ADMINISTRATIVE AND MENTORING CORE ABSTRACT The Administrative and Mentoring Core will provide administrative leadership and direction for COBRE activities across the two partner biomedical research institutions: the University of Maine (UMaine) and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL). Dr. Clarissa Henry, COBRE PI and UMaine Professor of Biological Sciences, will serve as the Core Director. She will be supported by two Associate Directors, senior personnel with extensive NIH funding and leadership: Dr. David Harder, University Research Professor of Medicine (UMaine) and Dr. Iain Drummond, Professor and Director, Davis Center for Aging and Regenerative Medicine (MDIBL). Administrative and Mentoring Core activities will include oversight of the mentoring and pilot project programs, oversight of the Steering, External Advisory, and Mentoring Committees, preparation of progress reports, and overall program evaluation. The committee structure of this core intentionally engages leading scientists from other biomedical research institutions in Maine, including Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI) and The Jackson Laboratories (Jax). The Administrative and Mentoring Core will also be supported by staff from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. This core has four aims: (1) Provide administrative, scientific, and fiscal leadership, (2) Implement an effective career development (mentoring) plan to facilitate the transition of junior faculty to independent RO1-funded investigators, (3) Contribute to Maine’s interactive research network with regional research Institutions allowing Center investigators to engage in collaborative research and enhance their COBRE experience, and (4) Evaluate the proposed COBRE and establish a sustainable model. Taken together, these aims will ensure that the research project leaders achieve independent RO1-level funding as well as transform the overall biomedical research environment at the University of Maine.