Sean Collins, MD, MSci, professor of Emergency Medicine, has taken on new leadership roles in the Vanderbilt Coordinating Center (VCC) and the Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health (IMPH).
Collins will become co-director of the VCC, which was founded in 1989 by Gordon Bernard, MD, Melinda Owen Bass Professor of Medicine and Executive Vice President for the Office of Research. The VCC provides support for clinical trials led by VUMC through multiple teams — one that helps with screening and enrollment, another that provides consultation on design and recruitment and another that serves as a liaison for researchers — all with the goal of optimizing trial results.
In this role, Collins will work closely with the VCC team to build acute care clinical trials with an emphasis on cardiovascular disease, an area in which Collins has extensive expertise.
“I am delighted that Dr. Collins has joined the team as co-director of the Vanderbilt Coordinating Center,” said Bernard. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the conduct of multicenter trials in cardiovascular disease and acute care. He will be instrumental in shaping and leading the rapid growth of the VCC.”
Collins will also take on the role of associate director for clinical trials research at IMPH. He will work with Russell Rothman, MD, Sunil Kripalani, MD, and the IMPH team to compete for multicenter clinical trials.
“We are excited about the success Dr. Collins has had leading the Center for Emergency Care Research and Innovation (CERI) and we look forward to his new leadership role,” said Rothman. “Dr. Collins will help to advance innovative research methods and expand our portfolio of pragmatic trials across the Institute for Medicine and Public Health.”
“Dr. Collins has done a phenomenal job leading CERI in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and I look forward to the next level of coordination and innovation his leadership will bring to clinical trials at VUMC,” said Erik Hess, MD, professor and chair of Emergency Medicine.
Collins joined Vanderbilt in 2011 after completing his residency and spending 10 years on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati. During that time, he completed a research fellowship and obtained a Master of Science in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Collins is a fellow in the Heart Failure Society of America, European Society of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.
“These are both phenomenal opportunities to continue building the foundation for Vanderbilt to be a leader in coordinating center activities,” said Collins.
“My goal is to work with VCC and IMPH leaders to continue building us into the pre-eminent clinical trials group in the nation, for both federally funded and pharmaceutical multicenter clinical trials. I look forward to working with all of the talented physician scientists across the institution to positively impact patient care.”
