Administrative Core

Medical University Of South Carolina, Charleston SC

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The Administrative Core is responsible for the leadership, integration and successful operations of the South Carolina Research Center for Recovery from Stroke (SCRCRS). The Core is directed by Steven A. Kautz, PhD, SCRCRS Program Director, with assistance from Robert J. Adams, MD, SCRCRS Associate Director, and four other members who form the Executive Committee (EC). An Internal Advisory Committee of 9 senior institutional leaders and an External Advisory Board of 5 eminent scientists will provide objective oversight, evaluation and strategic interactions to optimize the Center's impact. COBRE funds will be used to support in part the time/effort of the Program Director, Associate Director, the five Mentors for the COBRE Junior Investigators, a Resource Mentor to oversee the Pilot Projects Program, a Business Manager to handle fiscal management and reporting, and a part time Administrative Assistant to help with scheduling, follow-up and coordination of SCRCRS activities. The aims of the Administrative Core are to: (1) provide leadership, integration, management, oversight and accountability for all SCRCRS activities, services, interactions and dissemination of results; (2) enhance the ability of individual investigators to obtain peer-reviewed grants and establish long-term academic research careers in stroke recovery through intensive multiple source mentoring, access to core resources, and opportunities for research support; (3) initiate a Pilot Projects Program in stroke recovery research to attract new and/or established investigators and enable them to generate preliminary data and access the COBRE cores with a goal of obtaining competitive extramural research grants; and (4) develop and implement an integrated, long-term evaluation plan, including formative and summative approaches and specific milestones, to assess outcomes and performance of SCRCRS to identify and implement improvements for strengthening the center. Innovative features of the Center's conceptual and administrative structure include (1) a multidisciplinary leadership team comprised of a PhD biomedical engineer/biomechanical scientist and an MD/clinical stroke expert, that coalesces resources and disciplines from schools of medicine and allied health sciences; (2) implementation of a multiple source mentoring approach that brings multidisciplinary perspectives, expertise and tools to serve the Junior Investigators' development toward research independence; (3) technological innovations fostered by frequent interactions of experts in diverse fields of brain biology, bioimaging and biomechanics; (4) a Pilot Project Program that will use a novel web-based platform developed by MUSC's CTSA (SCTR) and MUSC's Phase III COBREs; and (5) use of a multi-rater feedback approach to enhance evaluation of the Center.