Centers, Institutes and Labs

Our research units are hubs that connect our researchers to Brown and the world at large.

With nearly $55 million in annual external funding, the Brown University School of Public Health ranks among the top ten schools of public health for NIH funding. Our nationally-renowned research centers and institutes focus training and research on key areas including HIV/AIDS, addiction, global health, aging and environmental health.

Centers & Institutes

The mission of CAAS is twofold: To conduct collaborative research that will lead to more effective treatment for alcohol and drug use, and to create a nationwide program in substance abuse, education and training for psychologists, physicians, medical students, and health care professionals.
CCEH is dedicated to promoting the health of children by understanding the determinants, health effects, and biological action of environmental pollutant exposures from before conception until adolescence. Our center is engaged in studies examining pesticides, drinking water contaminants, metals, and chemicals used in consumer products.
Promoting rational decision making by conducting research in, and teaching the principles of, research synthesis (systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant and aggregate data) and evidence contextualization.
Advancing the fields of gerontology and health services research through methodological and substantive research, informed by basic theories of aging, human development, and the illness experience. The goal of these efforts is to enhance the quality of life of persons with chronic illness, especially older adults.

Founded in 2016 with a generous donation from the family of Alan Hassenfeld, the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute (HCHII) aims to make a transformative impact on the lives of children and their families in Rhode Island, as well as around the world.
CHPHE conducts interdisciplinary, empirical research to promote healthier behaviors and environments. Our overarching topical strengths are in the areas of HIV primary and secondary prevention, global public health, LGBT health, substance addiction treatment, obesity, smoking, exercise and nutrition, and more.
Bringing together knowledge across regions and countries to identify ways in which health systems can maximize health outcomes they produce, and eliminate health disparities. Our goal is to create a platform for creative minds across the world can collaboratively harness data and knowledge of their local and national health systems to improve healthcare for all.
Strengthening global health research, training and service activities at Brown University. The IHI's mission is to apply interdisciplinary perspectives to research and training to improve the health of populations in developing countries.
Methodologically rigorous research to help determine whether reported impacts of mindfulness on health are fad or fact, as well as the provision of evidence-based services to match the greatly increasing demand by community members, including schools, hospitals and businesses.
The Pandemic Center works to ensure that the world better understands these catastrophic threats, their far-reaching casualties, and develops the tools, policies, and practices to mitigate and prevent their impact.
Fostering research and statistical education, our researchers conduct methodological research in biostatistics and interdisciplinary research in a broad range of areas of medicine, public health, and biology.

Hospital-Based Centers

The Brown University AIDS Program (BRUNAP) is regionally and nationally recognized as a program of excellence that provides continuing education credits for training and education of clinicians in HIV treatment and prevention.
The Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (CBPM) is a leading research center in the Lifespan Medical System. Research scientists and their teams work to discover new and improved health promotion and disease management approach, focusing on the role of human behavior in health and disease.
The Brown University Center for Primary Care and Prevention at Memorial Hospital of RI is dedicated to promoting research, knowledge enrichment, and improving practice in primary care and prevention. CPCP research aims to help providers in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various illnesses, among a variety of other topics.

Labs & Initiatives

A multidisciplinary center grant focused on reducing the impact of alcohol on the breadth and depth of the HIV epidemic. Funded by NIAAA in September of 2010, the ARCH comprises 3 major research components in addition to an Administrative Core, Virology Core, and Biostatistics Core.
Working directly with communities to support their specific noise issues using real-time monitoring and exposure modeling
We coalesce preclinical and human laboratory models to examine stress-related biobehavioral mechanisms in addiction medicine.
FRESH is a research team committed to understanding the drivers of social and health inequities for marginalized and stigmatized populations by identifying the risk factors for those health inequities among sexual, gender, and racial minority groups and developing interventions to prevent and treat HIV/STIs, substance use disorder, and other poor health outcomes in order to promote health equity.
The mission of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) IMbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory is to build the nation’s capacity to conduct pragmatic clinical trials of interventions embedded within health care systems for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Across health systems, high-need, high-cost (HNHC) patients tend to constitute a relatively small segment of the population while accounting for a disproportionately large share of healthcare expenditures. Little is known, however, about how patterns of healthcare utilization, spending, and outcomes for HNHC patients vary across health systems.
The LIVE lab explores alcohol use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white sexual minority youth. We want to understand the socio-cultural protective and risk factors of underage drinking.
We study the causes and consequences of alcohol use in young adults, as well as the subjective evaluation of alcohol-related consequences in young adults.
STAT accelerates response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and maximizes the impact of recovery efforts by serving as an indispensable coordination point between operational state public health leaders. Beyond the pandemic, STAT strengthens the problem-solving of emerging and persistent public health challenges and sharing of best practices across states.
The THRU Lab is interested in identifying the shared and unique behavioral processes driving addiction to different tobacco products (combustible cigarette, e-cigarettes) and undoing the impact that e-cigarettes can have on reducing harm related to combustible cigarette smoking.
The Projects on Alcohol and Cannabis use in the Environment (PACE) Lab, directed by Rachel Gunn, PhD, is a part of the the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies.

Service Centers

The Survey Research Center is dedicated to conducting high-quality survey research in partnerships with universities, hospitals, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Investigators can benefit from their trained staff, available facilities, and high-quality, cost-effective services. From proposal to analysis, they are available to advise and assist investigators during every step of the survey process.

Some of our Partners at Brown and Beyond

The Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health is an incubator for practical research, enabling the development of novel digital health science and tools focused on solving the real needs of patients, providers, and populations.
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Center for Health + Justice Transformation acts as a hub for the innovative correctional health research and programming occurring at The Miriam Hospital and other research hospitals in RI and around the country. The Center’s mission is to improve the health and human rights of justice-involved populations through education, advocacy, and research.
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DSI engages people across campus and beyond, to: educate all in data fluency and advanced area-specific applications of data science methods; stimulate large-scale multidisciplinary research developing and applying data science methods to multiple data modalities; and ensure that the power of data be leveraged toward a more equitable society.
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Global health is a defining issue of our time, and universities have a tremendous responsibility to help reduce the burden of disease in communities around the world and help build an infrastructure for progress and understanding through research, education and service.
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Through solutions-focused research and education enabled by deep partnerships across Brown and beyond, IBES aims to be an engine of real-world impact and a training ground for the next generation of changemakers building a just, sustainable world.
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The Rhode Island Public Health Institute’s mission is to promote community health and to eliminate health disparities in Rhode Island and beyond. We partner with Brown University and the Rhode Island Department of Health to develop innovative public health programs, conduct translational and policy research, and train students and public health practitioners.
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The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs partners with the School of Public Health to offer a dual MPH/MPA degree for highly-qualified applicants to gain training in public health and public policy to prepare them to address the critical health policy issues in the United States and throughout the world. 
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