Administrative Core A

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section The Administrative Core (Core A) is the engine behind the innovative, impactful research enterprise of Penn CFAR, a collaboration of the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Wistar Institute. Core A drives CFAR strategic planning, provides scientific leadership to implement new research directions, and oversees the establishment and activities of its Scientific Working Groups (SWGs), Shared Resource Cores, Developmental Core, educational, mentoring & partnering activities, and initiatives to advance ties to campus, community, and regional, national & international partners. Core A provides campus leadership, ensuring institutional support, prioritization for AIDS research and recruitment, outreach to develop new partnerships, and communication to maintain a collaborative, interactive scientific community. Core A is led by Drs. Ronald Collman (Director), Robert Gross (Co-Director), and Kathleen Brady (Core Investigator) of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Core A works closely with a governing Executive Committee, an External Advisory Committee, an Internal Advisory Board, and Community Advisory Board. Strategic priorities in the current cycle led to a new partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH), developing new domains including implementation science and tissue reservoir research, nurturing a new generation of AIDS investigators & leaders, and expanding scientific expertise in the CFAR community & leadership. CFAR investigators have made high impact discoveries in AIDS priority areas including HIV reservoirs, immune control & cure; platforms & novel models for vaccines; HIV comorbidities; social determinants of HIV health; engagement in prevention & care; and other key topics. For this next cycle, oversight & evaluation led by Core A resulted in significant changes to the CFAR Cores, SWGs and strategic priorities. Core A’s aims are to (1) Deploy CFAR activities and resources to galvanize research in current & emerging high priority areas through SWGs, interdisciplinary collaborations, core activities and developmental projects; (2) Provide administrative leadership to ensure effective communication among CFAR components and members, lead a robust and inclusive strategic planning process, secure institutional resources, and recruit outstanding AIDS researchers to campus; (3) Oversee CFAR Shared Resource Cores to ensure that they enhance research capacity, serve the needs of CFAR investigators, introduce new enabling technology that advances the research agenda, and support SWGs; (4) Ensure sound fiscal management of CFAR Cores, developmental funds and institutional resources; (5) Establish and oversee multidisciplinary educational, mentoring and outreach activities that engage and advance the scientific development of trainees and junior faculty, and create partnerships to bring non-AIDS investigators into the field, and; (6) Ensure that CFAR is fully engaged with communities affected by HIV, regional partners, PDPH, leverages and contributes to the Inter- CFAR network, and spearheads robust collaborations & capacity building activities with international partners.