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Centers and Institutes
Following is a list of research centers and institutes at Brandeis:
International Centers
Jewish Studies Centers
Science Centers
Women's Centers
Brandeis International Business School Centers
Heller School Centers
Miscellaneous Centers
Independent/Affiliated Centers
International Centers
Center for German and European Studies
Director: Sabine von Mering
Location: Olin Sang 205
Phone: 781-736-2756
Website: www.brandeis.edu/departments/cges
Pursues teaching, research and outreach to broader communities about the social, political and cultural issues involved in integrating diversity and difference in Germany and Europe in the new millennium.
Crown Center for Middle East Studies
Director: Shai Feldman
Location: Heller-Brown, 3rd floor
Phone: 781-736-5320
Website: www.brandeis.edu/crown
Produces objective, dispassionate research regarding all aspects of the contemporary Middle East. Extending beyond Arab-Israeli tensions, the center’s substantive scope includes Arab politics, Islamic studies, economic development and regional security and arms control.
International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life
Director: Daniel Terris
Location: Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex
Phone: 781-736-8577
Website: www.brandeis.edu/ethics
Develops effective responses to conflict and injustice by offering innovative approaches to coexistence, strengthening the work of international courts, and encouraging ethical practice in civic and professional life. In addition to overseeing the Brandeis Programs in International Justice and Society and the undergraduate Sorensen Fellowship for international internships, the center hosts public conferences and campus events, and supports the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts, which looks beyond conflict resolution to the vision of a just and sustainable peace.
Schusterman Center for Israel Studies
Director: S. Ilan Troen
Location: Lown 310
Phone: 781-736-6220
Website: www.brandeis.edu/israelcenter
The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies is dedicated to promoting exemplary teaching and scholarship in Israeli history, politics, culture and society at Brandeis and beyond. The center is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of the modern state of Israel by training a new generation of scholars and teachers, building a vibrant academic community and supporting research, publications and conferences. It seeks to make Brandeis a hub for nurturing and catalyzing Israel studies.
Jacob and Libby Goodman Institute for the Study of Zionism and Israel
Director: Sylvia Fuks Fried
Location: Lown 305
Phone: 781-736-2127
Sponsors research, symposia and publications as well as teaching in the historical and ideological development of the Zionist movement, and the history, society and culture of the state of Israel.
Jewish Studies Centers
Brandeis-Genesis Institute for Russian Jewry
Director: Victor Vitkin
Location: Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex, Room 325
Phone: 781-736-8410
Website: www.brandeis.edu/bgi
An initiative that prepares Russian-speaking students from around the world to become effective community leaders fortified by Jewish knowledge, a systematic understanding of Russian Jewry, and a commitment to the future of the Jewish people.
Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies
Director: Leonard Saxe
Location: Lown
Phone: 781-736-2060
Website: www.brandeis.edu/cmjs
A multidisciplinary research center dedicated to the social scientific study of contemporary Jewry. The mission of the center is to engage in academically rigorous research that concerns all facets of modern Jewish life and the role of religion and ethnicity in modern society.
> Fisher-Bernstein Institute for Jewish Philanthropy and Leadership
Director: Amy Sales
Location: Lown 314a
Phone: 781-736-2282
Website: www.brandeis.edu/fbiBrings academic expertise to the study and practice of fundraising, philanthropy and leadership in the American Jewish community. Housed at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, the institute’s approach includes research, policy analysis and the dissemination of information and ideas through publications, conferences and educational programming.
Hadassah-Brandeis Institute
Co-directors: Shulamit Reinharz and Sylvia Fishman
Location: Epstein
Phone: 781-736-2064
Website: www.brandeis.edu/hbi
Develops fresh ways of thinking about Jews and gender worldwide by producing and promoting scholarly research and artistic projects. The institute carries out this mission through its extensive publications (including the books in the Brandeis Series on Jewish Women; an academic journal, Nashim; and 614: The HBI e-zine), scholar-in-residence and internship programs, grants to researchers and artists and the HBI Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law, whose mission is to foster creative approaches to negotiating the tension between women's equality and practices justified in terms of cultural and religious traditions.
Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education
Director: Sharon Feiman-Nemser
Location: Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex
Phone: 781-736-2077
Website: www.brandeis.edu/mandel
Dedicated to transforming the quality of teaching and learning in Jewish education by supporting innovative research, pioneering new approaches to professional development and shaping discourse in the study and practice of Jewish education.
Steinhardt Social Research Institute
Director: Leonard Saxe
Location: Lown
Phone: 781-736-2060
Website: www.brandeis.edu/ssri
Collects and analyzes statistical data about the U.S. Jewish population and conducts methodological studies designed to create new paradigms for studying the Jewish community.
