Administrative and Research Support Core (Core A)

The Center for SUNSHINE (Seniors Uniting Nationwide to Support Health, INtegrated Care, and Economics) is dedicated to enhancing resilience, the integrated capacity of individuals, families, healthcare systems, and communities to adapt to and support aging populations with complex health needs. SUNSHINE’s mission is to advance aging resilience by integrating healthcare systems, public health organizations, social service agencies, and community-based resources to enhance the well-being of older adults and their care partners, and maximize societal value. SUNSHINE pursues three transformative aims: facilitating interdisciplinary research to advance resilient aging, training the next generation of resilience-focused researchers, and translating research findings into real-world impact. The Administrative and Research (AD) Core serves as the foundation of SUNSHINE, managing and coordinating the team’s efforts.

It ensures scientific rigor, societal impact, and the development of multidisciplinary investigators committed to advancing aging resilience. Leveraging the University of Maryland’s 50-year legacy in aging research and the advanced computational resources of the Institute for Health Computing, SUNSHINE integrates expertise from ten units at the University of Maryland College Park and six units at the University of Maryland Baltimore, including the newly established Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute. The AD Core also supports partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), building on the team’s proven success in empowering emerging scholars. The AD Core coordinates SUNSHINE’s three components: the Program Development (Pilot) Core, the Communication and Dissemination Core, and the Methods and Data Sub-Core within the AD Core.

The Methods and Data Sub-Core facilitates data sharing, provides training in advanced analytics, and ensures scientific rigor and reproducibility across all initiatives. This Sub-Core brings expertise in economics, demography, AI/ML, clinical informatics, medicine, healthcare systems, community resilience, individual and family care, and geospatial analyses. The AD Core has five aims: (1) establishing a robust organizational and governance structure with clear decision-making and conflict resolution processes, (2) developing a strategic vision to guide and manage SUNSHINE’s activities, (3) overseeing core functions and supporting scientific and administrative decisions, (4) collaborating with the NIA Coordination Center to coordinate pilot projects and mentoring programs while disseminating SUNSHINE’s findings and resources, and (5) collecting and reporting key metrics to the NIA. The AD Core is positioned to lead this initiative, coordinating a multidisciplinary research team while cultivating a skilled research workforce.

Grant Number: 1P30AG097158-01
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Jie Chen