About Us

Overview — Disability Research and Dissemination Center (DRDC)

The Disability Research and Dissemination Center (DRDC) is a partnership among four PI-Institutions: the University of South Carolina (USC), the State University of New York Upstate Medical University (SUNY Upstate), CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, and the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD).  It was formed  in 2012 through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to expand the capacity of the National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) to identify and fund the best research in the field of birth defects, disabilities, human development, and blood disorders; to foster training of health and public health professionals through fellowships; to complete specific projects to advance disability science and evidence-based practice; and to use progressive mechanisms to disseminate knowledge. The DRDC’s External Advisory Council is composed of 15 nationally acclaimed academicians and advocates who have input regarding the activities to ensure that DRDC’s major objectives are attained.

The five Core areas within the DRDC are: Administration, Research, Research Translation, Evaluation, and Dissemination & Policy.  The Administrative home of the DRDC is at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health, which is also responsible for the conduct of Research activities. SUNY-Upstate provides leadership for the Research Translation Core and also houses the Evaluation Core.  The Dissemination and Policy Core of the DRDC is directed by the AAHD.  The DRDC team has the infrastructure to support researchers throughout the US who are pursuing research projects. The staff at the NCBDDD three divisions: Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Human Development and Disability, and Blood Disorders, use the DRDC to issue Requests for Applications (RFAs), with new ones announced each January. These projects are directed toward prevention, early intervention, and health promotion, and they are designed to answer NCBDDD study questions. DRDC maintains close interactions with NCBDDD to offers infrastructure that can promote and support new or ongoing projects.