Year: 2025

Jennifer and Marc Lipschultz have committed a landmark collection of nearly 5,000 photographs, featuring work from hundreds of photographers including Bill Owens, Danny Lyon, Berenice Abbott, Lalla Essaydi and Dorothy Norman, to the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art. In addition to its unique emphasis on photojournalism—including iconic wire press photos from WWII, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and beyond—the collection also spans urban street photography, portraits and other themes that are ideal for inspiring student immersion and a range of programming. Read More

Enrollment began today, Oct. 16, and ends at 11:59 p.m. CT Oct. 31, 2025. Elections are effective Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2026, and cannot be changed after the enrollment period closes, unless you have a qualifying life event. Open Enrollment is your once-a-year opportunity to choose the benefits that best meet the needs of you and your family. All benefits-eligible employees must complete Open Enrollment for the calendar year 2026 benefits.  Read More

Collegiate voice students can only dream about the opportunity—someday—to be featured as a soloist with a major symphony orchestra. For Blair junior Vyjayanthi “Viji” Burma, a music education major, that dream became a reality in a whirlwind fashion last month. Read More

As far back as he can remember, Andy Schwartz has been fascinated by two things—how the brain works and how humans process natural language. Today, as director of HLAB—the Human Language Analysis Beings lab—and research associate professor in the Vanderbilt College of Connected Computing, he explores the intersection of AI, language and mental health. Read More

Andrew Nalani Andrew Nalani, assistant professor of human and organizational development, has joined the Bezos Family Foundation as an inaugural scholar of the Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence program. Nalani began the one-year residency program on August 18, taking a leave of absence from his faculty position… Read More

Ointments like Neosporin contain the antibiotic neomycin, which works great to kill bacteria on the outside of the body when you scrape your knee or have a hangnail. But inside the body, neomycin does more harm than good—kidney and neurological damage and deafness. Research Assistant Professor Bhawik Jain and colleagues in his lab have figured out why that is, and how to stop it. This could make neomycin another tool in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Read More

Much of the human brain is still a mystery, largely because it’s pretty difficult to see what’s going on in there. Assistant Professor Daniel Gonzales and the team in his lab are working to make that easier. They’re using experimental platforms that record brain activity with unprecedented precision on all levels. It works on everything from whole-brain networks to individual synapses—tiny gaps between brain cells that are one-tenth the width of a human hair. “We can … really detail pictures of brain activity during learning,” Gonzales said. “And then we can apply that to study diseases that degrade learning.” Read More

Road closures are a pain—and sometimes they’re not even supposed to be happening. A project by senior research scientist Ayan Mukhopadhyay is working to develop a system—SENTRY—that uses AI to help city inspectors find and address unauthorized road closures in Nashville. “The system has the potential to save millions in unpaid permit fees, reduce external inspection costs and minimize disruptions for residents, commuters and local businesses,” Mukhopadhyay said. His research is supported by a $697,000 grant that's part of NSF's CIVIC Innovation Challenge. Read More

Through a collaboration between US and Kenyan researchers and Turkana communities of northern Kenya, scientists have uncovered key genetic adaptations underlying survival in hot and dry environments, revealing how natural selection has enabled this pas... Read More

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we invite all students, faculty and staff to “Stay Cyber-Safe, Live Cyber-Smart.” By arming ourselves with knowledge and crucial cyber-tips, sharing risks openly, working together across departments and supporting one another, we build a culture of trust and protection where everyone plays a positive role in keeping Vanderbilt secure.  Read More

By Jenna Somers In September, a delegation from Pakistan visited Vanderbilt University for the weeklong STEM-Powered Immersion Conference, hosted by Peabody College of education and human development. Six faculty members from Sukkur IBA University and Qasim Aslam, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond the Classroom, participated in a… Read More

Vanderbilt University can select two candidates for the 2026 SebastianStrong Foundation Discovery Science Award. Read More

Vanderbilt University may submit one application to the Tennessee Arts Commission Arts Project Support (APS) OR the Rural Arts Project Support (RAPS) program. Read More

All Vanderbilt staff are invited to attend the annual Fall Staff Assembly, either at Vanderbilt’s Langford Auditorium or virtually, on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The event will celebrate university staff and their many contributions to the university’s mission. Read More

RESEARCH SPARK: Get to know Shekhar Bhansali, new head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his vision for AI engineering education. Read More

Starting in October 2025, the Center for Global Democracy, with support from the Kellogg Institute, will conduct the 2025/26 round of the AmericasBarometer, which tracks public opinion on democracy in 20 countries across the Americas. The initiative builds on the Center for Global Democracy’s expertise in survey research while drawing on the Kellogg Institute’s long-standing strength in the study of democracy in Latin America. Read More

Power of Suggestion: The Hypnotism Library of Dr. Albert Moll, curated by History of Medicine Collections curator Chris Ryland and archivist Jim Thweatt, is on view at Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives through mid-February 2026. The items in the exhibit are drawn from a multilingual collection offering a unique perspective on the history of hypnotism as well as its relationship to animal magnetism, psychotherapy, mesmerism, sleepwalking, criminology, and even yoga. Read More

By Jenna Somers   Families interested in enrolling their children in this study should contact the research team at vuhandsonplaylab@gmail.com or (615) 343-1079. Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal cause of cognitive disability, affects approximately one in 700 live births. Scientists have known the genetic etiology of Down syndrome for… Read More

By Jenna Somers About a quarter to a third of students with mathematics learning disabilities do not show adequate improvement after receiving skills-based math interventions. A new study will test the effects of combining a mathematics intervention and working memory training on the math learning of first-grade children with… Read More

As Vanderbilt students Katie Wong (junior), Ren Adajar (junior) and Christin Ann Sanchez (senior) coasted through the bustle of Ho Chi Minh City on the backs of motorbikes, holding tightly onto their peer tour guides this past May, it was hard to believe that 24 hours earlier they were on campus saying goodbye to friends, professors and Nashville for the summer. The three students knew their itinerary and whom they would meet with, and thanks to their professor’s advising, they understood the learning objectives on gender equity and human rights, but they did not know how much of an impact the following few weeks would have on their lives.  Read More