The purpose ofthe MT INBRE 111 Administrative Core (AC) is to assure that all program components work together efficiently by continually and carefully monitoring their activities and facilitating communications among them. Specifically, the AC is responsible for allocating arid overseeing all MT INBRE III resources; establishing and maintaining partnerships as well as the center's External Advisory Committee (EAC), Council, Steering Committee (SC), research projects, and Cores; scheduling meetings and other activities essential to the success of the program; selecting key personnel and the research projects conducted within MT INBRE III; evaluating research progress and mentoring project leaders (PLs); and overseeing all other program activities. The paramount responsibility ofthe AC is to ensure that MT INBRE III keeps its efforts focused on the goals ofthe program, which are to 1) maintain and further develop the Montana network and student pipeline and utilize this network to address the unique problems Montana's rural and Native communities face in health disparities, and 2) utilize its network to strengthen collaborations among Montana's rural and Native communities, TCs and other academic institutions and to make TCs a conduit for tribal health research on the reservations and PUIs conduits for rural health research. The AC will contribute to accomplishing 3 of MT INBRE Ill's Specific Aims: 1) Strengthen Montana's biomedical and bioinformatics infrastructure through continued development of shared facilities, research collaborations, focused working groups, and training opportunities, 2) Develop a continuous pipeline for Montana Native and non-Native students to careers in health research and increase the scientific and technological knowledge of the state's workforce, and 3) Mentor and develop health disparities investigators in the social and behavioral sciences and partner them with infectious disease and environmental health investigators to sustain and grow an interdisciplinary biomedical research network.