Administrative Core

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Project Summary The overall aim of the Administrative Core (AC) of the Program Project, the Alcohol Research Center on HIV (ARCH), is to provide the scientific, administrative, and financial support needed to conduct the best science on the bio-behavioral interactions between alcohol and HIV and to evaluate interventions to reduce drinking among those with HIV and those at high risk for HIV transmission. The ARCH contains 6 integrated parts that make unique contributions to our interdisciplinary approach: 3 Research Components (RC), 2 Scientific Cores (SC), and this AC which oversees coordination of the projects, training of postdocs, and funding of promising pilot projects. Aims of the AC are (1)To provide organizational structure for effective scientific leadership; (2)To provide general administrative, fiscal and logistical management of daily operations, assure the smooth functioning of the scientific work, and maintain sound policies/ procedures; (3)To obtain external oversight from a Program Advisory Committee, seek Committee advice for major decisions/ strategic direction and evaluation of pilot projects, and arrange timely presentations to the Committee; (4)To ensure appropriate allocation to and tracking of use of core resources by RCs and Pilot Projects; (5)To provide and monitor a training/mentoring plan for all NIH-supported postdocs (6)To provide for and monitor a pilot project component that will fund 3 pilot projects, 2 of which are proposed herein; (7) To ensure collaboration and communication among ARCH and collaborating investigators, both within and outside of Brown; (8) To coordinate new extramural grant submissions consistent with the Project's mission; (9)To increase local, regional, national and international visibility of this ARCH, attract outside scientists to become active participants, and foster new collaborative and interdisciplinary relationships. The significance of the AC is that it will enhance the various RCs by allowing more comprehensive, ambitious, and innovative alcohol/HIV research projects to be conducted with high cost efficiency and greater integration of methods and measures across basic science, human laboratory, and clinical studies. Further, it will serve as the nexus for training and integration of alcohol/HIV science across RCs, pilot projects, and complementary studies, so as to yield new insights into the mechanisms and interactions of alcohol and HIV to inform treatment that will reduce drinking among those with HIV and others at high risk for transmission.