The Director of the P30 will be Dr. Raju Metherate. Dr. Metherate also is Director of CHR, anadvantageous arrangement since a close relationship between the P30 and CHR will maximize theeffectiveness of both groups. Dr. Metherate was a founding member and Associate Director of theIRU for Hearing and Speech Science, and assumed responsibility for IRU activities in 2003 when Dr.Len Kitzes became acting chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. When the IRUtransitioned to CHR in 2005, Dr. Metherate was elected Director. Dr. Metherate joined UCI as anassistant professor in 1995, and currently is an associate professor in the Dept. of Neurobiology andBehavior. He is PI on two NIH R01 grants, from NIDCD and NIDA, and has maintained continuousfunding from NIH and NSF for over 13 years to study cellular mechanisms in the auditory cortex.Since CHR is a UCI 'Campus Center,' its director reports directly to his own Dean (BiologicalSciences) and the Vice Chancellor for Research, from whose office the mandate and funding for CHRoriginates. The line of communication with the Vice Chancellor for Research is important since theP30 and CHR involve faculty from eleven Departments in five Schools across the UCI campus. TheP30 and CHR administrative structures are such that no single department carries undue weight orinfluence. (See the Appendix for a list of P30 faculty and their Department and School affiliations.)The P30 Executive Committee will comprise the Director, both Core Directors, and a rotatingrepresentative of the P30 investigators. Note that the Core Directors are from different Schools(Biological Sciences and Medicine). The Executive Committee will meet regularly, at least quarterly,to ensure that the needs of each Core and its users are met and that all facilities are being managedefficiently. Core Directors can voice concerns brought up at internal meetings of each Core's usersand Advisory Committees. In addition, the Executive Committee as a group will solicit and evaluatefeedback from all users at regular intervals, at least annually, and make recommendations to theDirector for changes to P30 procedures and priorities. Important issues will include how the P30 isable to enhance ongoing research and promote interdisciplinary collaborations.Note that each Core director, in consultation with the Core's Advisory Committee, will be responsiblefor prioritizing usage of his or her core. In general, the highest priority for use of Core facilities will beto provide support for ongoing, R01-funded, NIDCD-related research. Secondary priority will be forresearch supported by other Federal funding (e.g., NIH-R03, NSF). Additional priorities (e.g.,attracting new investigators to NIDCD-related topics) will be pursued when possible. Properdistribution of each Core's resources will be reviewed by the Executive Committee at quarterlymeetings, and procedures to resolve inequities formulated.Administrative support for the P30 will be provided through Dr. Metherate's home department, theDept. of Neurobiology and Behavior (Chair, Dr. Thomas J. Carew). Department staff will assist withpersonnel, purchasing, scheduling meetings, preparing progress reports and other administrativetasks. The department is familiar with the needs of interdisciplinary research centers, having a closerelationship with three major research institutes directed by department faculty: the Center for theNeurobiology of Learning and Memory (Dr. Michael D. Rugg, Director), the Institute for Brain Agingand Dementia (Dr. Carl W. Cotman, Director), and the Reeve-Irvine Research Center (Dr. OswaldSteward, Director). Administrative effort for the P30 is expected to be minimal: 10% effort each forthe Director and Core Directors, and 25% effort for an Administrative Assistant in the Dept. ofNeurobiology and Behavior.
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