Centers and Institutes
Centers and institutes are central to our work at Case Western Reserve University, from supporting various academic efforts to advancing research pursuits. More than 100 hubs enrich the campus community, covering such topics as environmental law, popular music, cancer research and more. Here, you will find some of our most commonly searched centers and institutes.
To learn about Case Western Reserve University’s core facilities and service centers, visit research.case.edu/corefacilities. For information about the School of Medicine’s core facilities, visit corefacilities.case.edu.
Centers and Institutes Listing
The following centers and institutes are listed alphabetically by name. You can use the links below to skip through the list and find the information you need.
A
Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Reliability Center
The Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Reliability Center develops and provides mechanical testing for materials using an array of equipment.
Center for AI Enabling Discovery in Disease Biology (AID2B)
The Center for AI Enabling Discovery in Disease Biology (AID2B) applies artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to customize treatments using patient data, combating biases in medical decisions and revolutionizing healthcare.
Center for AIDS Research
Center for AIDS Research coordinates clinical and basic research activities in such areas as mycobacterial research, molecular and clinical virology, HIV immunology, clinical treatment trials, epidemiology, biomedical ethics, vaccine research, and international aspects of AIDS.
Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery
The overall goal of the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery is to develop an integrated drug discovery pipeline, consisting of lead generation powered by advanced AI technologies, preclinical testing in close collaboration with biomedical researchers , and clinical studies using patient electronic health records.
B
Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities
Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities facilitates and encourages collaborative work among faculty and students in the humanities and arts. With colleagues in the sciences and social sciences, and through joint programs with other institutions, the center sponsors conferences, seminars, lectures, research and special events that enhance the presence and visibility of the humanities at Case Western Reserve University.
Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education
The Dr. Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of violence that leads to scientifically based violence prevention programs and widely applicable violence prevention policy. Key goals include forming interdisciplinary academic partnerships, promoting community-based strategies for violence prevention, and conducting research/interventions that address the social stressors associated with youth violence.
bio[box]
The Department of Biology’s collaborative learning and research space, bio[box], provides undergraduate, graduate, and faculty researchers with the space, tools, and instrumentation to facilitate collaborative learning and research.
Blood, Heart, Lung, and Immunology Research Center
The Blood, Heart, Lung and Immunology (BHLI) Research Center, a collaboration between CWRU and University Hospitals, is dedicated to collaborative efforts to pioneer research and innovation in blood, heart, lung and immunologic diseases.
Bolton-Brush Growth Studies Center
Bolton-Brush Growth Studies Center has tracked human development for more than 70 years and utilizes technology to develop three-dimensional computerized craniofacial models.
Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage Energy Frontier Research Center (BEES EFRC)
The Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage Energy Frontier Research Center was established to develop an understanding of how the transport mechanism and electron transfer reactions occur in deep eutectic solvents and soft nanoparticle systems, and how they can be controlled to advance electrochemical performance, from the atomistic level to the macroscopic level in a redox flow battery.
Business Law Center
The mission of the Business Law Center is to prepare future leaders to understand issues facing business entities, engage in research on the role and impact of government in the regulation of business, and to foster public debate regarding the role of government in the regulation of businesses.
C
Cardiovascular Research Institute
The Case Cardiovascular Research Institute is home to investigators focused on translating fundamental discovery from the bench to pre-clinical models and, ultimately, first-in-human studies. Major research areas include inflammation, metabolism, myopathy, cardiovascular development, angiogenesis and stem cell biology.
Case Center for Imaging Research (CCIR)
The mission of the Case Center for Imaging Research is to advance medicine through imaging science. Its overarching goal is to build a strong and robust research community that ignites, expands, and strengthens collaborations and translational imaging research.
Case Center for Synchrotron Biosciences
The Case Center for Synchrotron Biosciences (CSB) has been instrumental in the development and implementation of a number of novel technologies for high-throughput and quality research in the field of structural and molecular biology. The goal of the CSB is to enhance the research efforts of in-house faculty and provide unique and powerful research tools to assist investigators across the U.S. and around the world.
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
A National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University, Case Comprehensive Cancer Institute is a partnership organization supporting cancer-related research efforts at CWRU, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth System.
