Administrative Core (Core A) SUMMARY The Administrative Core, led by Dr. Jeffrey Myers and Dr. Vlad Sandulache, and supported by the Center Administrator Dr. Toyin Babarinde, is an indispensable component of the Houston Center for Acquired Resistance Research (H-CARR). The overall objective of the Administrative Core (Core A) is to provide critical centralized support to the H-CARR and ensure seamless interactions and integration between the three projects and cores within the center as well as the broader ARTNet community. Core A is designed to monitor research activity and provide stable and continuous leadership that guides future scientific directions for this Research Center. Core A will leverage the wide-ranging scientific, research related experience of the Center Advisory Group in critical decision-making steps. The Administrative Core will ensure an emphasis on basic mechanistic and translational research and facilitate interdisciplinary and inter-project integration, including assistance in the establishment of collaborations with other ARTNet centers as well as the U24 ARTNet Coordinating Data and Management Center (ARTNet CDMC U24) and NCI staff. Core A will also have overall responsibility for fiscal and budgetary management of the H-CARR, including the employment of key personnel to ensure a highly qualified, well trained, managed, and diverse work force that will enable cost-effective and efficient use of resources. This Core will also monitor scientific integrity and overall compliance with all institutional, state, federal, and NCI regulations and requirements, as well as quality assurance for data integrity. The strength of Core A rest in its well-developed structure of intra-programmatic, intra-institutional, and external advisors who are all dedicated to support Core A Leaders through ongoing review, advice, and periodic meetings and recommendations to ensure robust scientific performance and progress toward the agreed upon programmatic goals. Under the direction of the Core A Leaders, Core A will also provide support and infrastructure for research, facilitate clear and open communications among all H-CARR investigators, provide a centralized resource for regulatory monitoring and compliance activities, and perform scheduled reviews of project and core activities and progress towards their goals. Under the direction of the Core A Leaders, Core A will also provide support and infrastructure for research, facilitate clear and open communications among all H-CARR investigators, engage in regulatory monitoring to optimize the successful outcome of the basic mechanistic and preclinical/translational research in resistance to drug therapy in head and neck cancer.