Jennifer Johnston

Sun-Joo Cho, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development, has been named a 2013 National Academy of Education (NAE)/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow. Read More

Women with access to group prenatal care had improved birth outcomes, including longer gestational periods and higher birth weight, in a study conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt’s Peabody Research Institute. Read More

Constant innovation helped make one of the first massive open online courses, or MOOCs, at Vanderbilt more like a “real class” and benefited faculty and students by improving on-campus teaching, according to Douglas Schmidt, professor of computer science and of computer engineering at Vanderbilt. Read More

Research conducted at Vanderbilt is featured in "Brains on Trial with Alan Alda," a two-part televised series airing Sept. 11 and Sept. 18 on PBS that explores how the growing ability to separate truth from lies may radically affect the way criminal trials are conducted in the future. Read More

“From a historical perspective, which looks at the American presidency since the end of World War II, Obama’s decision reflects a turning point, the clear triumph of domestic political considerations over foreign policy priorities,” according to Thomas Schwartz, a professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt. Read More

Positive interactions in a pre-kindergarten classroom may be equally or more important to the future academic development of 4-year-olds than learning letters and numbers, according to Dale Farran, senior associate director of the Peabody Research Institute at Vanderbilt's Peabody College for education and human development. Read More

New U.S. Department of Justice guidelines regarding the enforcement of the federal government’s longstanding marijuana prohibition constitute a “major policy shift,” according to Robert Mikos of Vanderbilt University Law School. Mikos, an expert on the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws, is available to provide expert commentary on the DOJ announcement. Read More

While high-frequency trading has been linked to several high-profile episodes, a new study conducted by Vanderbilt University finance professors Nicolas P.B. Bollen and Robert E. Whaley finds there has been no discernable uptick in average global market volatility correlated with the rise of high-frequency computer trading. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt professors will develop new math and reading strategies aimed at improving student success with the support of a new $10 million federal grant. Read More

Christopher Slobogin, the author of a book that addresses privacy and government intrusion, is available for expert commentary for ongoing stories regarding whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations of massive phone surveillance by a federal spy agency. Read More

Ernest Campbell, who was instrumental in revitalizing Vanderbilt's Department of Sociology and Anthropology and known nationally for his research in race relations, desegregation and education, died July 28. Read More

Economic prospects improved for small mountain farmers in Guatemala when consumers developed a taste for coffee brewed with beans grown at high altitude, according to a new study from the Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee Studies. Read More

As Americans attempt to grapple with the motives behind the Boston Marathon bombings, it is important not to see the two Chechen brothers suspected in the deadly attacks through the same prism Read More

Velma McBride Murry is the recipient of the Society for Research in Child Development’s 2013 Distinguished Contributions to Cultural and Contextual Factors in Child Development Award presented April 18 at SRCD’s biennial meeting in Seattle. Read More

If the Tennessee Valley Authority goes private, utility customers could benefit if risks and incentives are better aligned than under the current approach, according to a Vanderbilt law professor. The prospect of selling off the public utility has been raised by the Obama administration in a call for a strategic review. Read More

Failing to get proper consent from parents in a study that potentially put babies at risk is unquestionably a regulatory failure and perhaps a moral failure, according to Laura Stark, an expert on medical regulation and ethics. Read More

The Obama administration launched a “modest shot across the bow” with a call for a strategic review that includes consideration of a possible sale of the Tennessee Valley Authority, according to Bruce Oppenheimer, professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Rising tensions in the Korean peninsula have Japan, South Korea and the United States on full alert for a possible missile launch from North Korea. James Auer “A major worry now is North Korea’s young leader, who may not understand the constraints of reality that his grandfather and father… Read More

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is either leading his country’s military or being led by that military into a rhetorical battle with the United States, South Korea and Japan that he and his generals cannot win, according to James Auer, director of Vanderbilt’s Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation. Read More

Vanderbilt’s James Franklin was honored Feb. 13 by the Tennessee Senate as lawmakers recognized his accomplishments as the Commodores’ head football coach. Read More