The major objectives of the Administrative Core are to institute an infrastructure that facilitates productive interactions among the U19 Program investigators of this grant application, ?Defining regulators of immunity to acute infection using CRISPR screens? and implements our Pilot Project program. The Administrative Core will serve as a centralized, transparent organizational structure to provide administrative support that enables the Principal investigators and their personnel to focus on their experimental and scientific goals. Dr. Sharpe, Program Director of the overall U19 grant, will provide leadership and direction for operations of the Administrative Core, which will be based at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Haining, Co-Director of this U19 grant and Core A, will lead the Pilot Grant Program. The Administrative Core will be responsible for carrying out the following functions: a) Provide the infrastructure for overall management and co-ordination; b) Facilitate and promote interactions and communication between program investigators, scientific advisors and administrative personnel; c) Plan and coordinate annual External Scientific Advisory Group (ESAG) meetings; d) Organize and coordinate travel for ESAG members; e) Assist the Program Directors and Principal Investigators with oversight of scientific, fiscal, regulatory and compliance matters, and with preparation and review of yearly progress reports and financial reports; f) Implement a plan for data management/sharing among investigators; and g) Implement the Pilot Project Program. The Administrative Core will also resolve all conflicts that may arise. To achieve these goals, Core A has the following specific aims:
Aim 1 : To provide infrastructure for overall management and coordination. Core A will provide administrative support and coordination to promote communication and interactions among Project and Core investigators, including the scheduling of regular teleconferences/face-to-face meetings and annual meetings, preparing and submitting annual progress reports, providing fiscal oversight and ensuring institutional compliance with fiscal, regulatory and scientific issues, and conflict resolution.
Aim 2 : To maintain a web-based portal for data sharing via a secure Dropbox. Core A will host and manage a secure Dropbox portal for data sharing within the U19. This easy access to data will maximize transparency, encourage collaboration, and aid in monitoring project progress and how collaborators are utilizing core services.
Aim 3 : To implement the Pilot Project Program. Core A will develop an effective process to solicit review and award high caliber innovative Pilot Projects that use our in vivo CRISPR platform, and monitor their progress. We will encourage applications from early career investigators. Through these specific Aims, we will create an Administrative Core structured to implement processes/procedures to enable the success of this highly collaborative program.
