Administrative Core
The Administrative Core supports work in all PDHP primary research areas relies on the expertise of both faculty and staff to provide and nurture an intellectual community, distribute resources effectively and synergistically across Cores, allow researchers to focus on research, maximize productivity and competitiveness for external funding, and create new research collaborations at PSC.
The AC oversees and coordinates across the PDHP. AC Lead Sarah Burgard and the PDHP Steering Committee plan, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of the three PDHP Cores. Together, they review and renew PDHP affiliate applications, oversee budgetary and resource distribution decisions to increase effectiveness and cross-Core efficiencies, and oversee and assess the activities of all Cores.
The AC fosters cohesion within PSC and builds bridges to new connections. Building community and cohesion is a vital part of the AC’s mission, not only because it creates a congenial and inclusive workplace environment but also because it enhances scientific impact and innovation by encouraging collaboration and the exchange of ideas across disciplines. This includes providing research and social space to enhance solo productivity as well as planned and unplanned interactions that can spark progress in PDHP primary research areas and supporting events including affiliate meetings, coffee hours; and a longstanding PSC Brown Bag series. To continue proactive community building, we will pilot Specific Aims Clinics, where affiliates present an aims page for interactive group feedback and brainstorming.
The AC provides comprehensive research project management. Services centrally provided by AC staff provide comprehensive support through the project lifecycle, including assistance with grant proposal preparation, managing awarded funding, hiring and managing project staff, and connecting affiliates with ways to disseminate their findings. AC staff also maximize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of service provision by assisting affiliates in accessing a range of essential services provided elsewhere at ISR and U-M.
Sarah Burgard (Director, PDHP Administrative Core) is the Director of the Populations Studies Center, and a professor in the Departments of Sociology, Epidemiology, and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Her research interests focus on the way systems of stratification and inequality impact the health of people and populations. She currently studies racial/ethnic and gender-based disparities in working conditions and occupational careers, the effect of these inequalities on health, and the impact of an individual’s working life on the well-being of other family members. She also examines racial/ethnic and socioeconomic determinants of children’s health in South Africa and Brazil.