Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

The call for abstracts for the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s 2021 Virtual Science Day is now open through Tuesday, Aug. 31. Science Day promotes “centeredness” across Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, provides an opportunity to present significant research findings in intellectual and developmental disabilities research, and encourages research collaboration. Read More

The 2021 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day will take place virtually on Friday, Nov. 5, beginning at 11:45 a.m. over Zoom. Science Day activities will include a keynote address, data blitz presentations, and research presentations modified for an online format. The call for abstracts and attendee registration are now open. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Community Lecture Series on Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities will present "Learning How Children on the Autism Spectrum Process Sensory Information" on Thursday, June 17, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. CT. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will host a Research Ethics Grand Rounds panel discussion, "Standards of Care, Disability and a Public Health Emergency: Conversations on Equitable Care during COVID-19," on Wednesday, May 19, from noon to 1 p.m. CT. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (VKC TRIAD) is partnering with Meharry Medical College’s Department of Pediatrics to host a special virtual lecture on Wednesday, April 28, from 1 to 2 p.m. CT. Read More

Haylie Miller, assistant professor of movement science and applied exercise science and director of autism and developmental disorders research at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, will discuss “Hidden Challenges: Visual and Motor Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder” on Monday, April 19, from 4:10 to 5:10 p.m. CT. It is the final Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Lecture on Development and Developmental Disabilities for 2020-21. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will welcome Jonathan Jackson, founder and executive director of the Community Access, Recruitment and Engagement Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, as its next speaker for the 2020-21 Kennedy Center Lectures on Development and Developmental Disabilities.  Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee will co-sponsor a webinar, “Risks of Alzheimer's Disease in Adults with Down Syndrome and Introduction to a Research Study,” on Monday, March 29, from 7 to 8 p.m. CT. Read More

Whatever our perspective—trainees and students, researchers, health care professionals, service providers, educators, individuals with disabilities or family members, or simply concerned citizens—we see ways that the disability service system can be improved. One dimension of changing service systems is educating legislators and other public policy makers. The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will host Educate to Advocate 2021 on Tuesday, March 2, from 4 to 5 p.m. CT. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will conduct its next Kennedy Center Lecture on Development and Developmental Disabilities on Thursday, Feb. 25, from 4:10-5:10 p.m. CT. Terrie Moffitt, Nannerl O. Keohane University Distinguished Professor of Education and Training at Duke University, will discuss “Charting Four Decades of Changing Mental Disorders, From Childhood to Midlife.”  Read More

Several Vanderbilt diversity and inclusion programs are spotlighted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs on a list of disability and inclusion resources meeting the agency’s criteria. Read More

H. Carl Haywood, professor of psychology, emeritus, and former Kennedy Center director, died Oct. 12 in Nashville. He was 89. Read More

The IDD-Reads Grant Awards competition is open to teams consisting of Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigators/members and their trainees and Vanderbilt Data Science Institute faculty/trainees (including affiliated faculty), CHIPI or Department of Health Policy. The objective is to conduct pilot projects consistent with the mission of the VKC using innovative data science tools. Read More

Donna and Jeffrey Eskind, whose generous gifts have advanced Vanderbilt research that is improving lives, have made a new commitment of $2 million to endow a new chair in autism spectrum disorder research in the School of Medicine. Read More

The VBI recently marked its 20th anniversary, a span that has seen the institute’s wide-ranging missions—including administering the university’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, as well as postdoctoral training and community outreach—steadily coalesce under a single umbrella. Read More

Under Jack Elder, EdS’73, the Tennessee Special Olympics program became recognized as one of the strongest and best managed. For athletes then and now, after five decades, Special Olympics is a chance to prove what they can do when given the opportunity. Read More

“The Promise of Discovery” is a new podcast hosted by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center that highlights research in intellectual and developmental disabilities in plain language, making it accessible to the general public. Read More

As Next Steps at Vanderbilt marks its 10th anniversary throughout 2020, the year also brings another significant milestone: The first class of Next Steps at Vanderbilt students will graduate from its expanded four-year program. Read More

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders benefited from the addition of mindfulness-based stress reduction to parent-implemented behavioral interventions. Read More

The rapidly evolving challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have caused countless disruptions for families across the country as they seek autism diagnostic assessments and support for their toddlers. In response, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has developed opportunities to share various resources with families, early intervention providers and diagnosticians. Read More