Core Administrators Network

The Core Administrators Network (CAN) was established in 2010, with the goal of facilitating interactions between core scientists and administrators and to facilitate networking among core administrators. The committee’s mission is based on the understanding that research core facilities exist at the interface of the administrative, financial and scientific sectors of a research organization. Many institutions have established administrative positions designed to assist core facilities with management of economic, regulatory and performance issues. The CAN focuses on facilitating discussion of issues faced by core administrators. A major goal of the CAN is to create a community for core administrators within the framework of the ABRF. 

Questions or interest in joining an ABRF committee? Contact us! 

Check out the CAN online community  - a forum dedicated to CAN-CC activities, that is publicly viewable and archived.  You can post a comment or respond to an ongoing discussion by clicking here:  CAN Online Community.  Once you join, you can choose to receive messages daily or in real-time.

Current Membership:

Nicole White (Chair) - Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Roxann Ashworth (Executive Board liaison) - Johns Hopkins University 
Andy Chitty - Oregon Health and Science University  
Karolien Denef – Colorado State University
Katherine Hale - MD Anderson Cancer Center
Justine Kigenyi  - University of Kansas Medical Center  
Michael Lee - University of California at San Francisco
Natasha Nikolaidis – Purdue University
Gordon Robles - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Vincent Smeraglia - Rutgers University
Jeffrey Smith - Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Rajesh Uthamanthil - Seattle Childrens Research Institute
Andrew Vinard  – University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Ben Wright - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Recent Events: 

 

Resources for Core Administrators:

ABRF Career Development Committee - Many U.S. Institutions have created job families specifically for directors, managers and staff working in core facilities. The ABRF Career Development Committee has compiled links to information from several institutions. Please visit the Career Development Committee page for more information. 

Recharge Rate Setting: Considerations, Compliance, Process. By Annabelle Stein, available as an ebook here. 

Northwestern University Core Facilities Administration website has multiple resources on all aspects of core management.

News:

ABRF responds to NIGMS Request for Information Notice Number: NOT-GM-16-103

On April 4, 2016 the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) issued a request for information (RFI) on the “Need for and Support of Research Resources for the Biomedical Research Community.” Resources are defined broadly, including reagents, instrumentation, software, and even the manipulation of biological systems to produce tools. Respondents were asked to describe needs and opportunities at the investigator, institutional, regional and/or national level. Feedback will be used to inform NIGMS’s investment in resources and may lead to new programs or activities. Comments were due by June 3, 2016 and submitted to [email protected]. Additional information can be found in the RFI notice (NOT-GM-16-103).

Special NIH Workshop - Enhancing Efficiency of Research Core Facilities

The NIH partnered with the ABRF to host a one day workshop the day before ABRF2015 in St. Louis. The goal of the workshop was to identify lessons learned and best practices for enhancing the efficiency of research core facilities. NIH characterized its support and policies affecting cores. Institutional leaders presented their experience and perspective on obstacles and solutions to enhancing efficiency including centralizing management, sharing, and co-locating cores. Videos and associated slides of the meeting can be found online (part 1, part 2, part 3).
The full workshop report can be viewed here. 

Core Facility Acknowledgement: BioTechniques New Policy

BioTechniques: the International Journal of Life Science Methods has just announced a new policy regarding attribution of core facilities in publications. Their new policy is that submitted manuscripts should include acknowledgement of any use of core facilities. The journal will now ask authors during final acceptance if they worked with a core laboratory. 
The ABRF will continue to champion the adoption of similar policies by other scientific journals. Please note that the ABRF Website provides Recommended Guidelines for Authorship on Manuscripts (please click here [link to authorship guidelines] for more information). 

August ABRF Response to the NIH Request for Information on the SIG Program (S10)

Response to NOT-OD-14-104. 
This letter pulls together input from both the ABRF Executive Board (EB) and the Core Administrators Network – Coordinating Committee (CAN-CC). EB & CAN-CC Response 

 

Membership History

Michelle Detwiler Roswell Park Cancer Institute  past EB liaison: 10/10 - 02/11
Nancy Fisher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  past EB liaison: through 03/18
George S. Grills Cornell University  past EB liaison: 02/11 - 03/13
Phil Hockberger Northwestern University  Member, Co-Chair: 10/10 - 04/15
Karen Jonscher University of Colorado Denver  past EB liaison: 02/11 - 03/12
Connie Nicklin University of Florida ICBR  Member: 10/10 - 06/15
Diane Tabarini Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center  Past member: 10/10 - 03/14
Anthony Yeung Fox Chase Cancer Ctr  past EB liaison: 10/10 - 02/11
Paula Turpen University of Nebraska Medical Center past EB liaison: 03/14 - 02/16
Andrew Vinard University of Miami Member: 4/13 - 10/15

Publications

  1. 2012 CANCC Report to the EB
  2. 2012 CANCC Report to the EB
  3. ABRF Executive Board and the Core Administrators Network – Coordinating Committee response to NIH Request for Information: Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (S10), notice number NOT-OD-14-104.
  4. Best Practices for Core Facilities: Handling External Customers
    Philip Hockberger, Susan Meyn, Connie Nicklin, Diane Tabarini, Paula Turpen, Julie Auger
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3605920/pdf/jbt.13-2402-001.pdf
  5. CAN-CC ABRF2012 Poster
  6. CAN-CC at ABRF2011
  7. Compiled notes from the Midwestern Association of Core Directors (MWACD) Administrative Meeting held October 17, 2013
  8. Core Models Roundtable - ABRF2012
  9. FAQs for Costing of NIH-Funded Core Facilities
    The purpose of these FAQs is to provide answers to common questions raised regarding NIH-funded core facilities and other applicable research related facilities that support NIH grants.
    FAQs for Costing of NIH-Funded Core Facilities
  10. FAQs for March 2014 NIH Shared Instrumentation Grants (PAR14-073): The purpose of these FAQs is to provide answers to questions regarding new instructions for the Institutional Letter of Support and other issues related to this grant mechanism.
    FAQs for March 2014 NIH Shared Instrumentation Grants (PAR14-073): The purpose of these FAQs is to provide answers to questions
  11. Managing NIH Resources - Sally Rocky (2011)
  12. Organization, management and operation of contemporary academic mass spectrometry service facilities.
    Karl V. Wood (Purdue University) and David L. Hachy (Vanderbilt University) JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY J. Mass Spectrom. 35, 1157–1164 (2000)
  13. The future of the NIH - Lawrence Tabak (2011)