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Leadership/Administrative Core (LAC)

The Leadership/Administrative Core of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) provides the administration infrastructure for the operation and support of all activities of the Center.


Specific aims:

  1. Provide overall leadership and direction for all the activities of the OAIC cores, including coordinating and integrating their functions, promoting scientific coherence, ensuring access to Core resources

  2. Monitor all fiscal matters of Cores and assure compliance with university and governmental policies regarding human subjects, animal care, and the responsible conduct of research

  3. Promote quality, productivity and efficiency (timeliness) in all OAIC activities

  4. Track and evaluate all Cores, re-allocating resources among cores as appropriate

  5. Foster collaboration between UTMB OAIC investigators and Cores with investigators and Cores from OAICs at other institutions

  6. Organize activities of the following review panels:

    • External Advisory Committee
    • Selection Committee for RCDC trainees and Pilot Projects

  7. Organize regular research and administrative meetings of OAIC investigators

  8. Routinely assess scientific opportunities for new utilization of Core resources, and to stimulate translation of basic research findings on muscle aging in geriatric populations

  9. Coordinate OAIC Core resources with other UTMB resources, such as training grants, faculty development grants, research centers, and center grants
  10. Maintain the UTMB OAIC web page as a source of information about OAIC activities for UTMB faculty and students, and for investigators studying aging muscle at other institutions

  11. Communicate with NIA (annual progress report, mid-cycle review, approval of panels and administrative changes)

The Leadership/Administrative Core is closely tied administratively to the Sealy Center on Aging, the General Clinical Research Center, the Office of Biostatistics, and other UTMB administrative entities. The Sealy Center on Aging provides administrative and secretarial resources as well as office supplies, telephone, etc. OAIC Governance and administrative issues are brought before the Executive Committee, which meets monthly and is comprised of Dr. Volpi as Chairperson, plus the Core Leaders and co-Leaders, and other senior investigators. An Internal Advisory Panel, comprised of chairpersons of relevant clinical and basic science departments and the deans of the Schools of Nursing, Allied Health Sciences, and Graduate Biomedical Sciences, meets twice yearly to review progress of the Center, particularly in faculty development.


Core Leader: Elena Volpi, MD, PhD

Co-leader: James Goodwin, MD

OAIC Tracking and Evaluation Leader: Jean Freeman, PhD

OAIC Administrator: Tony Dinuzzo