Research Project
10232179
The central theme of this renewal P01 is to learn how the gut microbiota of newborn children could be altered to reduce the risk of allergic asthma in later childhood. This will require extensive interactions among epidemiological, environmental, immunologic and physiologic investigations of many potential influential variables on the microbiota of mother and child and the interactions of these microbiota to influence the developing immune system. These influences on early-life immune development likely contribute to the subsequent risk of allergic asthma during childhood. This renewal P01's Administrative Core (Core A) will again have the ultimate responsibility for assuring productivity and synergy among the four Projects and the four other Cores. Core A, under the direction of the P01 Co-Program Directors Drs. Johnson and Ownby, is the administrative umbrella responsible for optimizing scientific and operational output across this Program Project. As in the initial P01, the continuing focus of Core A will be to provide for P01 oversight and integration. Core A will oversee 1) communication and collaboration among Projects, Cores, investigators, consultants, research and administrative staff, the External Advisory Committee, and NIH; 2) the quality of methodology, data and analyses; 3) research output, primarily through presentation and publication, to promote effective and timely dissemination of findings; and 4) the optimization of scientific and operational synergy. The Core A staff will organize routine and special meetings to present and discuss results and ideas emanating from Projects and Cores, set scientific agendas for these meetings, and appoint and support a Publications Committee and External Advisory Committee. This Core will be responsible for promoting operational synergism and effectiveness through monitoring progress and coordination of operational and administrative facets of the P01. The Core A Directors will regularly review research activities, monitor the productivity and efficiency of all Projects and Cores, maintain documents, and coordinate IRB, CEAC and progress report submissions among the participating institutions. Core A will oversee matters of personnel, purchasing and fiscal management including working with NIH and grants personnel at the subcontracting institutions. This P01 is innovative in that it brings to bear expertise across multiple disciplines and institutions to address a major childhood health problem, but it requires careful and attentive administrative approaches to capitalize on this advantage while minimizing the attendant disadvantages of communication barriers introduced by disciplinary jargon, specialized expertise, different scientific perspectives, and geographic distance. While not without challenges, the Core A leaders and staff have benefited from the initial P01 experience and will assure processes are in place to once again optimize this P01 team's synergy and productivity.