The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry
Executive director: Sylvia Fuks Fried
Location: Lown 305
Phone: 781-736-2125
Website: www.brandeis.edu/tauber
Engages in research, organizes symposia and publishes original works on the history and culture of European Jewry in the modern period, with a special interest in studying the Holocaust.
> The Bernard G. and Rhoda G. Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness
Director: Jonathan Sarna
Location: Lown 306
Phone: 781-736-2125
Website: www.brandeis.edu/centers/sarnatAims to promote an understanding of the causes, nature and consequences of anti-Jewish prejudice, as well as Jewish and non-Jewish responses in historical and contemporary perspectives.
Science Centers
Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory
Director: James Lackner and Paul DiZio
Location: Basement, Rabb Graduate Center
Phone: 781-736-2033
Website: www.graybiel.brandeis.edu
Pursues research in human spatial orientation, motor control and adaptation. Approaches include emphasis on intersensory and sensory-motor interactions, recognition of the intimate relationship between moment-to-moment control and long-term adaptation and exploitation of nonterrestrial conditions, such as space flight, artificial gravity and virtual environments.
National Center for Behavioral Genomics
Director: Michael Rosbash
Location: Bassine 213
Phone: 781-736-3160
Website: www.bio.brandeis.edu/genomics
Seeks to understand and identify treatments for complex behaviors, dysfunctions and diseases through cutting-edge research and research training. Its strategy is to apply the information from the human genome project and other genetic advances and link these genomic tools to molecular, cellular and systems analyses of brain functions.
Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center
Director: James Haber
Location: Rosenstiel 653
Phone: 781-736-2400
Website: www.rose.brandeis.edu
Brings together in one facility world-class scientists from a wide range of disciplines but with a common focus: the application of the tools of structural biology, genetics and immunology to basic research questions with immediate and long-term impact on human health.
The Sloan-Swartz Center for Theoretical Neurobiology
Director: Eve Marder
Location: Volen 314
Phone: 781-736-3140
Website: www.bio.brandeis.edu/sloan
Devoted to training predoctoral students and postdoctoral researchers with strong analytic and computational backgrounds to apply these skills to neuroscience.
The Benjamin and Mae Volen National Center for Complex Systems
Director: Arthur Wingfield
Location: Volen 206
Phone: 781-736-4870
Website: www.bio.brandeis.edu/volen
A multidisciplinary center dedicated to the study of nervous system function, cognition and biological and artificial intelligence.
W.M. Keck Institute for Cellular Visualization
Director: Nikolaus Grigorieff
Location: Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, fourth floor
Phone: 781-736-2426
Website: www.rose.brandeis.edu/keck.html
Women's Centers
Women’s Studies Research Center
Director: Shulamit Reinharz
Location: Epstein
Phone: 781-736-8100
Website: www.brandeis.edu/centers/wsrc
An interdisciplinary think tank where research, art and activism converge around issues of gender. The center is home to the Kniznick Gallery, the only exhibition space in New England devoted to the display of women's art and/or art about gender.
Brandeis International Business School Centers
Asia-Pacific Center for Economics and Business
Contact: Elisabeth Mathieu
Location: Lemberg Academic Center
Phone: 781-736-2178
Website: www.brandeis.edu/global/asia_pacific/institute
Conducts research, teaching and outreach on business and economic issues in the Asia-Pacific region and on U.S.-Asia Pacific relations.
Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship
Co-directors: Charles Reed and Ben Gomes-Casseres
Location: Sachar International Center
Phone: 781-736-2178
Website: www.brandeis.edu/global/asper/
Serves as Brandeis’ platform to probe and understand the key trends affecting entrepreneurship across cultures and borders.
Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership
Contacts: Elisabeth Mathieu
Location: Lemberg Academic Center
Phone: 781-736-2178
Website: www.brandeis.edu/global/perlmutter/
Prepares students for leadership positions in the global corporation of the future or in the not-for-profit sectors. Supports multidisciplinary scholarly research, teaching and practice focused on the impact of globalization on multinational organizations. The institute exposes students to real-life issues through interaction with seasoned global business and policy leaders to sharpen their analytical decision-making skills.
Rosenberg Institute of Global Finance
Director: Catherine Mann
Location: Sachar International Center
Phone: 781-736-2178
Website: www.brandeis.edu/global/rosenberg/institute
Seeks to analyze and anticipate major trends in global financial markets, institutions and regulations, and to develop the information and ideas required to solve emerging problems.
Heller School for Social Policy and Management Centers
Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy
Location: Heller
Website: http://icyfp.brandeis.edu/
Focuses on policies and programs in the domains of child health and development and child welfare, with an emphasis on early childhood and adolescence.
