Administrative Core & Advisory Committee

Advisory Committee members are leaders in their fields of research and have significant experience managing academic departments and research Center Grants. They assess the overall progress of the COBRE III, evaluate the integration of COBRE III cores and programs with the development of the MDI Biological Laboratory Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging, evaluate Core financial sustainability, strategize new directions for cores and pilot funding programs, and identify new revenue streams and intellectual resources. The committee also performs final review and recommendation of new pilot project proposals for funding.

The committee meets biannually, in April and October. The AC meeting report summary is provided in our yearly Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submitted to the National Institutes of Health.

Administrative Core

The Administrative Core oversees and manages COBRE Phase III. The COBRE Principal Investigator (PI) and Administrative Core Director is Dr. Iain Drummond who has primary responsibility for administering the program and overseeing the continued development of the COBRE cores and pilot project program. He is assisted by Program Coordinator Amy Ackerman.

The Administrative core works with the Advisory Committee (AC) to make decisions regarding budgets, core usage and operation of the COBRE Pilot program.

Advisory Committee Members

Neil Hukriede, Ph.D.

Neil Hukriede, Ph.D., Chair, COBRE Advisory Committee
Professor and Director of Integrated Systems Biology, Vice-Chair, Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh

Hukriede’s experience in basic developmental biology, his service on the Development-1 study section, and his involvement with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease’s ReBuilding a Kidney consortium makes him a valuable source of input for our COBRE cores and pilot programs in regenerative medicine.

As an experienced user of zebrafish for more than 20 years, his input on the COBRE’s Comparative Animal Model Core is particularly valuable. Hukriede is also deeply experienced in conducting drug screens and medical chemistry using high-throughput approaches with zebrafish which helps our cores and faculty integrate their work with the translational activities at MDI Bio Lab, including MDI Bioscience.

Bradley Yoder, Ph.D.

Bradley Yoder, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairperson, Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham

Yoder is a world expert in the cell biology of cilia signaling and cystic disease, and he has done pioneering work on the role of the immune system in organ disease pathology. This experience meshes well with MDI Bio Lab programs on inflammation and regeneration.

He has also been a pioneer in live imaging microscopy in mice and employs advanced microscopy in his lab’s work. His input is particularly valuable for evaluations of our Light Microscopy Facility Core (LMF Core). He also has a depth of experience managing center grants as he currently directs two U54 NIH Center grants and a T32 training program at the University of Alabama.

Carol Bult, Ph.D.

Carol Bult, Ph.D.
Professor, Knowlton Family Chair; Deputy Director of the Cancer Center and Scientific Director of the Patient Derived Xenograft (PDX) and Cancer Avatar program at The Jackson Laboratory

Bult is the newest member of the COBRE Advisory Committee. She is a Principal Investigator in the Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) consortium that develops knowledgebases to advance the laboratory mouse as a model system for research into the genetic and genomic bases of human biology and disease.

Recent innovations in her research group include computational prediction of gene function in the mouse and the use of the mouse to understand genetic pathways in normal lung development and disease. Drummond is thrilled to have her join the Advisory Committee and her input is especially valuable in evaluating the Comparative Genomics and Data Science Core.

Hermann Haller, M.D.

Hermann Haller, M.D.
MDI Biological Laboratory President and Professor in the Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging

Haller is the Senior Institutional member of the AC. In that role he provides institutional guidance for the COBRE Center, coordinating COBRE Core and Pilot Project activities with the growth and development of MDI Bio Lab and the Davis Center.

With institutional plans to grow the faculty base to 15 independent labs, Haller will advise on how core services, Pilot Project grants, and Imaging Technology Access awards can further build the thematic focus of the Davis Center. As Chief Executive Officer of MDI Bio Lab, he advises on how best to coordinate the activities of COBRE Cores and Pilot Programs with institutional financial investment and support for Core sustainability beyond the end of COBRE III.

Dustin Updike, Ph.D.

Dustin Updike, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging, MDI Biological Laboratory

In addition to his own research and expertise in C. elegans roundworm germ cells and maintenance of pluripotency, Updike is the Program Coordinator for the Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), led by MDI Bio Lab, and is the Senior Laboratory faculty member on this advisory committee.

INBRE research and education activities across 17 Maine INBRE institutions are directed toward 1) creating a technically skilled workforce in Maine through biomedical research training for undergraduates, 2) providing research support to junior faculty to increase their competitiveness for NIH grants, and 3) improving research infrastructure through a collaborative network of core facilities with state-of-the-art equipment. These roles are synergistic with the aims of this COBRE and Updike’s input on the AC will allow effective coordination of INBRE and COBRE activities.

Former Advisory Committee Members

COBRE I

External Advisory Committee

Leanne Jones, Ph.D.

Nadia Rosenthal, Ph.D.

Thomas Rando, M.D., Ph.D.

David Dawson, Ph.D.

Richard Morimoto, Ph.D.

Internal Steering Committee

Marianna Bronner, Ph.D.

Dennis Brown, Ph.D.

Villu Maricq, M.D., Ph.D.

Internal Advisory Committee

Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado, Ph.D.

Ned Cloonan

Jim Coffman, Ph.D.

Lew Kinter, Ph.D.

COBRE II