Administrative Core

The Administrative Core’s overarching goal is to foster and facilitate the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) vision, mission, and strategic goals. Under Emer Smyth, PhD, Associate Director for Administration, the Administrative Core supports development, implementation, and monitoring of the HICCC Strategic Plan and provides dynamic administrative assistance to: (1) HICCC Leadership, Anil Rustgi, MD, Director, Dawn Hershman, MD MS, Deputy Director, Associate Directors, and other Leaders; (2) HICCC membership; and (3) CCSG components that are fundamental to the HICCC’s activities, namely the Research Programs, Shared Resources (SRs), Clinical Protocol and Data Management (CPDM) Office, Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) Office, and Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) Office. The Administrative Core coordinates and oversees all administrative, communication, and fiscal activities to ensure the HICCC’s functionality. The Core’s roles include to: (1) oversee and coordinate the CCSG’s NCI reporting and competitive renewal, maintaining current information on CCSG guidelines; (2) oversee the HICCC strategic planning process from initiation, through development of goals and tactics, to monitoring of outcomes and success; (3) establish and promote the HICCC mission throughout Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and with external collaborators and partners; (4) coordinate and manage HICCC pilot funding processes (CCSG and non-CCSG); (5) facilitate collaboration within and across the HICCC Research Programs, and with other institutions; (6) facilitate research alliances between HICCC Members and industry, foundation partners; (7) oversee the non-scientific functions of the HICCC’s SRs; (8) ensure efficient utilization of HICCC space and common equipment; (9) provide administrative and operational support for programming through the COE and CRTEC Offices; and (10) represent the HICCC within all relevant Columbia institutional offices, NCI (and other federal agencies), and New York City and State. Key accomplishments include: successful implementation of the current (2020-2025), and completion of the new, HICCC Strategic Plan (2025-2030), both endorsed by Columbia leadership and the HICCC External Advisory Board; recruitment of basic, translational, clinical, and population faculty aligned with the HICCC’s strategic priorities; significant return on investment of CCSG (13 fold) and non-CCSG (3 fold) developmental funds; substantial growth and impact of cancer-relevant funding and publications; growth of COE, CRTEC, and CPDM initiatives; and fostering of collaborations with New York City Cancer Centers. In the next project period, the Administrative Core will assist in operational planning of the new Clinical Cancer Building (to open in late 2027/early 2028) and cancer-research space allocation in the new state-of-the-art Biomedical Research Building (to open in 2026).