> Center for Youth and Communities
Director: Susan Curnan
Location: Heller 341
Phone: 781-736-3771
Website: http://cyc.brandeis.eduOne of the nation's leading research, professional development and policy organizations in youth and community development, the center’s ultimate goal is to "make knowledge productive."
Institute on Assets and Social Policy
Director: Thomas Shapiro
Location: Heller 368
Phone: 781-736-4671
Website: http://iasp.brandeis.edu/
Dedicated to the economic and social mobility of individuals and families, particularly those traditionally left out of the economic mainstream, and to the expansion of the middle class.
Lurie Institute for Disability Policy
Director: Susan Parish
Location: Heller 365
Phone: 781-736-3928
Website: http://icyfp.brandeis.edu/about/lurie.html
Supports research, policy development, education and training and enhanced public engagement and dialogue about autism and other disabilities, with a focus on the lifespan of persons with disabilities and their families.
> Nathan and Toby Starr Center for Mental Retardation
Interim Director: Marji Erickson Warfield
Location: Heller 350
Phone: 781-736-3833
Website: http://icyfp.brandeis.edu/affiliates/starr.htmlConducts research on the social consequences of disability from early childhood through the elderly years.
Schneider Institutes for Health Policy
Executive Director: Stanley Wallack
Location: Heller 216A
Phone: 781-736-3901
Website: http://sihp.brandeis.edu/
Analyzes the causes of health-care challenges, formulates solutions, implements demonstration projects and evaluates their impacts.
Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy> Institute for Behavioral Health
Director: Constance Horgan
Location: Heller 257
Phone: 781-736-3916
Website: http://sihp.brandeis.edu/ibh/Focuses on the intersection of health, behavior and systems of care, believing that these systems can be better used to promote healthier lifestyles to assist individuals with adopting behaviors that lead to better health.
> Institute on Healthcare Systems
Director: Christopher Tompkins
Location: Heller 219
Phone: 781-736-3913
Website: http://sihp.brandeis.edu/ihs/Conducts research and policy studies spanning six core competency areas: financing, organization, value of health services, quality, high cost and high risk populations, and technology.
> Institute for Global Health and Development
Director: A.K. Nandakumar
Location: Heller 227
Phone: 781-736-3926
Website: http://sihp.brandeis.edu/ighd/
Provides new resources for faculty, researchers and students who share an interest in international health and development; seeks to impact policy making by transferring knowledge to those driving policy and implementing reform.
Executive Director: Andrew Hahn
Location: Heller 375
Phone: 781-736-3774
Website: http://sillermancenter.brandeis.edu/
Empowers a generation of philanthropists to become social entrepreneurs. Serves as a resource to strengthen the country’s family foundations as they partner with nonprofits, and provides research-supported advice on effective grant-making, developing best practices, helping successful ventures reach scale and offering courses and other educational opportunities in philanthropy.
Miscellaneous Centers
Gordon Center for American Public Policy
Director: Daniel Kryder
Location: Olin-Sang 107
Phone: 781-736-2778
Website: www.brandeis.edu/departments/politics/gordoncenter
Analyzes domestic public policy from the perspective of a number of academic disciplines to improve the implementation of public programs through research and evaluation, publications, and direct practical service to those in government.
Mandel Center for the HumanitiesDirector: Ramie Targoff
Location: Mandel Quad
Phone: 781-736-5900
Website: www.brandeis.edu/mandelhumanities
Aims to deepen humanities scholarship at Brandeis through new curricular and research activities while strengthening students’ knowledge and critical thinking across multiple disciplines.
The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism
Director: Florence Graves
Location: Goldfarb 69-19
Phone: 781-736-4953
Website: www.brandeis.edu/investigate
Enables working journalists to undertake long-term investigative research projects, resulting in publication or broadcast, on significant social and political problems that could lead to changes in public policy or opinion. Institute journalists also work with Brandeis students who serve as research assistants, offering them an unusual hands-on opportunity to enrich their education.
Independent and Affiliated Centers
Lemberg Children's Center
Executive Director: Howard Baker
Location: Lemberg 114
Phone: 781-736-2200
Website: www.brandeis.edu/lemberg
Develops and supports the finest early care and education providers, nurtures social-emotional development, peace-building and inclusion through the arts and sciences and builds healthy learning communities through teacher development and research.
The National Center for Jewish Film
Executive Director: Sharon Rivo
Location: Lown 102
Phone: 781-736-8600
Website: www.brandeis.edu/jewishfilm
Gathers, preserves, catalogs and exhibits films with artistic and educational value relevant to the Jewish experience, disseminating these materials to the widest possible audience.