Administrative Core

Project Summary: Administrative Core The Administrative Core is the overarching organizational unit and serves as the main communication arm of the Mount Sinai Targeted HHEAR Lab Hub, working directly with the HHEAR Coordinating Center (CC), Data Center (DC) and NIH program staff. We collaborate and communicate with the other Lab Hubs on QA/QC programs including proficiency testing, common QC pools, technical replicates, blinded duplicates, and methods to minimize batch effects and inter-lab variability, issues for which our team played key roles in the first grant cycle of CHEAR. We coordinate internally to maximize efficiency and can nimbly alter our priorities as directed by the CC (i.e. if specific biomarkers are needed based on demand). We organize weekly Steering Committee (SC) meetings of the Hub to coordinate intra-Hub work flow including receipt of sample shipments, re-labeling, tracking, and entry in to our laboratory information management system (LIMS). We organize PI/Client consultation meetings in which we review the parent study for design, sample specimen availability/quality, study subject exposure scenarios, health phenotypes, and requested types of chemicals exposures to be measured. We then make recommendations that best fit the PI/Client's goals, while addressing any scientific or technical issues that may limit feasibility prior to conducting assay analysis. We also track the progress of on-going jobs and generate regular reports to the Coordinating Center, Data Center and NIH program. We coordinate data reporting with the HHEAR Data Center (DC), ensuring that our databases are properly formatted and contain the appropriate metadata. We also collaborate with the DC and Client/PI in the interpretation of results, (i.e. how hemolysis may impact levels of metals in plasma, which chemicals measured in urine are candidate obesogens etc.) and the statistical analysis of exposure/phenotype relationships. We organize and implement an annual Lab Hub workshop that engages existing and potential clients in Exposure assay methodologies. We were the only Lab Hub to organize such a meeting under CHEAR which was themed on exposomics and drew 200 scientific participants. We use a web based LIMS interface for tracking job progress through the Lab Hub system and to assess QA/QC in real time during analysis. In sum, we 1) coordinate communication internally within the Lab Hub and externally with the Coordinating Center, Data Center, PI/Clients and NIH program; 2) develop the procedures, protocols and system checks to ensure samples flow to the correct Resource/Core and that QA/QC protocols are followed rigorously; 3) maintain a LIMS that is user friendly, facilitates sample tracking, prevents mismatches between samples and results, and integrates with the needs of the Data Center; 4) provide scientific consultation services to PI/Clients that maximizes the information and quality of their study results; 5) ensure that feedback communication occurs between Clients and Resources/Cores and that this information is relayed transparently to the CC and NIH and 6) ensure transparent fiscal management of the Tageted Lab Hub program.