Istvan Fekete is a Principal at Attain Partners. He is a research administration professional with almost 13 years of experience from working directly in higher education, consulting for higher education clients, and providing managed services to higher education clients. Additional experience working with medical centers, hospitals, non-profit consortiums, and the pharma industry on clinical research operations. Nationally known subject matter expert in research contract negotiations.

At the University of Chicago, Istvan collaborated with the Office of Clinical Research, Clinical Trials Financial Group, and operations teams to create the institution's first set of policies for investigator-initiated clinical trials. This work ensured that contractual obligations aligned with trial conduct and were feasible for implementation. Istvan has worked with large institutions to redesign business processes and staffing structures, focusing on optimizing rapid trial activation, minimizing financial risk, and maximizing revenue collection.Additionally, Istvan partnered with an R1 institution to pilot artificial intelligence tools in the research contracting space, contributing to the development of an AI solution for Medicare coverage analysis and testing several AI solutions available on the market.

Istvan also developed and launched a comprehensive research administration training program for an R1 institution, delivering training on negotiation techniques, workload management, conflict resolution, and tactical strategies to staff in both higher education and healthcare settings. Their contributions extended to the creation of the Secure Data Enclave at the University of Chicago, a centralized data security platform that reduced redundant data security expenditures across departments.

In addition to these achievements, Istvan served as a subject matter expert on a team that designed next-generation research administration software for a major consulting firm, further showcasing their ability to innovate and drive efficiency in research operations.