Administrative Core

PROJECT SUMMARY – Administrative Core
This Duke/UT Southwestern Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network (GTN) team will complete pre-clinical
development of a novel treatment for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) and investigate the biologic activity of
this agent in an early-phase clinical trial. In support of this goal, this Administrative Core is responsible for
overseeing, integrating, coordinating, and supporting Projects 1 and 2 and the shared Biomarker, Bioinformatics
and Biorepository Core. The Administrative Core will oversee the organizational infrastructure, integration of all
components, and carry out day-to-day administrative activities; serve as the liaison with all internal and external
constituencies; provide support for preparation of reports, manuscripts, and regulatory documents; and foster
team science by facilitating collaboration and smooth communication through regular meetings, seminars, and
other interactions. It will also provide fiscal management to ensure timely financial accounting and reporting
according to university and NIH policies; provide regulatory support to ensure compliance with institutional, state,
and federal research guidelines; oversee data operations to ensure use of best practices for data provenance
and integrity (e.g., monitoring standards such as SOPs, GCP); provide scientific management by monitoring
research progress/productivity and enable effective use of shared resource cores relative to scientific milestones
and budget milestones; conduct ongoing rigorous Program evaluations, with guidance and direction provided by
a Steering Committee and an Internal Advisory Board; resolve conflict; and delineate specific publication and
data distribution policies. Critically, this Core will also oversee interactions with other funded GTN U19 sites,
communication with Network Coordination Center, and the use of yearly trans-U19 Pilot Project Funds. This
Core is structured to reduce administrative burden, allowing investigators to focus on developing a novel
approach for treating adult GBM using an innovative telomerase-mediated telomere-targeting drug, 6-thio-2′-
deoxyguanosine (6-thio-dG), through high-quality, rigorous, and efficient research.

Grant Number: 5U19CA264385-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: David Ashley