CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION: CORE CENTER FOR BALANCE AND HEARING RESEARCH

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Administration Administrative Structure The administrative activities of the Core Center for Balance and Hearing Research will be performed primarily by the Core Director, Dr. Furman. Dr. Furman, the Core Director has extensive administrative experience both as the Director of the Division of Balance Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Principal Investigator of our existing Core Center, and the Principal Investigator of a previously funded NIDCD Program Project Grant. Dr. Furman and all of the Core Investigators except Dr. Kandler have a history of collaboration and have established a strong working relationship. Dr. Furman and Dr. Kandler have known one another for more than five years as fellow faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh and have worked together recently in the development of this proposal. The Core investigators will meet as a group quarterly to discuss resource allocation and mutual computing technology concerns. In addition, Dr. Furman will meet with the scientific programmer, Christopher Bryant, weekly to discuss prioritization. This process has already been shown to be successful as Mr. Bryant has been supported by the existing Core Center and has provided computing services to the Core investigators on an as-needed basis. Dr. Furman, in discussion with the Core investigators and Mr. Bryant, has successfully allocated the scientific programmer's time. The addition of Dr. Kandler's laboratory to our group will increase the burden on Mr. Bryant's time. However, we do not expect this additional burden to be problematic. Each of the Core investigators recognizes that access to Mr. Bryant is a shared resource that is meant to enhance the research activities of the group overall. An obvious source of concern regarding the administration of the Core Center is that Dr. Furman is both the Core Director and one of the Core investigators. Thus, the Administrative Structure of the proposed Core Center includes an Oversight Committee that will consist of Dr. Jennifer Grandis, Vice-Chair, Research, Department of Otolaryngology, Dr. Margaretha Casselbrant, Chief, Divison of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and Dr. Robert Hendricks, PI of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Ophthalmology NEI-funded Core Center. The Oversight Committee will review the yearly progress reports of the Core Center and will be responsible for assisting Dr. Furman with issues concerning resource allocation. The activities of the Computing Core are likely to include the writing of software for data acquisition, the provision of advice and assistance regarding hardware interfacing, and software for data analysis. We expect that services provided to one investigator are very likely to be of interest to several other Core investigators. To facilitate the sharing of technological solutions to common problems and to foster collaborative research, the Core investigators will meet quarterly to discuss activities of the Computing Core. At these meetings, Mr. Bryant will report on his work for the preceding three months in an open forum with the Core investigators and their staff and trainees in attendance. Immediately following these meetings, the investigators will privately discuss issues of resource allocation for the prior and succeeding three months. These meetings will also be used to discuss possibilities for encouraging collaborative research among the Core investigators and among other scientists in Pittsburgh who have common research interests.