Administrative Core

ABSTRACT – JHU TRAC ADMINISTRATIVE CORE (AC) The overall goals of the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) TRAC Administrative Core (AC) are to provide overall management, coordination, and supervision of the JHU TRAC. To these ends, the AC will convene biweekly meetings of the TRAC Steering Committee, led by the AC Co-Directors and TRAC Co-PD/PIs, Drs. Petros Karakousis and Richard Chaisson, and comprising the Directors of each of the other five TRAC Cores. The AC will be tasked with: 1) Providing scientific and administrative integration and coordination of the TRAC; 2) Providing a central oversight and communications platform for the TRAC; and 3) Managing administrative and regulatory functions of the TRAC. The AC will promote scientific integration of the JHU TRAC by developing a Strategic Plan for fulfilling the TRAC’s scientific mission, and, in coordination with the Developmental Core, by sponsoring regularly scheduled scientific activities to stimulate innovative, cross-disciplinary collaborations and provide mentoring and training opportunities for New Investigators (NI) and Early Stage Investigators (ESI), including the weekly TRAC Seminar Series, which will highlight cutting-edge methodologies and TRAC- sponsored research in each of the Cores, as well as the TRAC K-Club and K2R Club for reviewing NI/ESI grants, and the annual TB Scientific Meeting and TRAC Data Fair. The TRAC Steering Committee will be responsible for receiving and incorporating feedback on the functionality and utility of Core services, coordinating communications within the TRAC, and assisting in resolving any conflicts between TRAC members. The AC will provide fiscal and regulatory oversight of the TRAC and will serve as a liaison for communications between the TRAC and the NIH. The AC will assist in convening an annual programmatic meeting with the NIH and the External Advisory Committee (EAC) to assess the productivity and impact of the TRAC and to receive input on future program directions. The TRAC AC will be housed within and leverage the existing scientific, administrative, and material infrastructure of the JHU Center for Tuberculosis Research (CTR), which has considerable experience in managing large collaborative research projects. The AC will provide added value to the JHU TRAC by promoting synergy between the Cores; leveraging other resources across the university, including the CFAR, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, and NIH cores; enhancing communication between investigators through listservs, newsletters, a website, and meetings; and ensuring that the total research output and mentorship opportunities provided by the JHU TRAC are greater than the sum of its individual components, with the ultimate goal of producing the next generation’s leaders in TB research.