Current Research Projects
Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health
Social, behavioral, and environmental factors greatly impact health, yet they are often not considered in medical practice. Our research has focused on evaluating questionnaires for systematically collecting information about social determinants of health in clinical settings. We have also recently developed a database to help connect patients with resources to address unmet needs. More
All of Us Research Program
All of Us is a national research program, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The project aims to advance precision medicine by collecting data from one million participants. Working closely with colleagues at Vanderbilt’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Center for Knowledge Management (CKM) contributes to All of Us in several ways. More
Drug Repurposing
Many people suffer from rare and/or complex diseases with no known treatment options. Despite an understanding of the molecular basis of almost six thousand diseases, we only have about 500 approved therapies. Our hope is to drive a shift in the drug development paradigm in order to efficiently identify drug repurposing candidates that are safe, affordable, and most importantly effective, to help improve the lives of these patients. The Center for Knowledge Management was asked to collaborate with the Drug Repurposing team at Vanderbilt as they develop new project concepts. More
Diversity in Clinical Trials
One of the challenges in clinical trials is under-enrollment by minority populations, which may compromise the generalizability of results. In collaboration with VUMC’s Recruitment Innovation Center, CKM information scientists evaluate evidence for ways to enhance recruitment of minorities in clinical trials. More