Administrative Core

• Administrative and Financial Management
• Provision of Research Support Services
• Administration of the Pilot and Feasibility Project Program
• Provision of a Scientific Enrichment Program

The DRC Administrator is directly responsible for maintaining fiscal records and coordinating the personnel involved in its Scientific Cores. The Administrative Core supervises all purchases related to the Center budget and maintains accurate monthly statements of these budgets for distribution to the Core Directors/Co-Directors and to the University's Grant and Contract Administration. Budgets are monitored to assure that there is no budgetary overlap between the DRC and the grants of individual users of Core resources. In addition, it monitors all fees for DRC Cores. The staff is responsible for the preparation of all required reports concerning the activities of the DRC, including competing and non-competing renewal applications.

A key function of the Core is to facilitate the Director's activities as overseer of the Scientific Cores, the Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) Program, and the overall progress of the Center. Data on the use and services of the Cores are evaluated regularly. The administrative core plans and coordinates regular administrative meetings of the Executive Committee, the P&F Oversight Committee, and prepares reports on the discussions and decisions of the Committee. The staff also is responsible for planning and organizing visits by members of the DRC's external Advisory Board.

The Core is responsible for organizing the review of Pilot/Feasibility Project applications and for budgetary oversight of the funded applications. They provide support to the grantees and collect data on the outcomes of the Pilot/Feasibility projects.

The Core is responsible for planning and organizing the various DRC Seminar Programs. The staff also prepares a calendar of conferences/lectures in diabetes-related areas that are conducted within the basic and clinical departments of the School of Medicine, including Endocrine “Grand Rounds”, Diabetes Journal Club, Immunobiology Seminar Series, the Cell Biology Conference, among others.There is close interaction with the Division of Endocrinology and other departments at the medical school when there are visitors with shared interests. The Core distributes notification of meetings to all Center members as well as appropriate pre- and postdoctoral trainees.

The Administrative staff is responsible for compiling and updating DRC technical resources, functions and cores activities for distribution to members on its website, including administrative services and services provided by the scientific cores. This allows for efficient access to the DRC and to avoid duplication of resources.

Many of the DRC investigators conduct human research studies that utilizes facilities and resources that are designated for clinical research. The DRC Administrative Core provides support for the operations of these sites collaboratively with the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI). The tasks involved are broad and are used for patient recruitment, administrative and regulatory tasks, specialized research services (e.g. imaging), procurement and storage of research samples, and data acquisition from the electronic health record (Epic). The administrative task can also assist DRC investigators in recruitment of underrepresented minorities and women for research studies. This helps to ensure that subjects participating in diabetes-related research projects supported by the DRC are representative of Connecticut's population of non-diabetics, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients and patients with obesity. Our access to and recruitment of minorities is facilitated by the presence of the Yale Primary Care Center, which provides health care to a large segment of the minority community (both African-Americans and Hispanics) in the New Haven area as well as through outreach programs sponsored by the YCCI.

The Administrative Core provides statistical support to DRC investigations. James Dziura, PhD, offers consultative services to DRC members in study design and statistical analysis at no or at reduced cost (depending on requirements). Dr. Dziura is a Professor of Emergency Medicine. Deputy Director, Yale Center for Analytical Sciences and Deputy Director, Yale Data Coordinating Center.

The Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Nancy Brown, is the institutional official ultimately responsible for the conduct of the DRC. As such, she approves appointments to the External Advisory Committee, and receives reports of Center progress. The Directors of the DRC are responsible for facilitating communications between the Dean, the Executive Committee, the Grant and Contract Administration, the External Advisory Committee and NIDDK.

The Administrative Core carries out financial monitoring of the DRC, on a day-to-day, basis. Although the University has a centralized Grants and Contract Administration Office, the scope of the DRC grant requires continual monitoring of purchases and salary commitments on an ongoing basis within the Center administration for effective utilization of Center funds. The Directors and appropriate personnel receive accurate accounting of expenditures on a monthly basis. The DRC Administrative Core maintains a working relationship with the Grants and Contract Office of the School of Medicine to facilitate fiscal management.

The Administrative Core will monitors the budgets of the Cores and Pilot and Feasibility Projects. The funds for the latter are sent to the applicants primary department and managed there. Budget recommendations will be given to individual PIs concerning provisions for supplies and animals, not available from the Core budget, and where the Core provides personnel and supplies, guidance is given to assure that there is no duplication in individual extramural or intramural grants.