The function of the Administrative Core is to provide administrative support, organization, coordination and efficient management of this Center. Because this Center involves multiple projects, cores, and investigators, some centralized mechanism to facilitate its smooth operation is absolutely essential. The Administrative Core will be directed by Dr. Nadia N Hansel and co-directed by Dr. Gregory B. Diette. Together they will be responsible for evaluating the progress and overall administration of the entire Center and its individual projects. The major responsibility of the Administrative Core is to ensure that the combined research and support activities contained in this application marshal their collective efforts to produce a body of science that is greater than the sum of the individual components. This responsibility requires a strong commitment to the center concept. As a result, the most important function of the Center is to facilitate project and core interactio, coordination, and integration within the mission and theme of the Center. The Administrative Core will be responsible for coordination of communication between CURE COPD research program key personnel who are associated with the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, the College of Eastern Tennessee State University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The Administrative Core will coordinate the inter-project, inter-departmental and inter-institutional collaborative arrangements and develop new arrangements as deemed necessary for the scientific progress of the Program as a whole. The Administrative Core will also provide the Projects and Cores with a periodic review of all expenditures and liaise with University Accounting and Grants administrative offices regarding grant budgets. The administrative support provided by the Administrative Core will be responsible for organizing various weekly meetings as well as the meetings of the External Advisory Committee and the Baltimore and Appalachia Community Advisory Boards. Drs. Hansel and Diette form a management team combining expertise in community-based research, applied exposure assessment research, epidemiology, and clinical practice. They are well qualified to lead the integration of scientific and core activities. The overall goals of the Administrative Core are to ensure completion of the proposed research, training and outreach activities, and facilitate interaction and information exchange within and outside the Center, including with the NIH and EPA. In addition, the Administrative Core and mentorship team will be responsible for promoting and tracking the impact of the Center on fostering the development of junior investigators in the field of environmental health disparities.
COPD is the third leading cause of death in the US and the prevalence, morbidity and mortality of COPD is higher among low-income populations. W e will also have a specific focus on understanding the role of obesity and poor dietary intake (low anti-oxidant, pro-inflammatory diet) as factors that are common in low income communities and may increase susceptibility to indoor pollution exposure. We anticipate that results from this study will inform clinical practice guidelines and health care policies aimed at reducing COPD morbidity in vulnerable low income populations.
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