Case Head and Neck Cancer Research Collaborative
The Case Head and Neck Cancer Research Collaborative is a partnership between the Department of Biological Sciences at the School of Dental Medicine, the Department of Otolaryngology at the School of Medicine and University Hospitals that is organized around the scientific focus of improving the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancers.
Center for Community Health Integration
The Center for Community Health Integration conducts collaborative research and development to advance community health and integrated, personalized healthcare.
Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostic
The Center of Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics is involved in various aspects of developing, evaluating and applying novel quantitative image analysis, computer vision, signal processing, segmentation, multi-modal co-registration tools, pattern recognition, and machine learning tools for disease diagnosis, prognosis and theragnosis in the context of breast, prostate, head and neck, brain tumors, and more.
Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (Center of Excellence)
The Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, housed at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, is a multi-million-dollar statewide effort that is transforming adolescent behavioral health programs and agencies. They oversee the new standardized assessment process, monitor the continued effectiveness of services and expand the service and care coordination for an estimated 58,000 children statewide each year.
Cleveland Brain Health Initiative
The Cleveland Brain Health Initiative has the goal of engaging scientists and physician scientists across departments in each of our member institutions to develop collaborative, impactful research that will lead to improved brain health for the residents of northeast Ohio and beyond.
Cleveland Center for Membrane and Structural Biology
The mission of Cleveland Center for Membrane and Structural Biology (CCMSB) is to enhance the structural and biophysical research community and to provide expertise and state-of-the-art facilities in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), X-ray crystallography, proteomics and a variety of related biophysical techniques.
Cleveland Digestive Diseases Research Core Center
The Cleveland Digestive Diseases Research Core Center is a cross-institutional and multi-disciplinary program between Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The center’s two major themes are digestive inflammation and metabolism, both of which represent well-established areas of collaborative investigation at CWRU.
Cleveland Institute for Computational Biology
The Cleveland Institute for Computational Biology (CICB) advances fundamental knowledge of human biology through the application of computational methods to large and diverse datasets. CICB also promotes the translation of this knowledge into better diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prevention and delivery of healthcare.
Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative
The ultimate goal of Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative in Cleveland is to provide complete service and integrated clinical translational research capability within the community that will improve the health of patients in Northeast Ohio through patient-based research.
Coaching Research Lab
The Coaching Research Lab is a joint initiative between scholars and leading organizations to develop a more comprehensive understanding of coaching through empirical research.
Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law
Founded in 2019, Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law prepares students for careers in environmental law through a combination of rigorous coursework and experiential opportunities and sponsors interdisciplinary research and programming on environmental law and policy.
Community Innovation Network
The Community Innovation Network at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences seeks to cultivate change in the community by forming relationships, building trust and creating dialogue between residents and organizations in order to bridge divisions, engage communities and elevate impact.
Compliance, Risk Management and Financial Integrity Institute
The Compliance, Risk Management and Financial Integrity Institute is designed to support Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s master and certificate programs in compliance and risk management, which exist to meet the steadily increasing demand by businesses and government agencies for experts in state, federal, and international laws and regulations that form the basis for the compliance industry.
D
Digestive Health Research Institute
The Digestive Health Research Institute houses a robust organizational infrastructure capable of supporting and promoting interdisciplinary basic science and translational and clinical research. One of its goals is to ensure a better future for patients struggling with devastating digestive diseases by translating novel basic science discoveries into our clinics.
Dittrick Medical History Center
Dittrick Medical History Center is dedicated to the study of the medical past through a distinguished collection of rare books, museum artifacts, archives and images. The center originated as part of Cleveland Medical Library Association and today functions as an interdisciplinary study center within the College of Arts and Sciences.
E
Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics
The Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics is a center for the advancement and promotion of the scientific understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe, its contents, and their connection to fundamental physics.
Center for Evidence-Based Practices
The Center for Evidence-Based Practices, a recognized Center of Excellence at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, is a technical-assistance organization that promotes knowledge development and the implementation of evidence-based practices for the treatment and recovery of people with mental illness and co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. The center also implements and studies emerging best practices in an effort to identify innovations that consistently generate improved outcomes.
Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences
Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences is an internationally recognized research center dedicated to making advances in all aspects of electrochemical sciences, systems and devices.
F
Center for Family Business
The Center for Family Business provides educational programs, networking opportunities and peer forums specifically developed for multigenerational family businesses.
Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit
Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit encompasses a number of activities, all devoted to the healthy advancement of business in society. The center brings together work that fosters sustainable enterprise, social entrepreneurship, cooperation and global action.
Frederick K. Cox International Law Center
Frederick K. Cox International Law Center prepares students for global opportunities in law practice, business and public service and explores critical issues of global legal reform through lectures, research and publications.
Institute for Functional Restoration (IFR)
Spinal cord injuries are devastating. That’s why the team in the Institute for Functional Restoration is on a mission to restore some of the functions lost when these injuries occur.
G
Center for Genetic Research, Ethics, and Law
The Center for Genetic Research, Ethics and Law was established in 2004 with two missions: to conduct transdisciplinary research on ethical and policy issues in the design and conduct of human genetic research, and to recruit new scholars and trainees to work on these issues.
Center for Global Health and Diseases
Center for Global Health and Diseases (formerly Center for International Health) links the numerous international health resources of the university, its affiliated institutions and the Northern Ohio community in a multidisciplinary program of research, training and clinical application related to global health.
Great Lakes Energy Institute
Through Great Lakes Energy Institute, Case Western Reserve University is coordinating efforts of numerous partners throughout Ohio to provide the state with a competitive advantage in terms of cost, reliability and the ability to access, generate, transport and store its sustainable energy resources.
H
Human Fusions Institute (HFI)
From restoring the sensation of touch for individuals with prosthetic devices to transcending the physical limitations of space and geography, the Human Fusions team is redesigning the future.
I
Center for Innovative Practices (Center of Excellence)
The Center for Innovative Practices, a recognized Center of Excellence at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, assists social service agencies and organizations in identifying, selecting and implementing evidence-based practices and other services that address the needs of young people—especially those facing various behavioral, mental health and recovery challenges.
Interactive Commons
Established in 2014, the Interactive Commons at Case Western Reserve serves to connect interdisciplinary researchers from across campus and our region to facilitate advanced visualization using Microsoft HoloLens technology.
L
Law-Medicine Center
Founded in 1953, Law-Medicine Center is the oldest law school-based center for the study of legal medicine and health law in the United States. Its mission is professional education—the training of law and medical students.
Leonard Gelfand STEM Center
Leonard Gelfand STEM Center leverages the resources of Case Western Reserve University to engage pre-K through 12th-grade students across Northeast Ohio in activities that introduce them to practices and concepts and inspire a lasting interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.
M
Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy
The Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing is a global community for nursing leadership development to advance health globally and design the future of healthcare.
Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health
The mission of the Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health is to study the complex interplay between environmental determinants and population health outcomes. The center places special emphasis on community-engaged approaches that address the role of structural racism in creating and sustaining environmental health inequities and seeks to translate these findings into policies, practices, and relationships that promote community and population health equity.
Center for Medical Education
The Center for Medical Education—a Type A Center acting as a Department of Medical Education—offers an academic community for those working primarily in medical education. Within the center, the team serves several important functions, from supporting the medical education mission to providing expertise around academic work related to studying the learning process while contributing broadly to medical education research and publications.
Mt. Sinai Skills and Simulation Center
Mt. Sinai Skills and Simulation Center provides access to a variety of multidisciplinary simulation modalities, integrating technical and non-technical elements of training in a realistic environment.
N
Center for Nursing Education, Simulation, and Innovation
The National Center for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM) is a platform to facilitate translational research, clinical application and commercialization of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and stem cell therapeutics across a consortium of institutions. NCRM is driven by three nationally ranked medical research powerhouses: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.
National Center for Regenerative Medicine
The Center for Nursing Education, Simulation, and Innovation allows students to have the opportunity to advance their nursing skills by active participation in hands-on training sessions that demonstrate real-life aspects of nursing.
