External Story

During the next 15 years, as the baby boomer generation ages, the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease is expected to double. But there is new hope if promising research by Robert Mahley bears fruit. Mahley is senior investigator and founder of the Gladstone Institutes, a nonprofit biomedical-research organization… Read More

By Sidney DeLair, BA’75 It was my first hello and my last goodbye. As I stood by the green dumpster overflowing with boxes discarded by freshmen moving into the Kissam Quadrangle, I waved goodbye to my dad and mom while their blue 1965 Buick LeSabre slowly inched onto West End… Read More

Like the vineyards that produce the classic vintages she adores, Amy Christine Ellis’ palate has been carefully cultivated for years. Recently, she was named a master of wine by the Institute of Masters of Wine—one of only 312 people to hold that title worldwide, and one of only 10 women… Read More

A disappointing court decision led attorney Piper Hendricks to an unusual change of career—documentary filmmaking—with a little help from a nun. “I was working in international human rights litigation,” recalls Hendricks, “and was handling cases against corporations, including one against [a tire manufacturer] for using child labor in Liberia. It… Read More

StyleBlueprint.com profiles 2012 Vanderbilt University Distinguished Alumna Nora Tyson, BA’79, and her rise to vice admiral and deputy commander of United States Fleet Forces Command. Read More

Learn more about the Common Core debate in the latest issue of 'Peabody Reflector.' Read More

It all started with a faint glow. It was November 1895, and the German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen was experimenting with an early cathode ray tube—a vacuum tube with a contained electric current. During his experiments he noticed an odd fluorescence in crystals on a nearby table. Surprisingly, the glow continued even… Read More

Steven Smartt, BME’71, MME’72—associate dean for academic services in the Graduate School, assistant provost for research, and assistant professor of the practice of education—leads a parallel life. A trumpet player since elementary school, the Nashville native earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Peabody College. He… Read More

The Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce new leadership and the addition of eight new members. Patti White, BA’76, is president and Perry Brandt, BA’74, JD’77, is president-elect. New members include Ryan Grant, BS’01; Eileen C. Hart, BA’10, MSN’12; Larkin Martin, BA’85; Kate Morgan, BS’06; Alex Quintana, BA’05, MSF’06; Tim Warnock, BA’84; Valerie Williams, BE’95; and Justin Wood, BA’03, JD’06. Read More

The Senate has confirmed Staci Yandle, JD’87, as a federal judge in the Southern District of Illinois. According to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., she will be the first African-American judge to ever serve in Southern District of Illinois, and only the second woman to do so. Read More

Asking lower-income people to contemplate buying coverage around the holiday season is a bad idea because they are too financially stressed, but a good time is tax refund season, says new research co-authored by John Graves, assistant professor of health policy. Read More

When the Clinic at Mercury Courts opened in the summer of 2012, the staff expected to be inundated with patient visits. Designed to provide medical care for people and families transitioning from homelessness and other poverty situations, the clinic on Murfreesboro Road is located within a 5-mile radius of 12… Read More

Seth Bordenstein, associate professor of biological sciences, and graduate student Robert Brucker, discovered that the survival of a new hybrid of wasp depended not on their genes but on the microbes that naturally lived on and inside the insects. Read More

A study co-authored by Peter Rousseau, professor of economics, found that wines from Bordeaux's premier chateaus posted annual returns from 1900 to 2012 that beat government bonds. Read More

Events will be held in Chattanooga, Clarksville and Memphis Read More

Adena Friedman, MBA’93, will rejoin NASDAQ OMX as president of the company’s Global Corporate, Information, and Technology Solutions comprising Information Services, Technology Solutions and Corporate Client Group business segments. In this newly created role, Friedman will be responsible for overseeing the strategy and operations as well as having financial responsibility… Read More

As co-founder of theAudience, with William Morris Endeavor Chief Ari Emanuel and Napster cofounder Sean Parker, Oliver Luckett, BA’96, is well-known for creating buzz for celebrities and brands on social media. But the tech mogul is less known for his true passion—art. He is nurturing emerging artists and giving them ultimate… Read More

TriStar Centennial Medical Center announced it has named Brian Marger, MBA’98, chief operating officer of HCA Holdings’ flagship hospital. Read More

Will Grissom, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has been awarded the first External Research Award of 2014 from the Focused Ultrasound Foundation for his project titled “MR Temperature Imaging Toolbox for Focused Ultrasound Neurosurgery.” Read More

Andrea Sanders, MEd’06, became the reading tutor for William Spickard, who has Down syndrome, while she attended Vanderbilt. The student-teacher relationship inspired Sanders to start running the Country Music Marathon 10 years ago in his honor to raise awareness and money for a scholarship endowment that would allow children like… Read More