Centers of Excellence
Bringing together expertise and resources to amplify our impact
Collaborative interdisciplinary research centers help focus and streamline our efforts. They serve as vibrant connection points and resources for scholarship, research, and community engagement.
“Tennessee has everything we need to be leaders in this area of research. We have great faculty, technology, and partners. What we learn here, we can take to the rest of the world.”
— Debra Miller, Director, One Health Initiative and Professor, School of Natural Resources
AI Tennessee Initiative
Led by UT, this research and education initiative engages academic, industry, and community partners across Tennessee to create and transform artificial intelligence applications across all disciplines and sectors, including precision health and medicine.
Appalachian Justice Resource Center
This transdisciplinary research and training collaborative is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Winston College of Law. Researchers work alongside communities to produce innovative research focused specifically on health care issues affecting rural Appalachia.
Center for Behavioral Health Research
The center seeks to improve the lives of at-risk children, adults, and families by studying the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders and psychiatric disorders. The center develops and tests interventions for a variety of settings.
Center for Nursing Practice
The Center for Nursing Practice promotes healthy communities in Tennessee by helping improve access to nurse-led care and nurse-managed clinics. The center also seeks to advance nursing education, practice, and research across the state.
Center for Precision Health
The state-of-the-art research hub represents UT’s investment in transdisciplinary research and collaboration. It fosters an innovation ecosystem focused on advanced imaging and diagnostics, orthopedics, computational medicine, and community health and wellness.
Center for the Study of Family Health and Well-Being
The research center is dedicated to investigating how adversity manifests in the lives of families and children, with a particular focus on economic hardships, poor health conditions, and children’s social, emotional, and educational challenges.
Learn about the Center for the Study of Family Health and Well-Being
Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts
The center fosters interdisciplinary research and education to reveal connections between and shape conversations about social, historical, and environmental factors that influence individuals’ health and communities’ well-being. The center regularly collaborates with UT’s One Health Initiative.
Health Innovation Technology and Simulation Laboratory
The HITS Laboratory is a joint endeavor between the Tickle College of Engineering and the College of Nursing. Researchers advance health care simulation, develop new technology, and design and test products to increase innovation and improve quality of life.
HEALTH Program
Led by UT’s College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies in partnership with UT Medical Center, the HEALTH Program (High School, Education, and Apprenticeship Programs Leading to Transformative Healthcare Careers) is designed to increase rural student interest and readiness for healthcare professions.
NeuroNET
NeuroNET—the Neuroscience Network of East Tennessee, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences—fosters cutting-edge research and training in the brain sciences by connecting researchers in neurobiology, neurocomputation, and cognitive and behavioral neuroscience.