CALIBER Admin Core

University Of California, San Francisco, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

The mission of the Center for Alcohol/HIV Innovation and Biomarker Research (CALIBER) is to leverage advances in alcohol measurement technology to address the complex relations between alcohol use and HIV, especially among highly impacted populations of men and women. We will translate evidence into sustainable solutions through dissemination and engagement with clinicians, researchers, and community members to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol use and, in turn, their effects on HIV prevention and HIV-related comorbidities (especially traumatic stress and liver disease) and train the next generation of alcohol and HIV researchers. CALIBER has three cores (Administrative [Admin], Dissemination, and Pilot Cores) and three scientific projects that span a range of behavioral and translational sciences, increasing opportunities for innovative multidisciplinary collaborations. The Admin Core will provide the organizational framework to manage, direct, and coordinate all CALIBER activities to ensure optimal and synergistic function. We propose four specific aims: (1) to provide scientific, programmatic, and administrative leadership; (2) to foster scientific innovation and enhance productivity; (3) to coordinate access to services and resources to maximize productivity, and (4) to ensure the CALIBER functions optimally through responsive administrative and fiscal operations. The Admin Core will provide the structure for key decision-making functions. All decisions will be made by consensus among members of the Steering Committee (the core and project leaders) and with advice from an external Program Advisory Committee (senior experts with complementary experience) and the Community Advisory Board. As the hub of the system, the Admin Core will oversee and coordinate activities that foster scientific innovation by leveraging the infrastructure of partnering institutions and the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study/Women’s Interagency HIV Study Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS), the largest, longest- running NIH-funded US cohort of adult men and women with and without HIV. To maximize productivity, the Admin Core will efficiently manage day-to-day operations involving finances, planning, and coordination of scientific enrichment activities and resources (e.g., Biorepository Unit and Data Analytic Unit) to facilitate data sharing and harmonization. A critical function of the Core will be to monitor and evaluate core services and project progress to promote quality assurance and foster cost-effectiveness and timesaving through shared resources. To achieve the goals of CALIBER––to conduct and disseminate the findings of transdisciplinary HIV/alcohol research to reduce the adverse effects of alcohol on HIV risk and alcohol/HIV comorbidities––the Admin Core will provide the scientific and administrative leadership needed to ensure CALIBER’s success and sustainability through responsive, efficient, and collaborative management that will create synergy between its components.