CORE A (Administrative Core)

ABSTRACT/SUMMARY – Core A (Administrative Core) The Administrative Core (AC) is based in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (Sylvester) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The principal investigator of this P01, Wael El-Rifai, MD, PhD, is the Director of AC and is responsible for the activities of this core. The AC establishes and executes the scientific and organizational direction and strategy; provides fiscal and administrative oversight, coordination, and operations management; provides information technology resources to support the research development and dissemination processes; and assesses the effectiveness and impact of the P01 research projects and its individual cores. The AC is responsible for managing the P01 resources and facilitating communications between the P01 components, other collaborators, and with the NCI. This is accomplished through a series of oversight committees, organized administrative and scientific meetings of P01 investigators, institutional representatives and external advisors. The AC provides organizational structure for managing the P01 resources and facilitating communications between the P01 components, other collaborators, and with the NCI. The organizational structure of AC includes two committees to ensure a broad range of expertise and input into the management process. These include the: 1) Institutional Advisory Board (IAB), and 2) External Advisory Board (EAB). The AC structure has included several opportunities for scientific interactions. These include a bi-weekly meeting of project leaders and core directors, weekly laboratories’ research meetings and discussion, a bi-weekly research seminar, a bi-weekly journal club, and an annual retreat and symposium. In addition, the AC is also responsible for management of communications within the P01 and between the P01, the Sylvester’s Tumor Biology Program, and the NCI. This will be accomplished through e-mail, fax, standard mail, and an online web site. Committee reports will be distributed to P01 investigators via these media. Communication to the press, both internal and external, will also be coordinated through this core. In summary, the AC facilitates key communication, monitoring and oversight services using built-in committees and measures for accountability, fiscal management, monitoring and evaluation of the performance of projects and cores.