Project Summary The Administrative Core (AC) is central to the leadership and administration of the Louisiana Biomedical Research network (LBRN). It communicates directly with NIH program staff and is responsible for the overall organization, management, and assessment of the Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) and Undergraduate Research Opportunities. It will oversee the cores and their interactions. The AC is led by the Principal Investigator PI in close association with the Program Coordinator (PC) and supported by the Directors of the two Cores Molecular and Cellular Biology Research Core (MCBRC) and the Bioinformatics Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Core (BBCC) and Steering Committee (SC) members from the primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). Three other eminent scientists will assist the PI and PC with the tasks and decisions necessary to maintain and grow the LBRN. The External Advisory Committee (EAC) will evaluate all of the component parts of the LBRN and provide a detailed critique, to the AS. Additional assessment of the LBRN will be provided annually by the internal evaluation team and in year 2 and 4 by an external evaluations team. The goals of the AC will be accomplished by the following Specific Aims: Specific Aim I. The Administrative Core will provide overall leadership for the network, manage all financial aspects of the program, and serve as the connection between the PUIs, Steering Committee (SC), External Advisory Committee (EAC), External Evaluators, and NIH IDeA staff. Specific Aim II. The Administrative Core will facilitate the interactions of all three cores and the Developmental Research Project Program. Specific Aim III. The Administrative Core will recruit, select, oversee mentorship, and evaluate faculty and students for all research projects and the summer research program. Specific Aim IV. The Administrative Core will facilitate the summer research program for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. Specific Aim V. The Administrative Core will facilitate the electronic communication between PUIs and research-intensive units as well as public relations with the biomedical research community of the state. Specific Aim VI. The Administrative Core will implement and act on the evaluation of the entire program employing intensive internal and external evaluation methodologies.