Early in vivo expressed antigens and their role in virulence, immune response, and vaccines for coccidioidomycosis

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Administrative Core Section SUMMARY The Virulence, Immune Response, and Vaccine (VIRV) Cocci Cooperative Research Center (CCRC) will be directed by the administrative core (AdC) and a senior management team (SMT). The SMT is composed of Drs. Paul Keim (overall PI/PD), Bridget Barker, Deborah Fuller, and Erik Settles – all experienced scientific project managers. This is an aggregate effort by Northern Arizona University, University of Washington, the University of Arizona, the Kern Medical Center, the Tulane National Primate Research Center, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute that will capitalize upon the strengths of each institution and will synergistically foster a collaborative and productive scientific culture. Because it is a multi-Institutional program, coordination and communication are essential and will be an emphasis in the AdC. All of the individual Cores and Research Projects (RPs) will be represented on the SMT, which will provide effective vertical and horizontal communication, and management. Weekly meetings will be held within each of the CCRC components in addition to regular monthly cross-CCRC sessions to foster engagement and collaboration across the projects. All meetings will be supported by video conferencing and recorded, to lower participation barriers across the physical research locations. Slack accounts and channels will be an important part of the management communication scheme. Financial and compliance monitoring, along with reporting activities of the Cores and RPs, will be managed by the AdC, which includes a project manager with business accounting support. Major services, such as publication, animal models, and travel will be funded through the Cores to support the three individual RPs. Milestones and Timelines will be generated for each component and reviewed monthly during the SMT meetings. Outreach activities will be assessed and are part of the success metrics. Integral to these CCRC coordination efforts will be our program in Development Research Projects (DRPs) that will foster early career faculty, cross CCRC participation, and innovative ideas. The AdC will solicit, evaluate, award, and monitor the DRPs throughout the life of the VIRV-CCRC. Outreach will include our virtual seminar program and online forums to support the Valley Fever clinical and research communities, particular to other NIAID CCRC’s. Professional development, training, and mentoring of students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty will be encouraged and supported by the AdC. Scientific working groups within and across the NIAID Cocci Centers will be fostered with the seminar series, travel funds, and joint pilot projects. The VIRV-CCRC team members will be expected to collaborate extensively and to produce relevant and impactful scientific products, including potentially a novel vaccine ready for clinical trials.