ADMINISTRATIVE COMPONENT The Administrative Core comprises a team of faculty and staff who will work together to oversee the research, training, planning, and outreach activities of the Center. The multidisciplinary, inter-institutional nature of our proposal not only places a premium on effective scientific management but also creates many opportunities for collaboration with other organizations. Exploiting these opportunities is greatly facilitated by the structure of the HMS Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology (LSP), in which the current proposal is based. The LSP was established in 2014 to support precisely the type of systems biology research proposed here and is split ~60:40 between laboratory and computational research. Our management plan reflects the belief that effective application of Systems Biology methods to understanding predictors of drug sensitivity and resistance in melanoma, brain cancer and breast cancer requires the participation of investigators with diverse skill sets spanning computational biology, clinical science, bioinformatics, systems biology, and statistical reasoning. The Administrative Core will support the efforts of this team and assist students, postdocs and junior faculty in becoming future leaders in the systems biology of cancer (Aim 1.1). The core will facilitate meetings of the different groups involved in experimental design (Aim 4 Project 1;
Aim 5 Project 2;
Aim 6 Project 3) and measurement and analysis methods executed by the Systems Pharmacology Core (Aim 2). It will also organize an External Advisory Committee (Aim 1.2), coordinate Center Pilot grants (Aim 1.2) and develop a Website to share information on the activities of the Center (Aim 1.1) and to distribute its results and data. The administrative core will monitor the overall scientific progress of the Center and evaluate the Center's scientific achievements using general and project-specific metrics (Aim 1.3). Finally, the Core will also support the efforts of the Center in outreach activities including website development, training, and future collaborations with visiting scientists (Aim 1.1). The plan described herein will ensure effective communication and interaction among investigators within the Center and with the NCI and other Systems Biology Centers.
