The Administrative Core is responsible for coordinating strategic Center planning, providing support for activities of each of the four cores, and the day to day management of operations including accounting, personnel, communications, website maintenance, maintaining meeting agendas and minutes, grant record keeping, purchasing supplies and equipment, travel arrangements, institutional research protocols, personnel, grants management, and evaluation activities. 4.1.1. Organizational Structure. The Center will operate using a combined functional and matrix organizational structure (see Figure 2). The functional structure includes four cores: an administrative core, research core, research training core, and a community engagement core. It Committee. Administrative core personnel include Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, Principal Investigator, Paul D. Juarez, PhD, co-Principal Investigator and Program Director, and Roger Zoorob, MD, MPH, Scientific Director. Support staff members include a part-time administrative assistant, and a part-time fiscal officer. 4.1.1.1. The matrix organizational structure is used to depict the operational relationships between the four center cores and core research faculty of the affiliated academic programs, other institutional research centers at Meharry Medical College, and areas of health disparities research (see Figure 1). Ad hoc groups will be formed by Center leadership on an as-needed basis to work together on new initiatives and respond to RFAs on emerging topics. 4.1.1.2. Center Leadership. Center leadership will meet with directors of each of the cores and with the directors of the affiliated Centers at TSU and Vanderbilt on a monthly basis to provide updates on projects and activities and to plan new opportunities. Other core and affiliated faculty will assemble at least quarterly or on an as-needed basis to propose new research opportunities, develop research grants, provide critiques and/or consultation to investigators on research applications prior to submissions, and to prepare manuscripts for submission to peer reviewed journals. 4.1.1.3. Personnel in the Administrative Core include Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD PI, Paul D. Juarez, PhD, co-PI/Program Director, Roger Zoorob, MD, MPH, Scientific Director, and a TEN Administrative Assistant. In addition to the regular monthly steering committee meetings, the PI, co-PI/Program Director, and Scientific Director will meet on an as-needed basis to discuss progress and issues that need to be resolved. The PI, co-Pi, and Scientific Director, with input from members of the IAC and ESAC will be responsible for the recruitment and selection of core center faculty. Dr. Montgomery Rice, PI, will promote inter-disciplinary collaboration between MMC, TSU and Vanderbilt, among institutional research centers at Meharry Medical College, and encourage and support collaborative translational research opportunities. Investigators of all of the other institutional research centers report to the Dean. The PI will promote the sharing of information between investigators, health practitioners, and members of lay communities in pursuit of mutually relevant goals collaborative ventures. Paul Juarez, PhD, Co-Pi and Program Director will oversee all grant management and budgetary aspects of the award, be responsible for payment authorization for all expenditures, reconciliation of Center ledgers, and for the submission of regular reports and non-competitive renewals of the award. He will also serve as an ex-officio member of each of the Cores. He will meet regularly with Core directors to ensure progress is being made on meeting their goals and objectives and to identify emerging topics and opportunities. Roger Zoorob, MD, MPH, Scientific Director will organize and chair all meetings of the Internal Advisory Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Zoorob will provide leadership on setting funding priorities on minority health and health disparities research conducted within the center, oversee the solicitation and review processes of new pilot projects, and review progress of funded projects. Linda Redd, MSHSA, will provide administrative and clerical support for the Program Director, the PI, the Scientific Director, Core Directors, and other personnel engaged in the Center's research, training and community outreach. The administrative assistant shall prepare agendas and materials and take minutes for all Core Committee meetings. Support staff will assist affiliated investigators and staff with the preparation of presentations for scientific and community meetings, research reports, manuscripts, grants, and the dissemination of information regarding Center activities Terri Codi, MSPH. Fiscal Officer. Ms. Codi will be responsible for all fiscal activities of the grant, including preparing required fiscal reports for the granting agency, processing all purchasing requisitions, preparing invoices, and keeping the program director updated on the fiscal status of each of the cores.
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