Every year, the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology is awarded approximately $65 million in sponsored programs funding. The road to getting these awards is often long and tedious: writing proposals, balancing deadlines, crossing your fingers, and once the award comes through the work only increases. Fortunately, the team run by Justine Story, the Director for Budget and Resource Planning, provides crucial support so that IGB researchers can focus on their work.

Story was born and raised in Danville, Illinois. Growing up, she always liked working with numbers. “I loved pretending that I worked at a bank. I would hand out money from this little cash register I had,” she added, laughing. “I thought about being a teacher, but in high school I really enjoyed taking accounting classes. So, I decided to go into accounting.”

After graduating from Eastern Illinois University in 2004 with a degree in business management, Story worked with a third-party worker’s compensation insurance company. After a few years, she applied to work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at the Sponsored Programs Administration unit.

“I applied to the university because I realized there was a lot of opportunity and job stability,” Story said. “Also, the campus is like its own little city—there are so many aspects to running the university that makes it fascinating.”

After working at SPA for a year, Story joined the IGB in 2010. “SPA is a central unit that works with all the departments on campus. At that point I had already worked with several people at the IGB and when I saw the job posting, it clicked,” she said.

Story is responsible for overseeing the pre- and post-award administration. Her team is involved in submitting proposals, and once they are funded, they monitor the award, ensuring that the money is spent appropriately.

“Although I have found science interesting, I’m more of a numbers person. This is my way of supporting the research that goes on at the IGB,” Story said. “I help with the administration tasks so that they can focus on the research.”

The biggest challenge Story faces are the everchanging grant policies. “Things constantly change because the rules vary from sponsor to sponsor. We’re constantly saying ‘it depends’ because we have to follow the updated rules and regulations,” Story said. “It keeps you on your toes and I never get bored.”

Just like parents can’t pick their favorite child, Story loves all the projects she has worked on at the IGB. “All of them are really interesting and help people,” she said. “My favorite part of the job is working with my team—they’re all great and they take pride in their work. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work here.”

In her spare time, Story enjoys being with her three children, who are five, two, and one years old. “My kids keep me busy and I have enjoyed watching them grow. It’s amazing how quickly they learn new things,” she said. “I also like taking them to the park when the weather is nice. Although central Illinois doesn’t always have the most exciting weather, we make the best of the periods when it’s nice outside.”