(Administrative Core, Core Leader: Pizzagalli, McLean Hospital) The overarching goals of the Administrative Core, which will be led by the Center Director, are to (1) oversee all scientific and administrative operations across projects and participating scientists; (2) maximize integration and synergies across the four Projects and the Computational Modeling Core; (3) coordinate and implement training and educational activities within the Center, with a specific focus on attracting new investigators to the field of affective translational neuroscience from diverse background; and (4) interact with existing resources to enhance the research, education and community outreach goals of the center. Several initiatives and activities will be pursued to accomplish these important goals. First, the Administrative Core will oversee day-to-day activities of the Center, including adherence to regulatory requirements, budget monitoring, and submission of progress reports. Second, the Core will monitor the progress of each Project and will ensure that data and information are shared across Center components. Third, the Core will be responsible to support the proposed scientific priorities by organizing regular meetings for Center Investigators (monthly), Internal Advisory Board (twice a year), External Advisory Board (once a year), and a monthly Center Speaker Series. Fourth, the Core will foster the educational/training component of the Center by ensuring ample opportunities for junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students to play important roles in the proposed projects. These career development efforts will be supplemented by providing annual pilot grants to junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows to spearhead independent projects expected to further augment the Center?s goals. Moreover, and leveraging numerous T32 training grants and fellowship opportunities at sites across Projects, the Core will prioritize recruitment and retention of women and minority scientists. The Center Director and Project PIs all have a strong mentorship track record (as manifested by the many K, NRSAD, and NARSAD grants they have sponsored over the years), and plan to maintain this commitment to mentorship during the award period. Fifth, the Core will develop, maintain and promote a Center website to engage the larger scientific community and general public; provide a platform to share information across Center investigators; and provide a platform for data and resource sharing (e.g., to make freely available novel computational models). In addition, in year 5, the Core will organize a Public Symposium to engage the community and educate them about depression and mental health more generally as well as the scientific discoveries that emerged from the Center grant. These efforts will be augmented by a School Outreach Program. Sixth, the Core will proactively engage in outreach efforts to the regional mental health community and patient advocacy organizations, with a particular focus on explaining novel conceptualizations of neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., RDoC) and novel treatment targets. Finally, the Core will be responsible for providing a programmatic evaluation of Center?s activities, output and impact, which will occur in close collaboration with an annual review by the External Advisory Board.
