Committee Support and Comm Component

MODIFIED COMMITTEE SUPPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPONENT ABSTRACT Well-designed research is urgently needed to examine the impact of environmental exposures on health outcomes in children. To address these knowledge gaps, the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program promises to leverage extant pediatric cohorts to test new hypotheses of how environmental exposures impact pediatric health. The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) proposes to serve as the ECHO Coordinating Center (ECHO CC) to provide the organizational framework for the management, direction, and overall coordination of all common ECHO activities. DCRI is uniquely poised to lead this ambitious initiative. As the world’s largest academic research organization, DCRI manages >30 active network and administrative coordinating center grants and has emerged as a leader in pediatric clinical research. The DCRI will establish the ECHO CC Committee Support and Communications (CSC Component). The specific aims of the CSC Component, led by Dr. Brian Smith, are to 1) coordinate all functions of the ECHO Cohort Steering Committee and Operations Committee and their respective subcommittees, Working Groups, and Task Forces; 2) implement an efficient Publications review process; 3) centralize multidirectional communications for internal and external ECHO partners; and 4) develop and maintain the ECHO Web Portal. The CSC Component will be organized into two distinct teams: the Committee Support Team and the Communications Support Team. The Committee Support Team will provide support for the integral functions of the ECHO Steering and Operational Committees and their subcommittees, the Publications Committee, scientific as well as cross-cutting working groups and task forces, and will facilitate communication pathways between the various ECHO components and groups. The Communications Team will carry out a strategic communications plan for the ECHO Program that outlines how external communications will be used to support the ECHO Program in meeting its goals.