Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

About The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

What is a developmental disability?

University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is a member of the national network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD)., funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities grant number 90DD0595.

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's UCEDD has four major areas of emphasis:

  • Education and early intervention
  • Supports for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families
  • Health and mental health
  • Recreation and the arts

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is one of 14 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (EKS IDDRC) across the United States.

Research conducted through the EKS IDDRC is funded by grant number p30 HD15052 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Research is focused in 5 thematic areas:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD)
  • Communication and Learning
  • Developmental Neurobiology and Plasticity
  • Emotion and Mood
  • Families

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development

MIND Training Program (LEND)

The Mid-Tennessee Interdisciplinary Instruction in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (MIND) Training Program prepares graduate-level health professionals in 14 disciplines to assume leadership roles to serve children with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities. It is funded by LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) Grant No. T73MC00050, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities

Other Affiliations and Sources of Research Funding

Other affiliations and sources include:

  • Other institutes within the National Institutes of Health
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • National Science Foundation
  • Dan Marino Foundation
  • Tennessee Department of Education
  • Donations and other sources

See Also...

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Links

  • The Marino Autism Research Institute (MARI)
    A joint partnership with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) and the University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD). MARI was established by The Dan Marino Foundation in January 2006 with a generous pledge of $1.2 million over 3 years.
  • National Scientific Advisory Board
    The National Scientific Advisory Board brings a broad, national perspective to the Center's research, advising the Center's scientific leaders on promising research directions, administrative arrangements and program directions, and funding possibilities.