As the hub of our Superfund Research Center (SRC), the Administrative Core will advance our mission?to understand and mitigate the effects of exposures to metals and metal mixtures found at Superfund sites on late-life cognitive health?by providing executive oversight of all SRC activities, from scientific to fiscal to logistical to research translation. Based in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Administrative Core will comprise a Director (Dr. Quan Lu), Deputy Director (Dr. Julie Zimmerman of Yale University), Research Translation Coordinator (Dr. Katherine von Stackelberg), and Center Administrator and will be guided by an Executive Committee (comprising Project and Core Leaders) and an External Advisory Committee. The Core will provide leadership and coordination to ensure that all Research Project and Core activities align with the Superfund Research Program mandates and Superfund mission ?to solve target problem(s) related to health effects, risk, detection, and/or remediation of hazardous substances.? The Administrative Core has four Specific Aims.
In Aim 1, we will organize and coordinate intra- Center meetings and conferences, including regular seminars, monthly meetings with an Executive Committee, and yearly meetings with the External Advisory Committee (8 members, including subject matter experts and stakeholders).
In Aim 2, we will organize seminars and meetings to serve as central integration for all members of the SRC community?professionals who bring diverse expertise in environmental epidemiology, genetics, molecular toxicology, environmental science and engineering, and computational and data science? to foster interactions that will strengthen existing collaborations, generate new ideas for future cross- disciplinary collaborations, and provide interdisciplinary research and translation opportunities for trainees.
In Aim 3, we will provide central administration, fiscal management, and quality management to ensure research integrity, as well as compliance with NIH requirements for data and resource sharing and human and animal institutional review board requirements.
In Aim 4 we will facilitate research translation through 1) effective communication within the SRC and with stakeholders, leveraging collaborations with regional SRCs (e.g., the Northeast regional Superfund trainee conference and the Complex Mixtures working group); 2) partnerships with government agencies, including a visiting scientist program with EPA; 3) technology transfer in conjunction with the Harvard Office of Technology Development and Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, and 4) information dissemination to broad audiences through channels including social media, newsletters, podcasts and videos. By providing an infrastructure that facilitates communication and integration across all Center components, the Administrative Core ensures effective integration of the SRC to better understand how early life exposures to metals influence later life cognition, potential remediation strategies in reducing risks, and the overall impact on public health.
The Administrative Core housed at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and representative of all participating institutions will organize the intellectual activities of the Superfund Research Center (SRC). The Core?s major responsibilities are to oversee the scientific progress and integration of SRC components, including successful mentoring of trainees, fostering communication between the SRC and diverse stakeholders, providing fiscal oversight, carrying out research translation, and ensuring compliance with NIH requirements for data and resource sharing and protection of human subjects. By providing an infrastructure that facilitates communication and integration across all SRC components, the Administrative Core will serve as a central focal point to reinforce our overall goal of improving public health and decision-making at Superfund sites through the pursuit of multidisciplinary, integrative research and training.
