The Center for Health Analytics and Discovery (CHAD) was developed as part of the Eastern Virginia Medical School 2015-2018 strategic plan. The Center is a research support unit operated under the Office of Research and the Vice Dean of Research with the following goals:

To enhance EVMS research infrastructure resources
To assist EVMS faculty and students to further develop their research capacities
To improve the ability of investigators to draw valid inferences from big data and complex research questions
To coordinate expertise and services amongst different departments
To facilitate partnerships with local and regional health systems via research development
To promote rigorous methodological rationale and strong quantitative analyses in research
The Center provides consulting and collaboration support to assist EVMS researchers with study design, data analysis, statistical results interpretation, database development, data management, and other analytical services.