July 2017, Primary Care and Population Health

Jasmin Steiner, research administrative associate for the Primary Care and Population Health division, is less than two years into her role at Stanford, and already, as Tom Haywood, PhD, puts it, she’s “integral.”  She came to Stanford with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in American Studies but says she “quickly fell in love with research compliance.” 

Her day-to-day role involves many shifting projects.  As she describes, her main duties include “helping clinical faculty and research staff in our division start their research projects and navigate research compliance questions… [as well as] hunting for approvals for them across different groups at Stanford and externally.”  She also works on grant administration and providing administrative support to her research unit.  Her colleagues, however, say that she does much more than that.

A warm welcome

The words that are used to describe Jasmin wouldn’t seem out of place on a motivational poster.  She’s “phenomenal,” Katie Hastings says, “warmhearted,” Suwei Wang, MD, adds, and handles requests with “grace and goodwill,” according to Nancy Morioka-Douglas, MD.

Many emphasize how welcoming Jasmin is—in fact, several colleagues remember her kindness on their first days of work. “Jasmin checked in on me each day during my first few weeks on the job and she continues to be a constant source of support, motivation, and humor for me and many others on our team,” Nadia Safaeinili says. Dani Zionts, a new member of the team, agrees: “Jasmin has gone out of her way to make sure I am connected, well-informed, and happy -- always inviting me to lunch and coming to check in.”

Above and beyond

Jasmin is also cited for her willingness to help her colleagues with her in-depth knowledge and kindness, going far beyond what is expected of her. 

 “She is always ready to lend a hand and will go above and beyond to help out when she is needed,” Elizabeth Malcolm, MD, says.  “Jasmin selflessly caters to the needs of everyone no matter how difficult the task may be,” Lauren Arthur adds.  “…I recently had surgery and Jasmin chivalrously took every measure to ensure I was comfortable.  She’s someone who “gets things DONE” according to Tayler Kiss-Lane, but she’s remembered as much for her kindness as for what Neera Ahuja, MD, calls her “vast knowledge of grant proposals and IRB guidelines.”

Due to significant growth on the team, Jasmin was asked to take on more than her usual role, and she adapted with ease and cheerfulness (a running theme in several recommendations).  “Even though the new duties were outside of her skillset to-date, she learned them quickly and performed them with her usual excellence and attention to detail. She also did so with a great attitude!” Marcy Winget, MD, explains.  “No task is too trivial or too complex for her to take on and she attacks them all with a great positive attitude of learning. I feel very fortunate to work with Jasmin.”

Steven Asch, MD, agrees: “She takes the projects that the faculty give her, and gives them great advice as well as facilitation, even though the latter is all that is required.  I have found her ideas to be consistently innovative and worth pursuing. She always has the most positive attitude and is a joy to work with.”

A rewarding community

Jasmin encourages other coworkers to participate in BeWell activities and is admired for her senses of humor and adventure. Laura Holdsworth, MD, calls Jasmin the “team cheerleader,” emphasizing her eagerness to help and her “can-do attitude.” And Jasmin in turn is inspired by the people around her: “My faculty and staff coworkers have made the choice to dedicate their careers to research/academia which renders them highly committed and passionate about their work,” she says, and she describes working with them as “a great reward.”   

This particular reward, however, came as a complete surprise.  As she tells it, “I was propelled into a pitch-black conference room in which I heard much chatter…”  When she discovered what was going on, she was “overwhelmed with gratitude and confusion”—gratitude foremost, of course, but confusion because, as she puts it, “How could I have missed that secret meeting?”

Outside of work, Jasmin loves to explore: travel, find new restaurants with her husband, watch movies, hike. She also sings and plays piano—she recently joined the Stanford Gospel Choir.