Core Services for Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Investigators

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) is an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC). With funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the VKC IDDRC advances the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It is part of the network of 14 national IDDRCs.

The VKC IDDRC provides core services for its members and investigators to enable and disseminate impactful research on the causes, mechanisms, and treatments of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). These services are impactful, needed, cost-effective, non-duplicative, and innovative.

VKC IDDRC core services were restructured in 2020. Learn more about the new structure and services by watching the Core Services Seminar Overview webinar.

Overview of IDDRC Cores

Click on the support core of interest for a more detailed service list and contact information

• Administrative Core (A)
  Core A provides 1) overall oversight and management of the IDDRC cores and the research project, 2) oversees interactions with internal, external, and community advisory committees, 3) coordinates training and educational activities, 4) oversees pilot grant funding, and 5) provides all IDDRC communication, dissemination, and implementation services.

• Clinical Translational Core (B)
  Core B services help to accelerate the translation of basic discoveries into meaningful IDD interventions. The core provides intensive support for clinical and translational investigators who may be less familiar with conducting human studies or novel study designs, essential research recruitment support, maintenance of disability-specific registries, and enhancement of inclusion of IDD populations in ongoing research studies.

• Translational Neurosciences Core (C)
  Core C assists investigators in characterizing brain structure and function in study participants with IDD. Services include developing Magnetic Resonance Imaging and EEG/ERP methods, including trans-species Magnetic Resonance Imaging and physiological studies in mouse models, and developing new tools and approaches.

• Behavioral Phenotyping Core (D)
  Core D provides comprehensive behavioral and physiological assessments for both people with IDD and rodent models of IDD, with a focus on trans-species approaches and developing novel methods.

• Data Sciences Core (E)
  Core E enables and supports comprehensive data analysis and facilitates novel data sciences approaches to propel new directions for IDDRC investigators. The core oversees an innovative training program to encourage data scientists to engage with IDD research and to enable IDD researchers access to modern data sciences approaches. Core E also houses a de-identified electronic medical record IDD-curated database to provide IDD researchers a resource for IDD studies and preliminary data.

• IDDRC P50 Research Component Project
  Antipsychotic-induced Weight Gain in Autism Spectrum Disorder