Training, Evaluation, Engagement, Administration, and Mentoring (TEEAM) Core

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Abstract/Summary: Administrative (TEEAM) Core The Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CONDA) Center will be a NIGMS-supported COBRE located in Omaha, NE, with a focus on human neuroscience and neuroimaging research across the lifespan. The Administrative Core will be essential to the development, support, and evaluation of all major components of this Center. Given these responsibilities, the Administrative Core will be known as the Training, Evaluation, Engagement, Administration, and Mentoring (TEEAM) Core. The Core will be directed by Dr. Tony Wilson of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, with the assistance of a Master’s-level Scientific Administrator. Upon establishment of the CONDA Center, the TEEAM Core will launch a series of new and integrated programs, each aimed at supporting one or more of its requisite areas. Specifically, the Training area will be served by a series of annual neuroimaging and neuromodulation workshops, as well as a postdoctoral fellow- ship program. The Evaluation area will be served by research development forums and will use other tools for assessing progress and milestone achievement in the junior COBRE PIs. The community Engagement area will support two outreach programs, NeuroWow and BrainFit, to engage youth and senior citizens, respectively, through organized events that help educate the public, promote STEM interest and careers in the Omaha area, and increase the public’s pride in regional science. The youth-oriented NeuroWow program has already been active for several years and will be expanded through additional support from the Center, while the BrainFit program will be the first of its kind in the region. The Administration area will oversee a Summer Scholars program that offers 10-week research internships in the Center to promising undergraduates, administrate a Pilot Projects program for faculty and a Mini-Grants program for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students that together will award about $180,000 annually, and invest financial and material resources into building a participant registry. The Administration area will also host the monthly CONDA Seminar Series, which will bring internationally-known cognitive neuroscientists to Omaha to present their latest findings and network with local scientists, potentially fostering new collaborations with Center members. Finally, the Mentoring area will use a network approach comprised of both academic and technical mentors to help ensure a successful transition of the junior COBRE PIs to independent investigators, guide postdoctoral fellows toward faculty positions, and assist junior and senior PIs who wish to enter new research areas relevant to the Center. Through these targeted programs and a strong network of established mentors and advisors, the TEAAM Core will support four junior COBRE research projects led by NIH-defined early-stage investigators (ESI), a state-of-the-art Neuroimaging Acquisition and Analysis Core Facility, and a collection of existing extramurally-funded research projects led by a team of senior investigators interested in human developmental and aging neuroscience.