Centers of Excellence
Tulane University Centers of Excellence
Centers of Excellence
TCE-MPS - Tulane Center of Excellence for Microphysiological Systems
Co-Director - Michael Moore, PhD, Tulane School of Science and Engineering
Co-Director - Heddwen Brooks, PhD, Tulane School of Medicine
TIIDHS – Tulane Institute for Integrated Data and Health Sciences
https://medicine.tulane.edu/tiidhs
Director – Hong-Wen Deng, PhD, Tulane School of Medicine
TU:CEAI – Tulane Center for Community-Engaged Artificial Intelligence
https://tulanecs.github.io/tuceai/
Director – Aron Culotta, PhD, Tulane School of Science and Engineering
TCESPM—Tulane Center of Excellence in Sex-Based Precision Medicine
Director – Franck Mauvais-Jarvis, MD, PhD, Tulane School of Medicine
TPHI – Tulane Personalized Health Institute
Director – Lu Qi, PhD, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
CEERID – Tulane Center of Excellence for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease Research
Director – Patricia Kissinger, PhD, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
The Round Four competition for the Tulane Research Centers of Excellence closed June 12, 2026, with sixteen Letters of Interest submitted for review and consideration to move forward to full proposals. Full proposals will be reviewed and the seventh Center of Excellence to be funded will be announced in the early Fall 2026.
The six Research Centers of Excellence noted above were selected and funded based on their plans for and ability to bring together faculty from various Tulane schools and units to foster collaborative research. Collaborative or convergence research was identified by the National Science Foundation as one of “10 Big Ideas.” It defines a means for solving vexing research problems, in particular, complex problems focusing on societal needs. It entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and forming novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation.
A distinct characteristic of convergence research, in contrast to other forms of multidisciplinary research, is that from the inception, the convergence paradigm intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers and stakeholders to frame the research questions, develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines and sectors, adopt common frameworks for their solution, and, when appropriate, develop a new scientific vocabulary. Research teams practicing convergence aim at developing sustainable relationships that may not only create solutions to the problem that engendered the collaboration, but also develop novel ways of framing related research questions and open new research vistas.
Please contact Assistant Vice President, Research Administration, Gail Louis, glouis@tulane.edu if you have questions about the Centers of Excellence.
