Administrative Core

SUMMARY – ADMINISTRATIVE CORE The Administrative Core (AdminC) advances the mission of the Center for Environmental Health and Justice in Northern Manhattan (CEHJNM) by providing leadership and support to promote the Center’s strategy. Specifically, the AdminC coordinates and integrates CEHJNM components and activities, provides financial oversight, facilitates interactions with other environmental health sciences Core Centers and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and evaluates the productivity and effectiveness of the Center’s activities. The AdminC also houses the Center’s Career Development Program (CDP). Within Columbia University, the CDP supports early-career investigators with development awards, mentoring, and training; it also supports early-career, mid-level, and senior investigators with services and enrichment activities to facilitate the pursuit of new paths in environmental health sciences. Nationally, the CDP will support and partner with Agents of Change in Environmental Justice. This nationwide program supports the careers of early-career scientists from historically excluded backgrounds through leadership development and science communication training. CEHJNM currently boasts 62 members (44 full and 18 associate) from 15 units across the Mailman School of Public Health, the Climate School, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. The CEHJNM added 29 new members over the past five years, including 21 newly recruited to Columbia University’s faculty. In parallel, the Center’s high-impact research has vaulted Columbia University to the #1 position in NIEHS extramural funding—in fiscal year 2021, CEHJNM’s members administered 42 projects and $20.1M in total NIEHS funding, up from 24 projects and $11.5M in 2017. The AdminC will supervise the utilization of resources, manage the budget, coordinate Center activities, support the Pilot Project Program by operating the application process and award workflow, and coordinate the Center’s media strategy. The AdminC will also partner with the Internal and External Advisory Committees, the Community Engagement Core Advisory Board, and CEHJNM’s scientific evaluator to assess the Center’s organization and activities, identify challenges, and develop new directions. The AdminC will facilitate CEHJNM’s activities and operations within the vibrant Columbia University environmental health community as we tackle the most pressing challenges of our time. Through these activities, the AdminC plays a crucial role in helping the CEHJNM promote science and translation to understand environmental challenges, address environmental inequities, and prevent disease caused by environmental exposures.