Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Education and Discovery in Systems Science (VPEDS)

The Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Education in Discovery and Systems Science (VPEDS) T32 Program is a new postdoctoral training program in child health research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The VPEDS mission is to provide postdoctoral child health scientists with an immersive, interdisciplinary training experience in T3/T4 translational child health research within VUMC’s Learning Healthcare Systems research ecosystem. VUMC has invested deeply in establishing LHS infrastructure, and the VPEDS Program meaningfully extends the reach and impact of these investments by being the institution’s first program devoted to the development of LHS-enabled child health researchers. The program’s aspirational vision, training tomorrow’s child health scientists so all children may thrive, centers the mission on expanding discovery and accelerating innovation to improve health trajectories and lifelong opportunities for all children. The VPEDS Program accepts 2-3 new trainees annually for a 2-year, personalized, competency-based training experience that is nurtured by a vibrant community of mentors centered within VUMC’s Department of Pediatrics and interdisciplinary LHS partners from across the institution. To ensure alignment with the mission of NICHD, trainee-led research is conducted within one or more scientific priority areas outlined in the NICHD Strategic Plan 2025. All trainees receive mentorship from senior child health researchers in one or more of these areas along with institutional partners with T3/T4 methods expertise (pragmatic clinical trials, health policy, biostatistics, data science, implementation science). Trainees receive targeted career development in rigorous translational methods, core LHS principles, grant writing, and scientific communication. To maximize reach and impact of the training experience, trainees leverage institutional supports available through the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and the Centers for Health Services Research, Learning Healthcare, and Research and Innovation in Systems Safety, among others, as well as external partnerships locally (Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, The Nashville Collaborative, Tennessee Child Health Poll) and nationally (PCORNet Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, Continuity Research Network [CORNET], Pediatric Research in Inpatient Systems [PRIS], and Children’s Hospital Association). The program is headed by senior child health researchers and experienced mentors and is further supported by devoted Steering and Advisory Committees, an exceptional cadre of child health researchers, systems scientists, and operational leaders; a mentor pipeline program; and sought-after clinical and academic programs amid superb research and training environments within the Department of Pediatrics and institutionally at VUMC. Project Number: 1T32HD121483-01 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) | Principal Investigator: Derek Williams | Institution: VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, NASHVILLE, TN | Award Amount: $212,293 | Activity Code: T32 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 SCIL-W (80)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11335413