The Director of the P30 will be Dr. Raju Metherate. Dr. Metherate also is Director of CHR, an advantageous arrangement since a close relationship between the P30 and CHR will maximize the effectiveness of both groups. Dr. Metherate was a founding member and Associate Director of the IRU for Hearing and Speech Science, and assumed responsibility for IRU activities in 2003 when Dr. Len Kitzes became acting chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. When the IRU transitioned to CHR in 2005, Dr. Metherate was elected Director. Dr. Metherate joined UCI as an assistant professor in 1995, and currently is an associate professor in the Dept. of Neurobiology and Behavior. He is PI on two NIH R01 grants, from NIDCD and NIDA, and has maintained continuous funding from NIH and NSF for over 13 years to study cellular mechanisms in the auditory cortex. Since CHR is a UCI """"""""Campus Center,"""""""" its director reports directly to his own Dean (Biological Sciences) and the Vice Chancellor for Research, from whose office the mandate and funding for CHR originates. The line of communication with the Vice Chancellor for Research is important since the P30 and CHR involve faculty from eleven Departments in five Schools across the UCI campus. The P30 and CHR administrative structures are such that no single department carries undue weight or influence. (See the Appendix for a list of P30 faculty and their Department and School affiliations.) The P30 Executive Committee will comprise the Director, both Core Directors, and a rotating representative of the P30 investigators. Note that the Core Directors are from different Schools (Biological Sciences and Medicine). The Executive Committee will meet regularly, at least quarterly, to ensure that the needs of each Core and its users are met and that all facilities are being managed efficiently. Core Directors can voice concerns brought up at internal meetings of each Core's users and Advisory Committees. In addition, the Executive Committee as a group will solicit and evaluate feedback from all users at regular intervals, at least annually, and make recommendations to the Director for changes to P30 procedures and priorities. Important issues will include how the P30 is able to enhance ongoing research and promote interdisciplinary collaborations. Note that each Core director, in consultation with the Core's Advisory Committee, will be responsible for prioritizing usage of his or her core. In general, the highest priority for use of Core facilities will be to provide support for ongoing, R01-funded, NIDCD-related research. Secondary priority will be for research supported by other Federal funding (e.g., NIH-R03, NSF). Additional priorities (e.g., attracting new investigators to NIDCD-related topics) will be pursued when possible. Proper distribution of each Core's resources will be reviewed by the Executive Committee at quarterly meetings, and procedures to resolve inequities formulated. Administrative support for the P30 will be provided through Dr. Metherate's home department, the Dept. of Neurobiology and Behavior (Chair, Dr. Thomas J. Carew). Department staff will assist with personnel, purchasing, scheduling meetings, preparing progress reports and other administrative tasks. The department is familiar with the needs of interdisciplinary research centers, having a close relationship with three major research institutes directed by department faculty: the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (Dr. Michael D. Rugg, Director), the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia (Dr. Carl W. Cotman, Director), and the Reeve-Irvine Research Center (Dr. Oswald Steward, Director). Administrative effort for the P30 is expected to be minimal: 10% effort each for the Director and Core Directors, and 25% effort for an Administrative Assistant in the Dept. of Neurobiology and Behavior.
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