Marika Dunn serves as director of research development and strategy within the central Office for Research at Rutgers University. In this position, she engages with faculty, administrators, and other research stakeholders to cultivate areas of strategic research priority and strengthen the research infrastructure to support such efforts. Her team utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research intelligence to design programming and training opportunities for researchers to identify potential funding opportunities and foster new research collaborations.

Marika draws upon nearly 20 years of experience in the academic and non-profit sectors creating collaborative opportunities for researchers across disciplines in the US and abroad. Prior to her work in the Rutgers Office for Research, Marika served for several years as a deputy program director at the Social Science Research Council, and later helped establish the Office of Research and Innovation within the Provost's Office at Rutgers-New Brunswick, developing research ideation programming and opportunities for seed funding and large-scale proposal support. Marika holds a BA from Hampshire College in political theory and legal studies and a PhD in political science from Rutgers–New Brunswick.