Expanding and strengthening the Clinical Translational Research Center (RCTR) at Meharry (MeTRC) represents our overall goal of enhancing translational research involving health disparities with an overarching goal of improving the overall health of the underserved in particularly, and the overall population, in general. The MeTRC was established in 2009 under the U54 funding mechanism from the former NCRR/NIH. When NCRR was closed at the end of 2011, the RCTR Program was transferred under the RCMI Program to the NIMHD. During the first funding cycle (2009-2014) the MeTRC leadership established the infrastructure for the RCTR at Meharry Medical College (MMC). MeTRC has successfully accomplished this goal. In the current application, our challenge is to strengthen and enhance our translational research enterprise and increase our capability to compete for mainstream extramural funding consistent with a mission driven by our motivation to eliminate health disparities and barriers to care for minorities and the underserved. This RCTR program also offers a clear opportunity for MMC to enhance and strengthen clinical and translational research in health disparities areas including, but not limited to, inflammatory/infectious diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, mental health disorders and cancer that significantly impact on the health of our minority and underserved population. The RCTR initiative also provides MMC with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate its role in clinical translational research in health disparities relevant to the overall goal of improving the health and healthcare of the entire population. In this endeavor, MeTRC's clear overarching goals are 1) focus on health disparities research as indicated above; 2) link basic science research with clinical and population science research by promoting and strengthening the T1/T2/T3/T4 translational research continuum that enhances synergy; 3) promote both internal and external collaborations and partnership (i.e. with the RTRN institutions and Vanderbilt-Meharry CTSA) and, 4) support highly competitive translational research projects promoted by trans-disciplinary collaborative team science approach models. In the current application, the Administrative Core's specific aims are to 1) efficiently manage the RCTR budget, 2) insure efficient administrative oversight and adequate communication between RCTR components and NIMHD, 3) set programmatic goals and manage assessment processes to assure productivity and progress, and 4) coordinate RCTR functions and activities/cores. We propose to achieve our specific aims through integrated and collaborative efforts supported by four mandatory and eight optional Activities/Cores described in this application. The role of the Administrative Core is to provide dynamic and efficient administrative leadership, supervise the entire RCTR program in compliance with federal regulations and policies and implement the programmatic goals of the center. This core will also provide an effective oversight and coordinate the functions/activities of the various cores, and oversee implementation of the budget. The core is also responsible for coordinating evaluation of the program, monitoring progress, reporting progress to the NIH and maintaining strong interaction with the NIMHD/NIH Program Director(s) in accordance with the U54 mechanism.
The Administrative core has the overall responsibility for ensuring that RCTR-funded research is carried out in compliance with relevant federal regulations and policies. This core is directed by the Program Director/ Principal Investigator (PD/PI) with the assistance of members of the Administrative/Governance team. The main function of the Administrative Core is to manage, coordinate and supervise the entire array of RCTR programmatic functions/activities that are carried out in all the cores. Other critical functions of this core are to ensure efficient and effective implementation of all activities, coordinate evaluation of the program, and monitor progress and report annual progress to NIH. This core is also responsible for maintaining strong interaction with the NIMHD/NIH Program Director(s) as mandated by the terms and conditions of the U54 corporative agreement between the NIH and MMC. Thus, the functional role of this core will significantly impact on the success of our RCTR Program.
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