Administrative Core The Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Health Disparities will flow administratively through the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health within the Colorado School of Public Health at the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado Denver, and capitalize upon longstanding collaboration with the Partners for Native Health at Washington State University and the Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, AK. Dr. Spero M. Manson, Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry, Director, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health, and Associate Dean for Research, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, will lead the Administrative Core. In this capacity, he and a skilled administrative team will be responsible for the overall planning and coordination of the Center, including budget preparation and oversight of personnel appointments, space allocation, and other aspects of management and operation. The joint duties of Dr. Lonnie Nelson, PhD, and Dr. Manson are described in the required Multiple Principal Investigator Leadership Plan. The Administrative Core will direct and support, both day-to-day and long-term, the two Research Projects and two other Cores that comprise the Center. It will manage, coordinate, and supervise the full range of proposed activities; monitor progress; ensure component plans are implemented and evaluated; verify all Center supported research ? mature projects and pilot studies - - is carried out in compliance with applicable Federal regulations and policies. The Administrative Core also encompasses five (5) Satellite Centers that will enhance outreach to, and the engagement as well as full participation of local key stakeholders critical to our success. Accordingly, our specific sims are to: 1) support logistical and field operations ? such as coordinating meetings and travel ? across the Center's Research Projects, Cores, Pilot Studies, and academic as well as community partnerships; 2) oversee a management plan that stimulates, coordinates, integrates, and monitors activities and functions across Research Projects, Cores, Pilot Studies, and partnerships; 3) supervise implementation of key strategic decisions; 4) facilitate implementation of research regulatory processes, data sharing plans, and timely transfer of data; 5) collaborate on program planning, review, and evaluation to ensure Center success and 6) support the Center Committees, Satellite Centers, and facilitate integration of the Strong Heart Study Community Advisory Group, Community Action Board, and External Scientific Advisory Committee into the overall structure and processes. Several committees and advisory bodies comprised of representatives of key stakeholders will ensure Center alignment with its mission, scientific aims, and regulatory and compliance mandates. Though not all of these committees are resourced or implemented by the Administrative Core, their work will be coordinated through this core.
We respond to the increasing incidence of cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease among American Indian and Alaska Native people, and the burden this poses for individuals, caregivers, their communities, and relevant systems of care. Our active outreach to and engagement with key stakeholders affirm the personal as well as scientific impetus for developing more precise approaches to preventing, diagnosing, and treating such conditions in this population. The proposed work will advance the relevant science and its application to improving care.
