Internal Centers and Affiliates
Center on Society and Health:
The Center on Society and Health, formerly the Center on Human Needs, was chartered in 2007 and seeks to raise awareness about the importance of factors outside of health care—such as education, income, neighborhood and community conditions, and public policy—that shape health outcomes and to explore ways to improve population health and wellbeing. The values the Center brings to this work include a commitment to equity—opening the doors of opportunity for all members of society—and to partnerships that work across sectors to help stakeholders discover aligned incentives and together achieve meaningful impact.
The Center on Society and Health brings a unique approach to its work by blending four ingredients for success: (1) User-oriented research: scientific scholarship directed at delivering actionable and policy-relevant findings and evidence sought by decision-makers; (2) Policy outreach: active efforts to meet with decision-makers in all sectors to gain deep familiarity with the decision-making environment, priorities, and language; (3) Stakeholder and community engagement: engaging with affected populations and other stakeholders with intimate understanding of priorities, context, key questions, and feasible solutions; and (4) Strategic communication: an organized effort to identify target audiences and prepare materials and media in a tailored format that is engaging and accessible to the audience.
Center on Health Disparities:
The Center on Health Disparities at Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to the elimination of disparities in health outcomes and the improvement of health care. Although the Center primarily focuses on underrepresented populations in the greater Richmond area, its work impacts health policy and public policy throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Institute for Women’s Health:
Established in 1999 with approval from the VCU Board of Visitors, the Institute for Women’s Health seeks to improve the health of women through research, clinical care, education, community outreach and leadership development. The institute was created to bring together these diverse activities, generate synergy within VCU and foster coordinated alliances with the greater community.
Center for Clinical & Translational Research:
Virginia Commonwealth University established the Center for Clinical and Translational Research in 2007 to enhance research infrastructure and promote collaboration. Within the university, the center provides the necessary longitudinal and cross-disciplinary networking, culture and infrastructure for identifying promising discoveries made in the laboratory, testing them in animals and developing trials and studies for humans.
Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center:
As an NCI-designated center, much of the latest cancer research is developed and available right here. Their 500 researchers — 175 of whom are VCU faculty members — endeavor to bring their discoveries from the laboratories to the bedside as quickly and safely as possible. They collaborate with other leading cancer centers across the country to ensure that the treatments people in Central Virginia need are right here, close to home.
VCU Wilder School Office of Public Policy Outreach:
The VCU Wilder School Office of Research and Outreach is a multidisciplinary policy studies organization, serving Virginia Commonwealth University and its surrounding communities. Their divisions provide a wide variety of services, including professional and leadership training, survey design and implementation, economic research, transportation safety planning, and education policy analysis.
Virginia Center on Aging:
The Virginia Center on Aging is a statewide agency created by the Virginia General Assembly, with their home at Virginia Commonwealth University in the College of Health Professions. For more than 30 years, VCoA has worked to protect and improve the quality of life of older Virginians, so that they might remain interdependent and contributing members to life in Virginia. Partnerships with others have made their initiatives possible.
Center for Cultural Experiences in Prevention:
The mission of the Center for Cultural Experiences in Prevention is to promote healthy youth, families, and communities. The center seeks to empower youth and families to make positive choices and to change lives through knowledge of self. The center develops, implements and evaluates programs and services that are sensitive to cultural and community needs. Community programs and partnerships educate and empower youth and families in the areas of (a) sex and drug prevention; (b) school and vocational success; and (c) physical and psychological well-being.
Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies:
The Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies was established at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1993 to promote excellence in research and education on substance abuse. Currently, the Institute is comprised of over 50 faculty members from fourteen different departments within the university, thus enabling a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the complex problems associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development:
The VCU Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development is one of ten National Academic Centers of Excellence for Youth Violence Prevention funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. VCU departments of Psychology, Government & Public Affairs, Psychiatry, and Epidemiology & Community Health are represented in the Institute.
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics:
This institute is established to facilitate the development of a multidisciplinary, integrated research program in the Genetic Epidemiology of Psychiatric Illness and Human Behavior and Development in the Departments of Psychiatry and Human Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Center on Human-Animal Interaction:
Our mission is to enhance health and well being through human-animal interaction. To accomplish that goal, the Center's work is focused in three areas: 1) Education-medical school electives, internships, and curriculum topics; 2)Research-studies on the effects of human-animal interaction by faculty and staff; and 3)Clinical Service-Pet Loss Support Group sponsored by area veterinarians, individual pet loss counseling, the Dogs on Call (D.O.C.) hospital animal assisted therapy and pet visitation program.
Center for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering:
The VCU Center for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering (VCU-CERSE) brings together researchers, clinicians, rehabilitation specialists, and academicians from the VCU Schools of Medicine, Allied Health, Education and Engineering, as well as the Hunter Holmes Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services to promote research, education, physical medicine and rehabilitation services, and clinical care for America's veterans, children and adults with disabilities. This site offers resources and initiatives aimed at improving the health, functional ability and quality of life of persons who experience a disability.
External Centers and Affiliates
Virginia Department of Health:
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of Virginians. The VDH is made up of a statewide Central Office in Richmond and 35 local health districts. These entities work together to promote healthy lifestyle choices that can combat chronic disease, educate the public about emergency preparedness and threats to their health, and track disease outbreaks in Virginia.
Richmond VA Healthcare System:
The Richmond VAMC proudly serves veterans in central and southern Virginia and parts of northern North Carolina in its main medical center or its community-based outpatient clinics in Fredericksburg and Charlottesville Virginia. Learn more about Richmond VA Medical Center.
Virginia Public Health Association:
The Virginia Public Health Association (VAPHA) is an alliance of multi-disciplinary health professionals from the public and private sectors committed to improving the health of all Virginians. The Association, founded in 1950, represents the public's interest in the health of all Virginia residents, and we are affiliated with the American Public Health Association.