As the Senior Director of Operations in the Office for the Vice President for Research at the University of Illinois, Dr. Kuzmuk supports the development and implementation of strategic plans and university-wide initiatives, oversees compliance policies, and serves as the budget officer for the Office of the Vice President for Research. Kristy serves as the primary liaison for units reporting to the Vice President for Research in initiating programs, strategic planning, and budget administration.
Prior to returning to the University, Kristy was the Vice President of Operations at Precision Graphics, where she focused on improving operational efficiency and implementing a business strategy that enabled the company to be responsive to changing industry needs. She also served as the Vice President of Operations for GrafixMD, a software startup company.
Kristy received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, where she conducted research aimed at creating a genetically malleable porcine cancer model. While working on her Ph.D., Kristy obtained her MBA and completed an internship at the life science venture capital firm Burrill and Company in San Francisco. She was a Senior Manager with Illinois Business Consulting where she led numerous projects focused on the commercialization of technology, and earned a Graduate Certificate in Strategy and Technology Management through the College of Engineering. Prior to this, she conducted nutritional genomics research while working towards a Master’s of Science degree and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Animal Sciences from the Urbana-Champaign campus.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009)
MBA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008)
Strategy Technology Management Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2007)
B.S., Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2002)
HONORS
Kaufman Foundation Graduate Student Award (2007)
MBA Director's Scholarship (2007)
Graduate College Travel Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006, 2004)
Neal A. Jorgensen Swine Genome Grant Award (2004)