National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities
The National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is committed to promoting urban equity and inclusion through impact research that achieves effective and durable social change outcomes.
Neural Engineering Center
In the Department of Biomedical Engineering's Neural Engineering Center, our researchers share the common goal of analyzing the function of the nervous system, developing methods to restore damaged neurological functions, and creating artificial neuronal systems by integrating physical, chemical, mathematical, biological and engineering tools.
O
Ohio Substance Use Disorders Center of Excellence
As an integral part of Ohio's response to the substance use crisis, the Ohio Substance Use Disorders (SUD) Center of Excellence—established through the collaborative efforts of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices and the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University—positions itself as a pivotal training partner to prepare SUD professionals.
Oral Health Disparities Group
The goal of the Oral Health Disparities Group is to address oral health disparities through research conducted in community settings. The group's recent projects involve interventions to improve oral health for children and older adults in Northeast Ohio.
Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Clinic
The School of Dental Medicine’s Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (OMR) clinic offers the most advanced diagnostic imaging to healthcare professionals, with specialty in the head and neck region. Additionally, the clinic is equipped with brand new equipment and provides a very wide range of diagnostic workup.
P
Partnership for Evaluation, Research and Implementation
The Partnership for Evaluation, Research and Implementation at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is a high-quality, low-cost program evaluation resource center for local nonprofit and governmental organizations in the health and human services sector. By providing information and expertise on program outcomes and quality improvement, the center assists nonprofits with measuring success, demonstrating the effectiveness of programs and services, and increasing the likelihood of future program funding.
Center for Policy Studies
Center for Policy Studies endeavors to stimulate greater interest in policy issues at the university, to encourage the many policy scholars across the university to interact with each other and with the wider public, and to increase the local and national visibility of Case Western Reserve's policy studies.
Center for Popular Music Studies
Center for Popular Music Studies promotes scholarship and teaching about the history and significance of popular music through classes, community outreach, lectures, and symposia.
Center on Poverty and Community Development
The Center on Poverty and Community Development seeks to address the problems of persistent and concentrated poverty and is dedicated to understanding how social and economic changes affect low-income communities and their residents. Researchers at this Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences center view the city as both a tool for building communities and producing change locally, and as a representative urban center from which nationally relevant research and policy implications can be drawn.
Center for Professional Ethics
The Center for Professional Ethics has a mission to explore moral choices across professional lines in a variety of disciplines. It brings together practicing professionals, faculty members and students to exchange ideas on topics such as confidentiality, decision-making, lying and conflict of interest.
Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics
A primary goal of the Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics is to develop an infrastructure of sophisticated equipment that facilitates and maximizes shared equipment usage. The center also aims to offer a wide array of proteomics and bioinformatics services including mass spectrometry, protein expression/interactions, systems biology, and biostatistical analyses.
Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods
Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods is a collaborative research center that works with underserved and disadvantaged urban neighborhoods across Greater Cleveland to develop, test, and implement effective, scalable, and sustainable strategies to prevent and reduce chronic disease by addressing the broader social and environmental determinants inherent in the disinvested urban core.
R
Center for Research and Scholarship
The Center for Research and Scholarship provides researchers at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing with assistance in administration and support of existing and new research. This assistance includes monthly updates on funding opportunities and personalized funding searches, grant development and application services, and post-award activity monitoring from set up to close out.
Center for Research on Tibet
Center for Research on Tibet at Case Western Reserve University conducts research on Tibetan history, society, language, ecology/physiology and culture so as to understand traditional Tibet and the manner in which it has changed.
Center for RNA Science and Therapeutics
The Center for RNA Science and Therapeutics was established in recognition of the strong cadre of research laboratories at CWRU devoted to studying various aspects of RNA biology. Our faculty includes members from multiple departments in the School of Medicine, as well as researchers at Cleveland State University, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and other affiliated hospitals.
S
Sarah Cole Hirsh Institute for Best Nursing Practices Based on Evidence
Sarah Cole Hirsh Institute for Best Nursing Practices Based on Evidence facilitates the integration of the most current evidence-based practices to support nurses and other health professionals in their clinical decision-making.
