Nicole Vouvalis

Biography

Nicole Vouvalis is the Executive Director of Human Research Protections, a position she has held since 2015. After graduating cum laude from the Florida State University College of Law, Nicole worked in the private sector in the areas of regulatory compliance, ethics, land use and then shifted to criminal law in the public sector. She is a member of the Florida and Utah Bar Associations and was previously a member of the South Carolina Bar Association. Nicole joined Utah State University in 2012 as its first university-level Diversity Officer – as a first-generation college student, Nicole was (and remains) interested in dismantling barriers to college attendance for underrepresented and systematically disadvantaged students.

She moved to the Office of Research for the unique opportunity to continue work in regulatory compliance and ethics while also attending to the interests of underrepresented and disadvantaged populations. In her capacity as Executive Director of Human Research Protections, Nicole has overseen a full reaccreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), served as a member of AAHRPP’s Collaborative Action Network for Reaccreditation Practices, presented nationally on efficient practices within university-based Human Research Protection Programs, and co-led the first annual Utah Community Research Ethics Conference, in collaboration with the University of Utah. In her personal capacity, Nicole has previously served as a Governing Board Member for Bear River Charter School in Logan, a Steering Committee member for Allies on Campus, and currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Planned Parenthood Chocolate Festival (where she has also won several awards as a baker!).