The primary objectives of the Administrative Core, Core A, are to provide scientific, administrative and fiscal oversight and management to the three projects and three cores of the PDTC program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC; UTPDTC), and the consortium with the University of Texas South Western Medical Center (UTSW). This includes grant management; scientific and fiscal support, periodic scientific and administrative reviews, outreach and information dissemination, personnel management, and coordination of meetings. Core A will play a major unifying role in stimulating valuable interactions not only between UTPDCT project and core leaders, but also with investigators from the other three PDTCs funded by NCI and NCI officials. This core will: A) Direct the overall scientific quality and administrative management of the UTPDTC; B) Ensure effective communication and integration between research projects (1-3), the consortium with UTMDACC and UTSW, Bioinformatics (Core B), PDX (Core C), and Pilot Projects and Trans-Network Activities (Core D) cores; C) Facilitate communication with NCI scientific staff and collaborative interactions with PDXNet, PDXNet Data Commons and Coordinating Center (PDCCC), and NCI Patient-Derived Models Repository (PDMR) at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR); D) Monitor and ensure the overall compliance of UTPDTC in conjunction with all specific NCI regulations and necessary reporting requirements; E) Coordinate data quality control and assurance issues; F) Oversee expenditures and maintain budget information; G) Organize all necessary meetings, including the Steering and Internal Advisory Committees (UTMDACC), regular scientific meetings, lectures, symposia, and attendance to the annual PDXNet Steering Committee meeting (NCI); H) Adhere to the NIH Grant Policy on Sharing of Unique Research Resources; and I) Coordinate and facilitate resolution of scientific disputes.
