The function of Administrative Core A is to provide administrative coordination of scientific activities, effective communication for the entire program. The success of this PPG is also dependent on responsible use of funds and resources. The core will co-ordinate meetings and facilitate completion of paperwork, forms, approvals, and scheduling matters, which will increase efficiency and allow PIs and Co-PIs to afford more time to their projects. Another task will be to communicate effectively and in timely manner with the administrators at the National Institutes of Health as well as to ensure statutory compliance/IRB requirements for clinical assessments of Project III. Core A duties will be carried out by the Program Manager/Administrative Assistant (Joan Warner, 4.8m effort) under the direction of Dr. Kupiec-Weglinski (0.6m effort), and by the Financial Manager/Grants Financial Specialist at the Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center (Gina Ruiz, 1.2m effort). Core A will coordinate all personnel issues between departments. Ms. Joan Warner will be responsible for scheduling and coordinating monthly meetings between the PIs, assisting with the preparation of joint abstracts, manuscripts, conference presentations and progress reports, as well as maintaining liaison between the groups interacting in the Program. She will also schedule meetings of the internal advisory board (twice yearly) and with the external advisory committee (once yearly) to evaluate scientific merit of ongoing or newly proposed studies and performance of funded investigators. Ms. Warner will arrange all travel accommodations and reimbursements for participants of these meetings. Other responsibilities of the core include handling budgets, accounting and tracking of expenditures as well as preparation of annual budgets for renewals. These responsibilities will be carried out by Ms. Gina Ruiz.
