We are pleased to participate in important national research networks that provide CHSR investigators an opportunity to lead or collaborate in multi-center studies.
Science, Technology, and Research Clinical Research Network (STAR CRN)
VUMC is the lead site for this PCORI-funded research network which supports comparative effectiveness research, stakeholder engagement, and the innovative use of technology to enhance and change the paradigm for patient-centered outcomes research. Russell Rothman, MD MPP, is the Principal Investigator of the STAR CRN, which was previously called the Mid-South Clinical Data Research Network. The network engages hospitals and clinics across the country and has data on more than 25 million patients.
The STAR CRN consists of:
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Meharry Medical College
- Essentia Health
- Duke University Health System
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Medical University of South Carolina
- Mayo Clinic
- Stanford University School of Medicine
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Hospital Medicine Reengineering Network (HOMERuN)
VUMC is a founding member of the HOMERuN collaborative, which engages hospitalists, researchers, and hospital medicine groups at leading medical centers nationwide, accelerating the discovery and swift implementation of quality care improvements. Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc leads VUMC’s participation.
Projects include multi-site studies on the preventability of hospital readmissions; incidence, causes, and risk factors for diagnostic error in hospital settings (UPSIDE). HOMERuN maintains an active Patient & Family Advisory Council, established under a Eugene Washington Award from PCORI.
The goal of the US Deprescribing Research Network (USDeN) is to develop and disseminate evidence about deprescribing for older adults, and in doing so, to help improve medication use among older adults and the outcomes that are important to them. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the network is a community of people united by a shared interest in improving research on deprescribing for older adults. The network’s key activities are designed to provide resources and supports that will catalyze expansion of the quality, quantity, and ultimate impact of deprescribing research, and to promote mutual learning and collaboration that is essential to this goal.
Science, Technology, And Research partnership Clinical Research Network (STAR CRN)
VUMC is the lead site for the Science, Technology, And Research partnership Clinical Research Network (STAR CRN), a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)-funded research network that supports comparative effectiveness research, pragmatic clinical trials, health system innovation and implementation, engagement, and the innovative use of technology to enhance and change the paradigm for patient-centered outcomes research. Russell Rothman, MD, MPP, is the contact principal investigator of the network, which engages hospitals and clinics across the country and has data on more than 25 million patients.
VUMC is a founding member of the Hospital Medicine ReEngineering Network (HOMERuN), which engages hospitalists, researchers, and hospital medicine groups at leading medical centers nationwide, accelerating the discovery and swift implementation of quality care improvements. Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, leads VUMC’s participation. Multi-site collaborative projects have evaluated the preventability of hospital readmissions, diagnostic error in hospitals, hospitalists’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the hospitalist workforce and wellness. HOMERuN maintains an active Patient & Family Advisory Council, established under a Eugene Washington Award from PCORI.
The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program seeks to enhance the health of children for generations to come, with a focus on five areas: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes; upper and lower airway; obesity; neurodevelopment; and positive health. Vanderbilt’s involvement in the asthma and airways consortium is led by Dr. Tina Hartert. The available ECHO data currently include 72 cohorts, with information from over 107,000 infants, children, teens, and their families across the United States.
US Deprescribing Research Network (USDeN)
The goal of the US Deprescribing Research Network (USDeN) is to develop and disseminate evidence about deprescribing for older adults and, in doing so, to help improve medication use among older adults and the outcomes that are important to them. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the network’s key activities are designed to provide resources and supports that will catalyze expansion of the quality, quantity, and ultimate impact of deprescribing research and promote mutual learning and collaboration essential to this goal. Sandra Simmons, PhD, and Amanda Mixon, MD, MSPH, lead VUMC’s involvement and the pilot award program.
Maternal and Pediatric Precision in Therapeutics (MPRINT) Hub
The Maternal and Pediatric Precision in Therapeutics (MPRINT) Hub is a national resource collecting and expanding maternal and pediatric therapeutics knowledge and tools. MPRINT conducts therapeutics-focused research in obstetrics, lactation, and pediatrics while enhancing the inclusion of people with disabilities. VUMC is a Center of Excellence in Therapeutics in this network, with a focus on using large electronic datasets to improve precision therapeutics implementation and outcomes. Prince Kannankeril, MD, MSCI, and Digna Velez Edwards, PhD, MS, co-direct the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence.
Simulation Assessment Research Group (SARG)
The Simulation Assessment Research Group (SARG) is a VUMC-based national network of researchers and educators dedicated to simulation-based assessment of clinical practices. The 24 active SARG members represent multiple disciplines and institutions across the United States. The network aims to promote the use of medical simulation for increasing understanding of clinical performance, decision-making, and education, especially in relation to the management of critical or crisis events. SARG, which was initially formed in 2009, is led by Matthew Weinger, MD.
The Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network is a national network combining DNA biorepositories with electronic medical record systems for large-scale genetic research to support genomic medicine. The network brings together multidisciplinary researchers from leading medical research institutions spanning the country with expertise in areas including genomics, statistics, ethics, informatics, and clinical medicine. VUMC is both a clinical site and a coordinating center for the network. Dan Roden, MD; Digna Velez Edwards PhD, MS; and Wei-Qi Wei MD, PhD, lead VUMC’s participation in the eMERGE Network.
VA Health Systems Research Centers of Innovation
The VA Health Systems Research Centers of Innovation (COIN) network comprises 20 centers nationwide that support innovative research on VA health care to improve veterans’ health. The centers collaborate across VA Medical Centers. Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, will direct a new Nashville-based COIN, VETerans’ Wellbeing through Innovation Systems Science and Experience in Learning Health Systems (VETWISE-LHS), with Associate Directors Michael Matheny, MD, MS, MPH, and Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH. VETWISE-LHS will work in collaboration with VUMC’s Realizing Accelerated Progress, Investigation, Implementation, and Dissemination in Learning Health Systems (RAPID-LHS) Center.
The Sentinel Initiative
The Sentinel Initiative was created by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to extend methods for assessing the safety of approved drugs, vaccines, and medical devices. VUMC’s Department of Biomedical Informatics is one of four Lead Hubs in the Sentinel Innovation Center, and the VUMC Department of Health Policy is a Collaborating Institution of the Sentinel Operations Center. Michael Matheny, MD, MS, MPH, is a member of the Sentinel Innovation Center Executive Leadership team and Site Lead for VUMC’s participation.