San Antonio OAIC - Leadership and Administrative Core (LAC)

University Of Texas Hlth Science Center, San Antonio TX

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATIVE CORE (LAC) The SA OAIC LAC provides scientific leadership, administrative infrastructure, financial, and regulatory oversight in support of the activities and growth of our center, employing an established shared leadership model that optimizes efficiency, productivity, team science, multidisciplinarity, and coherence with the theme: “Translational geroscience to improve the health and functional independence of all older adults.” The LAC’s Specific Aims are to: 1. Provide scientific leadership and direction, stimulating and sustaining new research and collaborations, and attracting new, multitalented investigators to stimulate progress toward the OAIC overall goals. 2. Coordinate, integrate, and monitor core functions, leveraging resources, promoting access, scientific coherence, operational cohesiveness, and new utilization of core resources. 3. Manage and evaluate the SA OAIC program in compliance with applicable regulations and policies. 4. Increase the SA OAIC’s impact locally and nationally, disseminate advancements in translational geroscience to the scientific and lay community, and to policymakers to improve the health and functional independence of all older Americans. Since 2015, the LAC has been the fulcrum of the SA OAIC, ensuring the seamless integration of all activities, leading to publication of over 480 papers, training 20 early-career Scholars, supporting 37 pilot/developmental projects. 90% of past Scholars achieved external funding, 74% of pilot projects led to external funding. In the current cycle, the SA OAIC has supported 41 external projects bringing a high external funding level ($85M). LAC networking activities have led to many collaborations with other OAICs, NIA/NIH centers and institutions, and increased participation in large OAIC network clinical trials, Research Centers Collaborative Network (RCCN) and ClinSTAR activities. In the next cycle, LAC will continue to catalyze new local and national research collaborations, with input from the Internal Advisory Committee, the External Advisory Board, and the REC Advisory Committee. It will: attract new investigators; strategically collaborate with other institutional programs and local partners to support the enhanced theme; coordinate and integrate core functions, promoting scientific coherence, access, and new utilization of core resources; coordinate and leverage OAIC cores with other institutional programs, OAIC network, and RCCN network resources; track and evaluate core utilization, productivity, quality and efficiency with reallocation of resources as appropriate; assure compliance with research policies; monitor human subject safety; support active participation of OAIC investigators at the annual national meeting; communicate with the NIA and the OAIC coordinating center; support community outreach through multipronged means; and broadly disseminate the discoveries in translational geroscience for all older adults.