloomberg to incite and conduct world-class interdisciplinary research, teach the next generation of scholars, and collaborate across the divisional strengths of Johns Hopkins to solve critical challenges. With a customer service orientation, we are a concierge service to the BDP cohort across the pipeline from recruitment to ongoing support.

BDP Team

Denis Wirtz, PhD Vice Provost for Research wirtz@jhu.edu @deniswirtz 443-927-1957	Susannah Porterfield, MS Associate Vice Provost for Research sporterfield@jhu.edu 443-927-1957	Julie Messersmith, MA Executive Director for Research jmesser5@jhu.edu @JMessersmith_JH 443-927-1958
Chasmine Stoddart-Osumah, MS Director for Research cstodda1@jhu.edu 443-927-1960	Andrew Waldman, MS BDP Communications Manager waldman@jhu.edu @JHU_BDPs 443-927-1955	Reyn Boyer, MA Sr. Research Initiatives & Analytics Manager rboyer@jhu.edu @reyn_jh 443-927-1959
Sarah Smith Sr. Grants & Contracts Analyst ssmith@jhu.edu 443-927-1961	Annika Weder, MA Research Communications Writer aweder1@jhu.edu @AnnikaWeder 443-927-1962	Michelle Crum Sr. Administrative Coordinator mcrum3@jhu.edu 443-927-1957

Recruitment Services

• Manage active and pending BDP searches
• Encourage new searches through faculty meetings and promotion
• Guide candidates and divisions through the recruitment process
• Organize final search visits and assist with relocation resources
• Oversee BDP start-up commitments
• Manage internal and public announcements
• Provide onboarding coordination with departments and divisions

Ongoing Services

• Orient BDPs to Johns Hopkins and Baltimore
• Troubleshoot and provide guidance for the cohort in the JHU administrative ecosystem
• Oversee the planning, direction and evaluation of BDP financial resources
• Track and report the impact of the program to Bloomberg Philanthropies
• Promote BDP research accomplishments and key collaboration stories in internal and external communication channels
• Provide communications and training opportunities for the BDPs to grow as thought leaders outside of their academic community
• Match individual BDPs for speaking and engagement opportunities with the Board of Trustees and university leadership
• Create programming to connect BDPs to the JHU community, to encourage intra-cohort networking, and to attend cultural, educational and outreach events in Baltimore and DC
• Additionally, the Research Development Team provides specialized assistance with grant submissions