The primary objective of the Administrative Core is to ensure the effective integration and interaction of the scientists and other personnel working on the Projects and Scientific Cores that comprise this PPG. First, the Core establishes the scientific priorities and directions of the research through regular meetings of the PPG's Executive Committee. Second, the Core is responsible for administering the day-to-day activities of the PPG, including the monitoring of all budgets, submission of progress reports, and adherence to regulatory requirements associated with our research. Third, the Core coordinates the many modes of communication among PPG investigators, including regular Webex meetings, videoconferences, and face-to-face visits that ensure our integrated research program. Likewise, the Core supports visits to New York and other sites by members of our External Advisory Committee, and key consultants, to meet with PPG faculty and trainees and review the progress of our research. Fourth, the Core maintains a creative PPG website to foster communication not only among PPG investigators, but also with the scientific community and general public at large. Such communication includes resource and data sharing and the dissemination of vast amounts of genome-wide chromatin and gene expression data as rapidly as possible as well as enabling the free download of novel PPG software designed to analyze complex datasets. Fifth, the Core fosters several additional outreach efforts to patient advocacy and community organizations. Sixth, the Core, through the Executive Committee, works to ensure the successful career paths of numerous junior faculty as well as students and postdoctoral trainees. We expect numerous individual R and K grants and NRSAs to continue to be generated by the PPG's research. Such career development focuses in particular on the recruitment and retention of women and minority scientists; we are proud of our track record in this regard. Seventh, the Core is responsible, in collaboration with our various training programs, to ensure the safe and ethical conduct of research. Joining together effectively to form a unified research team is key to the success of this large undertaking, and we are confident in our continued ability to accomplish this goal.
Addiction remains one of the world's greatest public health problems, yet its pathophysiology remains incompletely understood and available treatments for addictions to various drugs of abuse are inadequately effective for most people. We believe that the most effective way of eventually developing definitive treatments and cures for addiction rests in part in a better understanding of its underlying neurobiology.
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