Reagan Villet
-
Heard Libraries exhibit marks Scopes anniversary, 150 years of evolution at Vanderbilt
The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will mark the centennial anniversary of the landmark Scopes trial with a new exhibit at Vanderbilt’s Central Library. Celebrating 150 Years of Evolution at Vanderbilt is on view in the Central Library second-floor gallery until mid-November 2025. Read MoreJul 21, 2025
-
Limited Submission Opportunity: 2026 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award
Vanderbilt (VU and VUMC, collaboratively) may nominate one candidate for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award Program. Read MoreJul 21, 2025
-
Limited Submission Opportunity: 2026 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Awards (Neuroscience)
Vanderbilt University may nominate one candidate for the 2026 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award. Read MoreJul 21, 2025
-
Working Parents: Letting go of perfection and embracing “good enough” with Lyra Health
Unrealistic messages about working motherhood are pervasive, creating relentless pressure to meet high expectations. However, this pressure is ultimately self-imposed. By consciously recalibrating your expectations from “perfect” to “good enough,” you can begin to alleviate stress and find a more balanced approach to life. Implementing practical strategies can help structure your daily routine into something less stressful and more manageable. Read MoreJul 21, 2025
-
Applications now open for the Curb Center’s 2025–26 Creative Inquiry Grants
The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt has awarded nearly $80,000 over the past academic year to undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff pursuing community-facing arts-based projects. This is triple the impact of previous iterations of this program, spurred by new application procedures, outreach and project development methods. Creative Inquiry Grants, named for the Curb Center’s goal of elevating art as a mode of inquiry, award up to $2,500 per applicant and the use of Curb Center space and resources to the stewards of a variety of important projects. Read MoreJul 21, 2025
-
Researchers receive $1.2 million NSF grant to develop smart microscope system
Vanderbilt researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a smart microscope system that uses artificial intelligence to help scientists better understand how cells behave, particularly in diseases like cancer. Read MoreJul 17, 2025
-
Quantum Potential Podcast Episode 11: The price of deregulation with Ganesh Sitaraman
In this episode of Quantum Potential, Ganesh Sitaraman, New York Alumni Chancellor’s Chair in Law, professor of law, director of the Program in Law and Government, and director of the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to explore why businesses that provide essential services—like energy, transportation, communication and banking—should be governed differently than small businesses. Read MoreJul 17, 2025
-
Heard Libraries exhibit celebrates Flannery O’Connor’s Vanderbilt ties, enduring legacy
The influence of Vanderbilt University writers on acclaimed author Flannery O’Connor—and the extensive reach of O’Connor’s work on literature and beyond—are the subjects of a new Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries exhibit. Read MoreJul 16, 2025
-
Dialogue Vanderbilt helps students navigate differences through connection and conversation
As the fall semester begins, Vanderbilt welcomes a new class of students ready to engage with ideas, explore identity and build community. One of the university’s signature efforts to support this journey is Dialogue Vanderbilt—a campus-wide initiative that advances the university’s enduring commitment to constructive dialogue and civil discourse, rooted in our core beliefs of free expression and institutional neutrality. It equips the Vanderbilt community with the tools and opportunities to engage in respectful, thoughtful conversations—across differences and on any topic. Read MoreJul 16, 2025
-
Good chemistry: how chemistry students expand their skill set through hands-on, experiential learning
This past academic year, seven graduate students and one undergraduate student participated in the 2025 Merck Compound Challenge. Created in 2018, the competition gives teams from around the world 48 hours to create a proposed route of chemical steps from a commercial chemical they believe will make the final compound. Read MoreJul 16, 2025
-
Vanderbilt biologist receives $1.3M Keck grant to study what birds’ longevity could mean for human aging
Pet parrots often outlive their owners, and Vanderbilt researchers want to know why—because uncovering the biological mechanisms behind exceptional longevity could one day help safely extend the lives of humans. With the support of a new $1.3 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, Vanderbilt biologist Gianni Castiglione is taking a bold approach to aging research: reverse-engineering how birds live three to four times longer than similarly sized mammals to identify safe, effective genetic targets for human aging therapies. Read MoreJul 16, 2025
-
