Administrative Core (Core A)

Project Summary The Administrative Core will continue coordinating the different activities of the four Projects and three Cores of this Program Project. The long-term goal of this Core is to serve as the center of integration for the different parts of this collaborative effort and as a liaison of this program with components in and outside our school. The specific aims of the core are: 1) to provide the members of the Program Project with the administrative and secretarial support required for the functioning of their programs, 2) to integrate the results obtained by each project, 3) to coordinate approval for transferring of materials and reagents to other members of the scientific community, 4) to facilitate communication among the different members of the PP, 5) to monitor and evaluate the scientific progress of the PP, 6) to promote interactions of the PP with other Program Projects and Centers with related interests in our school and outside, 7) to increase awareness for aging research. The components of the core are the administrative service, the Executive Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee. These components are overseen and coordinated by the Director of the Core. The services offered by the core include: administrative and secretarial support (ordering of reagents and supplies, financial and progress reports, assistance with budget management, handling of material transfer agreements), organization of weekly meetings, monthly works in progress and of the biannual meetings with the Scientific Advisory Committee, maintenance of the intranet system of data exchange. The key personnel of the core are the director, the administrator and the secretary. The director oversees and coordinates all the activities of the core and meets periodically with the administrator (to review the financial reports), with the Executive Committee (to review and evaluate the performance of the different integral parts of the program) and with the Scientific Advisory Committee (to review and evaluate the scientific progress of the Program Project). The administrator and the secretary assist the investigators with financial matters, the organization of meetings and conferences and the day-to-day needs for the proper functioning of the Program. Relevance: This core is essential for the integration of the projects and cores into a cohesive program that allows for faster and more efficient progress toward the elucidation of the molecular basis for the functional decline of cells, organs and systems with age. The basis for this cohesive program is the free and efficient communication of scientific results among the members of the program, the active review of progress and utilization of resources and the delineation of a common future goal and direction.