Loraine Devos-Comby, PhD
Center Administrative Manager
Loraine Devos-Comby has built a career spanning research, institutional effectiveness, compliance, and higher education leadership. Her experience includes NIH-funded research, multi-campus accreditation and multistate regulatory oversight, as well as executive leadership at mission-driven institutions focused on mental and physical health.
Recognized for her analytical rigor and strategic thinking, Dr. Devos-Comby specializes in building institutional capacity, strengthening partnerships with regulatory and oversight agencies, and translating complex requirements into practical operational frameworks. Her expertise includes compliance management, institutional research, process improvement, and cross-functional collaboration in support of organizational excellence.
Dr. Devos-Comby’s research career began at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, where she worked on two federally funded social psychology research projects examining social identity and health-related attributions. She later completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Yale University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, leading community-based intervention studies. At San Diego State University, she served as a Research Scientist and Co-investigator on NIH-funded studies.
In subsequent leadership roles, including Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Provost, and Accreditation Liaison Officer, Dr. Devos-Comby directed institutional research, academic operations, accreditation, and compliance functions across multiple institutions. She led regulatory reporting initiatives, supported IRB process development, and orchestrated complex initiatives, including accreditation reaffirmation, multi-state authorization for distance education, academic master planning, and the development of shared governance structures.
Throughout her career, Dr. Devos-Comby has cultivated strong partnerships with investigators, administrators, community organizations, funding agencies, and regulatory bodies. She brings to the SDSU HealthLINK Center a deep commitment to research excellence, community engagement, operational integrity, and the collaborative leadership needed to support impactful health research and innovation.