Schubert Center for Child Studies
Schubert Center for Child Studies strengthens the links between child-related academic study, public policy formation, and professional practice.
Institute for the Science of Origins
Institute for the Science of Origins is a collaborative team of faculty members and researchers from diverse scientific disciplines seeking to understand how complex systems emerge and evolve, from the universe to the mind, from microbes to humanity. Through interdisciplinary teams and cross-departmental programs, the institute works with its partners and the university community to create new knowledge, to prepare the scientists of tomorrow and to educate the public about origins research.
SDLE Research Center
The Solar Durability and Lifetime Extension (SDLE) Research Center at Case Western Reserve University is a world-class research center dedicated to data science and analytics that are applied to materials and energy sciences. While the center originated as solar-focused, it has since expanded to include a portfolio of efforts relating to materials, modeling and beyond.
Sears think[box]
Students, faculty, staff and members of the community can bring their ideas to life at Sears think[box], a seven-story innovation center, makerspace and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Skeletal Research Center
The mission of the Skeletal Research Center is to facilitate the advancement of the basic research of skeletal tissues and to accelerate the translation of new information into innovative clinical strategies for the regeneration and maintenance of skeletal tissues.
Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems
Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems (ISSACS) focuses on activities on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), seeking to catalyze efforts in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio and seize the $6.2 trillion economic opportunity of the IIoT.
Social Justice Institute
In a society wrought with blatant discrepancies, Case Western Reserve's Social Justice Institute supports and facilitates social critique and civic engagement to identify the causes and consequences of injustice and work toward resolutions.
Social Justice Law Center
The Social Justice Law Center serves to ensure that students interested in the contours of American inequality at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law have access to top notch legal educational offerings and experiences.
Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology and the Arts
Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology and the Arts focuses on intellectual property, technological innovation, and technology transfer; the intersection of science, economics, philosophy, and the law; legal issues concerning biotechnology and computer technologies; and laws and cultural issues relating to the creative arts.
Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials
The Social Justice Law Center serves to ensure that students interested in the contours of American inequality at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law have access to top notch legal educational offerings and experiences. The Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials (SCSAM) is a multi-user facility offering a suite of instrumentation for materials characterization and surface and near-surface chemical analysis. SCSAM’s facilities are available to all faculty members, research staff, and student users on the Case Western Reserve University campus and also to external academic, nonprofit, and industrial users at standard hourly use charges.
T
Center on Trauma and Adversity
The Center on Trauma and Adversity bridges the gap between the classroom and community to provide trauma-informed knowledge and training to social work master’s students at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences so they can effectively assess, intervene and treat people and communities affected by trauma.
Tuberculosis Research Unit
The Tuberculosis Research Unit works internationally to identify new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB in areas of the world where it is most common.
U
University Center on Aging and Health
A community of scholars with national and international recognition, and professional practitioners dedicated to critical thinking, University Center on Aging and Health fulfills a unique mission of encouraging and coordinating innovative interdisciplinary research, education and service programs relevant to the health and well-being of elderly persons.
University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE)
University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE) is dedicated to working with the faculty and students at CWRU to create an enriching and rewarding learning experience for everyone.
V
Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship
The Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University catalyzes entrepreneurial ideas through education and training, accelerates venture creation, and connects people in a transformative way.
Visual Sciences Research Center
Visual Sciences Research Center aims to enhance research across departments by providing genotyping services, high-quality images, microscopy training, image analysis and more. There are four core modules in the center: Tissue Culture and Hybridoma, Molecular Biology and Genotyping, Histology Microscopy and Imaging, and Specialized Animal Resources.
W
Willard A. Bernbaum Cystic Fibrosis Research Center
The Willard A. Bernbaum Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine dates back to 1964 when it was initially funded by the National Institutes of Health. Our investigators aspire to identify and understand the fundamental mechanisms involved in cystic fibrosis pathophysiology and to devise new therapeutics to treat the disease and its complications.
X
xLab
By partnering design and tech-savvy students, faculty and industry experts with companies interested in exploring digital initiatives and responsible technologies, xLab seeks to re-imagine digital futures for everyone.