Research
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Cognitive neuroscientist Laurie Cutting wins SEC Faculty Achievement Award
Laurie Cutting, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Special Education (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt University) Laurie E. Cutting, a pioneering educational neuroscientist devoted to unlocking the mysteries of brain function in learning, has been named the 2025 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner from Vanderbilt University. The annual award honors… Read MoreMar 28, 2025
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Jackson Lab reveals relationship between transport proteins and brain disease
Fat and protein molecules are essential to human brain health, and there are microscopic transport hubs that make sure the right molecules get to the right cells. If the proteins aren’t interacting properly, they can wind up in the wrong places—a problem that’s been linked to diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS. Research in Associate Professor Lauren Jackson’s lab has uncovered how those proteins interact. Read MoreMar 27, 2025
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Legislative gridlock did not stop lawmaking
Vanderbilt’s Alan Wiseman co-directs the Center for Effective Lawmaking with University of Virginia professor Craig Volden. Using a combination of 15 metrics, the center defines legislators that “exceed expectations” as those who outperform the center’s benchmark Legislative Effectiveness Scores by 50 percent or more, and high-performers are across the political spectrum. Read MoreMar 27, 2025
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Quantum Potential Podcast Episode 4: Behind the brain science of addiction with Erin Calipari
What does the way we learn have to do with drug addiction? In our fourth episode, Erin Calipari, associate professor of pharmacology and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver for an enlightening conversation. In this episode, they discuss nucleus accumbens—the part of our brain that helps us link cues and outcomes—and dissect how it affects the ways we make decisions that can lead to addictions, from food or drugs to behaviors. Read MoreMar 27, 2025
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Limited Submission Opportunity: Tennessee Arts Commission 2026 Arts Build Communities Grant Program
Vanderbilt University may submit one application to the TN Arts Commission's Arts Build Communities program. Read MoreMar 26, 2025
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Vanderbilt researchers identify potential drug combinations to improve breast cancer treatment
Kevin Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and professor of history of art and architecture, and Mary Anne Hunting, BA’80, have uncovered the histories of female architects in the American Modernism period of the U.S. in new research. Read MoreMar 26, 2025
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Study uncovers significant differences in a dietary supplement’s key ingredient
A recent study by Paula Luis and Claus Schneider, researchers in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences Department of Pharmacology and the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, has uncovered substantial inconsistencies in the alkaloid content of Corydalis yanhusuo dietary supplements. Read MoreMar 26, 2025
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Vanderbilt research discovers new brain injury impairments to everyday communication skills
In two recent studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, moderate-severe TBI was associated with difficulties in communication, namely remembering spoken language and integrating information in gesture with speech. Both impairments can inhibit a person’s ability to understand and effectively communicate with others, but the research teams hope the studies’ findings could pave the way for improved therapies and assessments to help people with TBI communicate more easily in their daily lives. Read MoreMar 24, 2025
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Audrey Bowden’s science and faith illuminate invisible diseases
Learn about the inspiration that drives biomedical engineer Audrey Bowden in her work using light towards breakthroughs in medical issues from cancers to jaundice to ADHD. Read MoreMar 24, 2025
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Vanderbilt’s Jesse Spencer-Smith appointed to Tennessee AI Advisory Council
Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Vanderbilt University’s Jesse Spencer-Smith to the Tennessee Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, which was established last year to guide the ethical and effective use of AI in the state. Read MoreMar 24, 2025
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Burke awarded grants on disabilities services, autism siblings
By Jennifer Kiilerich Meghan Burke, professor of special education at Peabody College Only about 20 percent of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities currently access formal support services. Meghan Burke, professor of special education at Vanderbilt Peabody College, has built a career around growing that number, helping… Read MoreMar 20, 2025
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New research showcases unsung history of female architects
Kevin Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and professor of history of art and architecture, and Mary Anne Hunting, BA’80, have uncovered the histories of female architects in the American Modernism period of the U.S. in new research. Read MoreMar 20, 2025
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Choosing the best school for your child: a Q&A with independent school expert Carrie Grimes
By Jenna Somers and Krystal Schmidt Tennessee’s Education Freedom Act of 2025 takes effect in the 2025-2026 school year. In the first year, the Tennessee Department of Education will award 20,000 state-funded scholarships, commonly known as vouchers, to eligible families to support their children’s attendance at scholarship-accepting private schools. Read MoreMar 19, 2025
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Limited Submission Opportunity: 2025 Conservation, Food & Health Foundation Grants
Vanderbilt University may submit one application to the June 2025 cycle of the Conservation, Food and Health Foundation (CFH) Grants program. Read MoreMar 10, 2025
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Limited Submission Opportunity: 2025 V Foundation Pediatric Cancer Research Awards
Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC, collaboratively) may choose up to two nominees for the V Foundation 2025 Pediatric Cancer Research Grant Program: one V Scholar OR Translational nominee and one All-Star nominee. Read MoreMar 10, 2025
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How do you maintain a cellular structure without a membrane? Researchers find that synapses can use liquids to create functional separations
The laboratory of Ege Kavalali, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, published a new paper in Nature Communications that determined that liquid-liquid phase separation plays a key role within the nanostructure of synapses, and that its disruption affects evoked but not spontaneous neurotransmission. Read MoreMar 6, 2025
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Metacognitive-driven “exit tickets” could improve high school math performance, unlock STEM pathways
By Jennifer Kiilerich More than 60 percent of American students aged 12-18 are interested in a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to a 2023 Walton Family Foundation survey. On the road to a life in STEM, proficiency in high school math has been identified by researchers as… Read MoreMar 6, 2025
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New scholarship opens doors for neurodiverse learners
The scholarship, with funds provided by Vanderbilt University, will support students in the Next Steps at Vanderbilt program. Based in Peabody College of education and human development, Next Steps is a four-year, postsecondary certificate program for neurodiverse students. “This scholarship is an exciting development that aligns with the… Read MoreMar 5, 2025
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Limited Submission Opportunity: 2025 Incyte Ingenuity Awards in graft-versus-host-disease
Vanderbilt University may submit up to five applications to the 2025 Incyte Ingenuity Awards in graft-versus-host-disease. Read MoreMar 4, 2025
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Quantum Potential Episode 3: Brian Bachmann, professor of chemistry, charts path to personalized treatment
In the third episode of the Quantum Potential podcast, Provost C. Cybele Raver welcomes chemist Brian Bachmann, who is the principal investigator for the Vanderbilt Laboratory for Biosynthetic Studies. Read MoreMar 3, 2025