Charlottesville, VA — The Center for Open Science (COS) is pleased to announce the recent appointments of Melissa N. Aldridge as Senior Director of Finance and Maryam Zaringhalam as Senior Director of Policy. Both leaders bring extensive experience and expertise that will strengthen COS's capacity to advance its mission of increasing openness, integrity, and reproducibility in research.
As Senior Director of Finance at COS, Aldridge leads financial strategy, planning, and operational management while ensuring robust financial systems and processes that align with the goals of enabling transparency and innovation in science.
Aldridge is a seasoned finance and strategy leader with over 15 years of experience in financial management, operations, and strategic development across nonprofit, venture finance, and corporate sectors. Before joining COS, Aldridge served as Chief Financial Officer at Village Capital, overseeing global financial management, compliance, reporting, and supporting mission-driven programs and initiatives. During her tenure, she helped shape operational processes, fund administration strategies, and systems that positioned the organization for future growth. Her career background also includes impactful leadership roles in corporate strategy, development, and innovation within the ancillary benefits industry at Unum Group and EyeMed. Additionally, Aldridge has provided consulting expertise in fund administration, capital strategy, and investment management to impact-focused venture funds and entrepreneurial support organizations, including The JumpFund, SteelSky Ventures, and Launch Tennessee. She has also designed tools for developing purpose-suited capital strategies that support systemic frameworks for equitable economic growth
Aldridge holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics and has pursued postgraduate education in Applied Accounting.
“I’m so excited to be part of COS's mission to increase research openness, integrity, and reproducibility,” Aldridge said. ”In my role, I focus on strengthening financial strategy, refining planning processes, and enhancing operational management to amplify organizational impact. This work reflects my belief that finance, when aligned with purpose, can be a transformative tool for tackling the world’s most pressing challenges.”
“I’m particularly inspired by COS's efforts to make research more transparent and accessible— efforts that contribute to addressing critical global issues like social inequities and climate change through collaboration and shared purpose,” she continued. “I look forward to advancing this important work and connecting with others who share our commitment to creating tangible impact through the advancement of open science.”
As the Senior Director of Policy at COS, Zaringhalam leads organizational policy efforts to increase the openness, integrity, and reproducibility of research. These activities are anchored in a commitment to democratizing access to science, engaging and including diverse communities in the research process, and translating the products of research into outcomes that benefit the whole of society.
Zaringhalam brings to the role her extensive experience in science policy, public engagement, and advocacy to make science more open, equitable, and inclusive. Prior to joining COS, she served as the Data Science and Open Science Officer at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), working to enhance capacity in the biomedical research community for data science and open science through strategic programs and policy support. From 2022 to 2024, she also served as the Assistant Director for Public Access and Research Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she oversaw the implementation of the 2022 OSTP Memorandum on Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research and the 2021 Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking. She also coordinated federal agency involvement in the 2023 Federal Year of Open Science to advance open, equitable, and secure research.
Zaringhalam holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Rockefeller University and earned her BA in Biology at New York University. Following her PhD, she joined NIH as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow. She is also a Senior Producer for the Story Collider, bringing true, personal stories of science to live audiences in Washington, DC.
“I'm thrilled to join COS as the Senior Director of Policy. I've been a long-time admirer of COS's work to promote a culture of openness across the research ecosystem and build inclusive communities to adopt and improve open science practices,” Zaringhalam said. “I look forward to continuing to working with the COS team and our network of fantastic partners to advance development and adoption of open science policies that enhance rigor and reproducibility, foster a culture of inclusion and engagement, and create new avenues for discovery and innovation, all while building and earning public trust in science for the benefit of society.”
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About COS
Founded in 2013, COS is a nonprofit culture change organization with a mission to increase openness, integrity, and reproducibility of scientific research. COS pursues this mission by building communities around open science practices, supporting metascience research, and developing and maintaining free, open source software tools, including the Open Science Framework (OSF).
Media Contact: pr@cos.io