PROJECT SUMMARY THIRD COAST CFAR CORE A : ADMINISTRATIVE CORE (AC) The Administrative Core (AC) of the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (TC CFAR) provides coordinating leadership, management, communication, and networking for all HIV research across Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, as well as collaborating effectively with Howard Brown Health (HBH), AllianceChicago, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the Chicago and Illinois Departments of Public Health and other community partners. The AC is responsible for all strategic planning, assessment of progress of all Cores and the Scientific Working Group (SWG), and input/feedback from internal and external stakeholders. Strategic planning led to prioritization of the current Overall aims on improving care-prevention continuums, non-AIDS comorbidities, and scientific innovation to improve HIV prevention and treatment of all conditions impacting persons living with HIV (PLWH). The AC ensures that TC CFAR scientific Cores (Clinical Sciences Core, CSC; Behavioral, Social and Implementation Sciences Core, BSISC; and Viral Pathogenesis Core, VPC) support Overall aims with complementarity and synergy, avoiding overlap. The AC ensures they, and the Developmental Core (DC), are well-resourced. The AC also works closely with the DC on mentoring and review processes that enabled robust return on DC investment and competitive national funding of 16 administrative supplements (AS) in the first term. The AC successfully built ongoing trans-disciplinary and cross-institutional research synergies. Fiscal and administrative management responsibilities ensure that each Core meets its own specific aims and strategic plans. The AC also stewards the generous institutional support, dedicating strongly to DC awards from it. In the first 5 years, the AC led major growth. The OAR-determined allowable funded research base (FRB) grew by almost 50%, with 33% of the PIs appearing on the allowable FRB for the first time in FY2018 having previously received DC Awards. The allowable FRB grew by a similar percentage at NU and UC, an indicator that the AC contributes fairly to HIV research growth across the multi-institution TC CFAR. The number of faculty and their transdisciplinary interactions are increasing. The AC catalyzes collaborations that rapidly built strength across the TC CFAR, locally with HBH and the health departments, and nationally as an implementation science (IS) resource. This expertise, and AC vision, are contributing to DHHS’ Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative in Chicago (through both BSISC and the Innovation and Implementation for Impact on EHE SWG) and nationally (through 2 AS-funded projects: the Implementation Sciences Consultation, Collaboration, and Coordination Initiative and the Inter-CFAR IS Working Group). A continuing focus for the AC is to strengthen and leverage links already accelerating research productivity on comorbidities in HIV and scientific innovations. In the first t...