PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Leadership and Administrative Core (LAC) will implement the theme of the UCLA OAIC, Inflammation, Aging and Independence by providing an infrastructure, reaching out to the larger UCLA research community, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the UCLA Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI), and strategically providing support (advice, in-kind services, and direct financial support) to promote research and develop careers of junior faculty and postdoctoral scholars related to the OAIC's theme. Specifically, the LAC will provide support for planning, organizational, evaluation, and administrative activities related to the other Cores and to the OAIC as a whole. To do so, the LAC will provide 5 services for the OAIC: 1) Monitoring OAIC progress a. to provide administrative oversight for internal quality control of ongoing research and training 2) Stimulating OAIC progress a. to identify scientific opportunities for new utilization of core resources b. to promote collaboration between UCLA OAIC Cores/investigators and other UCLA and VA researchers whose work relates to the theme and mission of the Center 3) Sustaining the OAIC a. to provide day-to-day management of the UCLA OAIC b. to provide fiscal management for the UCLA OAIC c. to solicit applications for new Career Development Awards, Research Project Support, and pilots and coordinate the review process for these and Developmental Projects d. to ensure communication, coordination, and collaboration among the UCLA OAIC cores, (intra- OAIC) and between the UCLA OAIC and other OAICs (inter-OAIC) 4) Evaluating OAIC advances a. to regularly review and optimize use of UCLA OAIC resources by internal and external projects 5) Reporting OAIC activities a. to maintain contact with NIA staff, the national OAIC Coordinating Center, the External Advisory Board, External Selection Panel, and Research Education Component Advisory Committee To perform these services, the UCLA has established a structure consisting of a Core Administrative Unit, an Executive Committee; Core Leadership within each of the 5 Cores, an External Advisory Board; an External Selection Panel, and Research Education Component Advisory Committee.