Chancellor Diermeier meets with members of Congress, highlights federal partnerships at Vanderbilt’s D.C. reception
In late June, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier traveled to Washington, D.C., for a day of congressional meetings and to headline Vanderbilt University’s congressional reception. His visit, organized by Vanderbilt’s Office of Federal Relations, came at a pivotal moment as Congress considers sweeping budget and tax legislation. Read MoreJul 15, 2025
-
Breakthrough study shows how brain-to-computer ‘electroceuticals’ can help restore cognition
Just like electrical stimulation of heart muscles can restore a regular heartbeat, new research led by Thilo Womelsdorf suggests that "electroceutical" intervention in the brain can improve memory and other cognitive functions wrought by behavioral health disorders and diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Womelsdorf, professor of psychology and biomedical engineering at the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, said, “For these cognitive disabilities, brain-computer interfaces promise to become next-generation electroceutical treatment options.” Read MoreJul 10, 2025
-
Nanobody hitchhikers boost immunotherapy potency in cancer treatment
A collaboration among VUMC, the College of Arts and Science, the School of Medicine and the School of Engineering has led to some higher-order “hitchhikers” that can make immunotherapy cancer treatments more effective. Associate Professor John Wilson’s lab devised a way to piggyback cancer-fighting nanobodies onto molecules that naturally accumulate around tumors—getting the treatment where it needs to go. Read MoreJul 10, 2025
-
Quynh Anh Nguyen awarded prestigious Klingenstein Fellowship to study mechanisms of epilepsy
Quynh Anh Nguyen, assistant professor of pharmacology, is the first Vanderbilt faculty member to be awarded the highly competitive Klingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience since 1985. Her research aims to unravel the mysteries of epilepsy by focusing on how specific cells in the brain contribute to or suppress the hyperexcitability in neural circuits that are thought to be involved in the disorder’s spontaneous seizures. Read MoreJul 10, 2025
-
Vanderbilt University, Humanities Tennessee to host 37th Southern Festival of Books Oct. 18–19
This year’s event will be titled “Vanderbilt University Presents: The Southern Festival of Books, a program of Humanities Tennessee,” marking a new chapter in the life of this storied public event and reflecting Vanderbilt’s deepening investment in the cultural, civic and intellectual fabric of the region. The continuation of the festival is a testament to the power of community. After months of uncertainty following the termination of federal funding, Tennesseans will have the opportunity to celebrate the return of this free event that connects authors and readers at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, the Tennessee State Museum and the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Read MoreJul 8, 2025
-
Humphrey Fellowship Program seeks Friendship Families for international leaders for the 2025–26 academic year
Vanderbilt’s Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is seeking Friendship Families for the 2025–26 academic year. The Humphrey Fellowship Program at Vanderbilt brings accomplished mid–career educational leaders from developing nations and emerging democracies to the United States for an academic year for leadership and professional development as well as fostering mutual exchange. Humphrey Fellows for the 2025-2026 year are expected to come from at least nine different countries. Read MoreJul 8, 2025
-
Collaboration between the Curb Center and Forklift Danceworks generates meaningful conversations with campus facilities and dining workers
A university requires more than professors, administrators and students to run properly. The preparation of food, maintenance and cleaning of facilities, landscaping and groundskeeping work, and thousands of other essential tasks build the foundation of every place of learning. Even so, conversations between these two worlds can be rare, and when they do occur, might be scaffolded by hierarchical ideas about work. One program, sponsored by the Curb Center in collaboration with Forklift Danceworks, seeks to change this. Read MoreJul 8, 2025
-
Staff and faculty education opportunity: Level up with new skills through Master of Public Health program courses
Take courses and advance your skills in epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical trials, informatics, survey research, program evaluation, implementation science and more. Courses are offered through the Master of Public Health program in the School of Medicine. Tuition assistance is available for eligible employees. Read MoreJul 7, 2025
-
Ten students selected for new cohort of Ingram Scholars
Seven incoming first-year students and three rising sophomores have been selected for the Ingram Scholars Program. They were chosen from among more than 2,000 applicants for the prestigious merit scholarship, awarded each year to students who demonstrate academic excellence and a strong passion for service. Read MoreJul 7, 2025