Gordon R. Bernard, MD, is Assoc Vice Chancellor for Research, Vanderbilt University.  He joined the faculty in 1981 as a physician scientist and was Medical Director for the Medical Intensive Care Unit from 1983 – 1994.   Dr. Bernard’s research has primarily focused on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with sepsis and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and he established the Vanderbilt Coordinating Center in 1987 to support the large multi-institutional and international clinical investigations.  In 1994 he was asked to lead the NIH ARDS Clinical Trials Network – the principal NIH team focused on clinical research in intensive care and continued in this role until 2014.  Dr. Bernard is a member of the American Association of Physicians and has written or co-authored more than 275 original articles and book chapters.  In these roles, Dr. Bernard oversees the extensive, multifaceted clinical and translational research programs of VUMC.