ADMINISTRATIVE CORE ABSTRACT The overarching goals of the Administrative Core are to coordinate and integrate all activities of the Center, including core reporting, P/F administration and enrichment activities. Towards these goals the WU-RDRRC proposes the following aims: 1) Promote awareness of the resources within the Center to foment interest in rheumatic diseases research through collaborative, trans-disciplinary activities across the WU community, organize and align Core laboratories and services to provide state-of-the-art technologies and specialized resources in line with members' needs. 2) Enhance synergies between RDRRC and other WU funded Centers conducting rheumatic disease- related research as well as extramural institutions in the Midwest 3) Identify and nurture the careers of junior faculty interested in rheumatic diseases research 4) Establish a Multidisciplinary Research Expert Panel (Research Forum) to provide guidance for new and junior faculty in the planning and execution of research projects 5) Support educational seminar series that bring together scientists within and outside WU campus to communicate their newest ideas or research in rheumatic diseases The leadership of the WU-RDRRC will provide consistent and strategic oversight guided by an Internal Executive Committee (IEC) and a Center Advisory Board (CAB) comprised of internal and external board members. We will develop formal metrics to measure Core performance and WU-RDRRC impact through the evaluation of scientific network activities, outputs and implementation.
