Core A provides scientific leadership that meets the EKS NICHD?s overarching mission for the IDDRCs to advance the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) IDDRC has a well-established operational structure and function that includes continuously evaluating its leadership and oversight to meet the needs of the changing landscape of IDD research. As such, Core A?s services have proactively evolved in a manner that has progressed with technological advances over the 50 years of the VKC?s IDDRC. Because of this, the IDDRC has become a successful model of integrated research, training, and service that results in a truly translational research environment. For the next 5 years, the IDDRC?s overarching goal is to develop precision care for IDD by providing infrastructure and scientific leadership to enable rapid translation of basic discoveries into high-impact interventions and treatment for people with IDD. To realize this goal, the leadership of the VKC IDDRC recognize that effective administrative oversight through Core A is critical. To this end, the primary aims of Core A are to: (1) provide scientific leadership and administrative/financial oversight of the IDDRC?s Signature Research Project and research cores in order to effectively meet the needs of the 50 IDDRC investigators and 70 funded research projects; (2) facilitate multidisciplinary research, recruit new researchers to IDDRC, and maintain an educational environment to engage IDDRC investigators, trainees, and community stakeholders; and (3) communicate and disseminate IDDRC activities targeted to diverse stakeholder audiences. These three Aims allow Core A to provide overall scientific direction and integration for an IDD translational research program that builds on the VKC IDDRC?s strengths in educational, behavioral, neuroscience and approaches. More specifically, Core A helps to facilitate interdisciplinary research by: (1) recruiting new researchers to our IDDRC from existing faculty and via faculty recruits; (2) proactively managing fiscal and other resources, including support for innovative IDD pilot research through the IDDRC Hobbs Discovery and Director?s Strategic Priorities Grants and managing IDDRC space and facilities; and (3) communicating and disseminating IDD-related findings to the broad IDD stakeholder community. Effective communications to local researchers and other professionals combined with outstanding lay-friendly communication with the public and disability community is a hallmark of the VKC IDDRC. Over the next 5 years, we build upon the existing excellent IDDRC communication services to maximize targeted audience uptake by engaging stakeholders throughout the process and incorporating dissemination and implementation science methods. administrative glue for the IDDRC that allows for setting priorities for and overseeing Overall, Core A is the all of the scientific work of the VKC IDDRC in order to meet our overall mission of improving the lives of people IDD.
As a group, intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder, have dramatic effects on affected people?s and their caregiver?s lives. Unfortunately, there remains a lack of understanding about what causes these disabilities and, critically, how to treat them with targeted therapies. The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center?s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center serves as the hub for Vanderbilt?s research efforts focusing on improving the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by understanding the causes of these disorders and developing and testing therapies tailored to each individual?s precise needs.
