About Us

Dr. Tackett obtained a degree in chemistry with distinction from Hendrix College in 1998, and subsequently received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in 2002. Dr. Tackett performed postdoctoral training in cancer epigenetics and proteomics at The Rockefeller University in New York City from 2002-2005. He joined the faculty at UAMS in 2005 and has risen the ranks to a tenured distinguished professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Tackett received the Sharlau Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research in 2016, was nominated into the Arkansas Research Alliance in 2021, and received the Odyssey Medal for Research from Hendrix College in 2024. He currently serves as Deputy Director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and Executive Associate Dean for Research in the College of Medicine. As a faculty member at UAMS, Dr. Tackett has built an internationally-recognized research team that is focused on uncovering new therapeutic strategies to treat metastatic melanoma and developing the next generation of molecular profiling technologies to identify cancer biomarkers. He has published over 150 scientific articles and holds multiple patents in these areas; and has received over 40 million dollars of funding from the government to support his research endeavors. Dr. Tackett serves as director of two National Institutes of Health (NIH) research centers in Arkansas. First, he directs a NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in systems biology that has enabled critical infrastructure development for large data generating technologies and has provided tailored mentoring to numerous early career faculty resulting in their acquisition of over 25 million dollars of research funding from the government. Second, Dr. Tackett directs a NIH National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics that has supported biomedical research in over 1,500 laboratories across every state in the United States and has provided training and workforce development to over 500 faculty and students, including many that are underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce.

Renee Raines is a key member of the College of Medicine’s leadership team. She has over twenty years of finance and research administration leadership experience, with 13 of those years at UAMS. In addition to the research administration expertise that Renee brings to the COM Office Research, she is an outstanding mentor for employees interested in research administration, finance and compliance. Her mentees have moved onto positions having considerable responsibilities in finance, compliance and business administration. Renee enjoys working on challenging research administration and compliance matters. Her breadth of knowledge and experience in research administration, grants, clinical trials and compliance, positions her as a key resource for faculty and staff to call upon for expert advice and problem solving in the research arena. To contact or schedule a meeting with Renee, please email renee@uams.edu.

Duaa Abu Halimeh brings a unique blend of expertise in Chemical Engineering and Information Science / Information Quality to the esteemed College of Medicine / Office of Research (UAMS). Abu Halimeh has a solid foundation in Chemical Engineering. Building upon this foundation, she is pursuing further academic excellence, reaching a master’s in information science / information quality from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This dual ability equips her with a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications essential to innovative research endeavors. In her role as Research Program Manager at UAMS, she works closely with faculty and staff, to identify emerging research priorities, allocate resources effectively, and ensure adherence to regulatory standards and best practices. To contact Duaa please email DAbuhalimeh@uams.edu