2025 MAD SSCi Meeting

Pre-Meeting Business Skills Workshop Registration

• Pre-meeting workshop on Monday: Business Skills  (see below)
• An Opening Reception at the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa/Short Pump with Opening Keynote lecture by Dr. Vanessa Sheppard, Interim Founding Dean School of Population Health on Monday evening
• Plenary talks, scientific and vendor sessions followed by Wine and Cheese on Tuesday
• Core Administration topics will finish out the meeting on Wednesday

Business Skills Workshop
Back by popular demand, here are the same skills modules offered at ABRF 2025, in case you missed it.

8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Monday, September 15

Core facilities provide instrumentation and services to a wide range of investigators and institutions. This seemingly straight forward fee-for-service model used in most cores is in reality a sophisticated integration of science and business. Core facilities are born out of scientific need, but they are also driven by compliance and uniform guidance set forth by the federal government. Even though these two entities work in tandem, there often is a gap in understanding the relationship between science and business by the scientists and administrators of core facilities. 

The Business Skills Workshop for Core Facility Directors, Managers and Administrators provides a hands-on approach in addressing the business side of operating a core facility.  The program is designed to emphasize the way science and business can work together to operate efficiently.  The workshop is designed to be highly interactive and covers topics such as:

• Creating a business plan
• Budget development
• Rate settings
• Policies and procedures established by OMB
• Purchase and lease agreements of fixed assets
• Compliance issues through actual audit findings

The goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship of the science, the customer, and the business side of operating a core facility. Through instruction and exercises we will provide attendees with the tools to better communicate and better understand the need and requirements of core facilities best business practices, thus, creating a relationship of cooperation between scientists and administrators.

An additional registration fee is required for this workshop.