INSTITUTES AND CENTERS

Below are some of the research institutes and centers affiliated with LASIR in their research.

CRESP: Led by Dr. David S. Kosson as principal investigator, CRESP is the (Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation) which is based at Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is the lead institution of CRESP, which also includes Georgia Tech, Howard University, New York University School of Law, Oregon State University, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, University of Arizona, University of Pittsburgh and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The objective of CRESP is to advance cost-effective, risk-based cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weapons production facility waste sites and cost-effective, risk-based management of potential future nuclear sites and wastes.

CSQ: The mission of the Vanderbilt Center for Quantitative Sciences (CQS) is to coordinate and integrate the work of Vanderbilt University and Medical Center quantitative scientists across the disciplines of biostatistics, bioinformatics, biomathematics, computational biology, biomedical engineering, and other related fields, with the end goal of building bridges and streamlining quantitative collaboration for improved biomedical research. CQS members have expertise in basic science as well as clinical/translational studies, with a particular interest in high-dimensional data, including proteomic, genomic, lipidomic, and metabolomic research. The center is available to all university and medical center investigators, offering collaborative support spanning traditional statistical inputs (e.g., experimental design, sample size determination, power analysis, conventional data analysis and results interpretation), to novel statistical and bioinformatic approaches for modern technologies (e.g., advanced sample size determination for next-generation sequencing, multivariate modeling for high-dimensional data), to systems and computational biology approaches for asking questions and modeling results.

ISIS: The Institute for Software Integrated Systems conducts basic and applied research in the area of systems and information science and engineering. Applications of ISIS technology span a wide range of software-intensive systems from small embedded devices, through real-time distributed systems, to globally deployed complex systems.

MuMS: The Vanderbilt Multiscale Modeling and Simulation (MuMS) interdisciplinary research facility houses faculty and researchers from the School of Engineering, specifically: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. MuMS is co-located with the Vanderbilt Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) on historic Music Row.

VANGARD: Vanderbilt Technologies for Advanced Genomics Analysis and Research Design (VANGARD) is a research service core with administrative oversight from the Office of Research as well as scientific and technical direction provided by the Vanderbilt Center for Quantitative Sciences. The mission of the core is to consolidate the genomics data pipeline across the university and allow investigators to leverage the opportunities provided by next-generation sequencing and other genomics technologies.

VECTOR: The Vanderbilt Center for Transportation Research (VECTOR), established in 1988, has a solid record of achievement and is committed to continued excellence in all three of its mission components—research, education, and outreach. Recognizing the complexity of transportation issues in the private sector and at every level of government, VECTOR emphasizes the integration of transportation engineering, planning, and management. Other distinguishing characteristics of VECTOR’s work include ground-breaking applications of information technology and risk management, systems thinking, and adherence to our statement of shared values.

VIEE: The Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment (VIEE) engages in research and education that directly link the social and behavioral sciences, physical sciences, engineering, law and policy, and that bear on energy and environmental decision making by individuals and by public and private institutions. Specifically, VIEE research elucidates the relationships among individual, institutional, and societal choices for energy production and use, and the impacts and benefits of these choices on the environment and health through links with climate, water quality, economics, social psychology, and natural resources.

VINSE: The Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) is comprised of 45 faculty members from the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering, and the School of Medicine.  Created in 2001 with Academic Venture Capital Fund support from Vanderbilt’s endowment, VINSE hit the ground running by quickly building a small suite of laboratories for nanofabrication and nanocharacterization and working cooperatively with many departments to hire a cadre of nanoscience-oriented faculty.  Our primary research areas include nanobio/nanomedicine, nano-energy, nanoscale optics, computational nanoscience, and new nanoscale materials.  We have built graduate, undergraduate, and outreach educational programs while growing our faculty and adding additional experimental capabilities.  VINSE faculty now span 13 academic departments; our graduate educational arm is the Interdisciplinary Program in Materials Science; our undergraduate program is the Minor in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; we organize classroom visitation and on-site High School Field Trip outreach programs; and we are building an expanded suite of core facilities in the new Engineering and Science Building.