We are excited to announce that Pamela Shaw, MS, MSLIS, has been appointed Research Policy Librarian within the Research Assessment and Communications department at Galter Library. Shaw will serve as the library’s lead on policies, mandates, and best practices affecting funded research in the health sciences. In this role, she will collaborate closely with faculty, researchers, and administrators to support compliance with funder and institutional requirements and to advance open scholarship practices.

Shaw earned her MS in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from Northwestern University and her MSLIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She joined Galter Library in 2006 with a primary focus on the basic sciences and later became the Biosciences & Bioinformatics Librarian, specializing in molecular biology, genetics, and bioinformatics. Prior to her library career, Shaw served as a lab technician for nearly 20 years, giving her a unique understanding of the scientific research and publication process, insight she continues to apply in helping investigators navigate complex compliance requirements. 

When the original NIH Public Access Policy went into effect in 2008, she became Northwestern’s NIH Public Access Compliance Monitor (PACR), working alongside researchers to manage MyNCBI tools, ensure PubMed Central deposits, format biosketches, and stay ahead of evolving compliance requirements.  Shaw has played a key role in helping Feinberg researchers navigate recent NIH policy updates, specializing in the compliance components of the research funding lifecycle.

Since joining Galter, she has consistently stepped up to meet the emerging needs of the Feinberg research community. Her work spans a diverse range of projects from translational sciences and global health to data management and bioinformatics tools highlighting her integral role in connecting researchers to the resources that they need to advance their work.

Shaw values the opportunity to simplify complex compliance processes, saving researchers time and effort along the way. Her dedication to service, paired with her technical expertise and track record of effective cross-disciplinary collaboration, makes her exceptionally well-suited for this new position.

As she transitions, Shaw will continue to serve as Northwestern’s PACR and will maintain her liaison responsibilities to Feinberg departments, ensuring continuity of support. We are thrilled to have her step into this role and look forward to the impact she will continue to have on research policy and open scholarship initiatives at Galter Library.

 

Email Pamela Shaw  | Professional Profile