Releases

Class of 2023: Sanjana Padala, a medicine, health and society major from Little Rock, Arkansas, has a heart for helping those who might feel unheard. Whether volunteering at Veterans Affairs hospitals, tutoring fellow students in physics, creating cultural connections through Asian American clubs, or dreaming of a future working in health care and helping to support mental and physical health equity, Padala’s calming and optimistic nature fosters connection.  Read More

Class of 2023: From Navy SEAL to Vanderbilt Bass Military Scholar to doctor. Matt Smithis taking his expertise in leadership and collaboration into the operating room. Read More

Class of 2023: See how Justin Brooks is on a mission of compassion, using his growing legal expertise to aid and empower victims of domestic violence and the economically disadvantaged. Read More

Class of 2023: See how New Orleans native Darren Francis has expanded his faith and his future with the help of a special community at Vanderbilt. Read More

Class of 2023: It’s every child’s nightmare: Both parents are rushed to the hospital with life-threatening emergencies. But that terrifying personal experience—and his parents’ recovery—inspired Mark Miller to put aside a 20-year management career and earn a master’s in nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Read More

Class of 2023: For some, a piano is just an instrument. For Jack Allen, a piano performance major at the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, it is a vehicle for compassion, inspiration, teaching and community. Read More

Class of 2023: Learn why actor and playwright Taylor Rasmussen left the bright lights of New York City to follow a new dream of effecting positive change through business. But this isn’t fiction. It’s the life of Taylor Rasmussen, MBA’23. Read More

Stephen Ferguson, first-author of a new paper with his postdoctoral advisor, Laurence Zwiebel, along with two undergraduates associated with the lab, Isaac Bakis and Nicholas Edwards, confirmed the existence of a specialized soldier caste within an ant species. Read More

The book, a story of self-discovery, young love, and the exploration of what it means to belong in a community, underscores the 2023-2024 Martha Rivers Ingram Commons programming theme of “Be/longing.” Read More

Class of 2023: Read how special education major Nora Smith has found inspiration, friendship and connection within the disabled community at Vanderbilt. Read More

Class of 2023: Read how biomedical engineering major and head resident advisor Namrah Ajmal is creating unique spaces for community and belonging. Read More

Whether working on dynamic discoveries in the lab, connecting with students and faculty or pursuing his passion for nature photography, acclaimed biomedical researcher John Kuriyan is inspired by his recent move to join Vanderbilt as the new dean of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences and Distinguished University Professor. Read More

Vanderbilt University will host the Impact Evaluation Network of the Latin American and the Caribbean Economic Association for its 16th annual meeting on April 20 and 21. The event will bring together experts on policy impact evaluation to advance knowledge in the field, promote impact evaluation methodologies, increase research… Read More

For her scholarship that has led to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for thyroid cancer, Dr. Nancy Carrasco has been honored with a 2023 SEC Faculty Achievement Award. Read More

Faculty who would like to serve as a 2023 faculty marshal should RSVP by Friday, April 14, to participate. Faculty marshals are central to Commencement, creating a dignified and beautiful celebration of Vanderbilt graduates and their academic achievement.   Read More

An upcoming free conference on emerging technologies will focus on artificial intelligence and feature talks by top experts from H2O.ai, CGI, and Vandersall Collective, among others. The event is open to the public and offers raffle prizes and networking opportunities. Read More

Vanderbilt engineering faculty members Paul Harris and Jamey Young have been elected to the 2023 College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Read More

Gender in organizations expert, Jessica Kennedy, investigates how women can retain femininity while recognizing its worth and power. Read More

The Genetics Society of America has presented James O’Connor, a Ph.D. graduate from the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, the 2023 Larry Sandler Award. This international award recognizes the best Ph.D. dissertation on Drosophila—a fly genus that includes the fruit fly, a widely used model organism in biomedical research—from the previous year. Read More

Cal Flyn, an award-winning author and journalist who has written extensively on nature and environmental issues, will deliver the 2023 Harry C. Howard Jr. Lecture on April 4. Read More