Administrative Core

Project Summary The Minnesota Tissue Mapping Center (MN TMC) for Senescent Cells (SnC) Administrative Core (AC) will be led by two PIs with synergistic expertise: Dr. Laura Niedernhofer, an expert in cellular senescence who participated in the numerous NIH Think Tanks that led to this Common Fund U54 RFA, and Dr. Constantin Aliferis, Director of the UMN Institute for Health Informatics (IHI) and Chief Research Informatics Officer. The main goals of the AC are to facilitate the interaction of all of the MN TMC cores to maximize the TMCs productivity and to create a seamless interface between the MN TMC and other TMCs, the Consortium Organization and Data Coordinating Center (CODCC), and the technology grant (UG3/UH3) awardees to maximize the synergy and productivity of the SenNet Consortium. The specific responsibilities of the AC are to: i) coordinate and provide oversight for the activities of the MN TMC Cores to facilitate access to human tissues, subject clinical data, tissue analysis, data analysis, and data integration; ii) administer a pilot project program focused on developing innovative approaches to identify and characterize SnCs; iii) coordinate MN TMC activities with those of the other TMCs, including working with our Data Analysis Core (DAC) and the CODCC to create standard operating procedures (SOPs) for data management and dissemination; and iv) work with the DAC to ensure delivery of the data generated by our TMC to the CODCC in a timely fashion and in compliance with the SenNet standard operating procedures and Common Data Elements set by the SenNet Steering Committee. The goals of the AC will be achieved through the following aims: 1) Oversee and coordinate efforts of the MN TMC to ensure that research goals and milestones are met with highest quality standards; 2) Integrate input from the MN TMC DAC and the SenNet CODCC to develop and ensure compliance with SOPs for generating data sets that enable the development of a multi-dimensional atlas of SnCs with healthy human aging. 3) Oversee and coordinate the exploration and evaluation of novel approaches for detecting, deeply phenotyping, tracing, and selectively eliminating senescent cells as technologies emerge from pilot projects, Technology Development Projects (UG3/UH3), other TMCs, and other relevant groups studying senescence or building cell atlases; and 4 ) Coordinate the activities of MN TMC with other TMCs to optimize research efficiency and economies of scale and scope, including contributing to the adoption and/or further development of data standards, analytic tools, data sharing/visualization/discovery tools, and multi-site studies and training activities. Successful execution of these aims will optimize the operations of MN TMC, maximize our contribution to SenNet, ensure SOPs that enhance the rigor and reproducibility of the data collected on SnCs, and ensure compliance of our TMC with the Standard Practices established by SenNet.