Health And Medicine

Erin Calipari, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research and associate professor of pharmacology and molecular physiology and biophysics, has been recognized with the Society for Neuroscience’s 2024 Jacob P. Waletzky award. Read More

Christian de Caestecker, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Ian Macara, Louise B. McGavock Professor and chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, has proposed and validated a mechanism that addresses a decades-old mystery surrounding epithelial cells. Read More

Carterra Inc. and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences announced the addition of the Carterra LSAXT label-free interaction analysis platform to the Center for Structural Biology. Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers will be able to discover and characterize large molecules including antibodies. Read More

Amanda Linkous, research associate professor of pharmacology, has been awarded a research grant from the Merck Research Laboratories Scientific Engagement and Emerging Discovery Science (SEEDS) program to identify therapeutic intervention points to prevent the colonization and proliferation of small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer in the lung and brain. Read More

Alan Hurtado, a Chemical and Physical Biology Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Edward Levine, has been awarded the first Linda Sealy Emerging Scholar Travel Award. The award was established to enhance the STEM talent pipeline by promoting a more inclusive environment that supports trainees from diverse backgrounds. Read More

Kirsty Clark, assistant professor of medicine, health, and society, studies mental health disparities impacting LGBTQ+ populations through her lab. Clark recently published research that explores the effects of negative news and media coverage on the intensity of suicidal thoughts in LGBTQ+ young adults. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed technology for sampling body liquids in tortuous and narrow spaces that could lead to early detection of diseases like cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Assistant Dean, PhD in Nursing Science Angela McNelis, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, CNE, was awarded the Mary Adelaide Nutting Award as part of the 2024 National League for Nursing Awards. The award is given to an individual who demonstrates outstanding teaching, contributes as a leader in nursing education, encourages creative interactions with students from diverse backgrounds, mentors and serves as a role model for junior faculty, and publishes scholarly works that advance nursing education. Read More

Research from the lab of Bill Tansey and other collaborators tested protein inhibitors called WINi against a panel of cancer cells and found that they have strong action against blood cancers and synergize with an FDA-approved cancer drug. Read More

The Vanderbilt University School of Nursing has been awarded a $1.5 million grant to grow its effective sexual assault nurse examiner education program. The new grant will expand recruitment, education and retention strategies for SANEs and increase, diversify and sustain the national SANE workforce. Read More

The Vanderbilt University School of Nursing has been awarded a $1.5 million grant to grow its effective sexual assault nurse examiner education program. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Rolanda Johnson and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Senior Director, Nurse Diversity and Inclusion, Mamie Williams were awarded a $25,000 grant for their project that expands programs focused on the diversification of the nursing workforce, increasing the retention of diverse nurse leaders, and promoting cultural awareness and sensitivity within nurse work environments. Read More

Supported by a $1.4 million U.S. Department of Defense grant, the Vanderbilt Lab for Immersive AI Translation is collaborating on research that is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to more accurately determine if a person has a mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion. Read More

Research from Teru Nakagawa, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, describes intricacies of normal brain function with implications for our understanding of brain injury and recovery: A decrease in pH can modify a neurotransmitter receptor’s structure, thereby modulating its location and kinetics. Read More

Gaining and assessing surgical experience in endoscopic kidney stone surgery is particularly challenging given the limited field of view in the devices. Jie Ying Wu, assistant professor of computer science, is creating an eye-gaze sharing system to complement the current standard of care in which trainees get only verbal feedback. The system allows trainees to see the expert’s gaze. The expert can use their gaze in real time to point to objects on the screen or where the trainee should go next. Read More

In a recent episode of Smarter Every Day, YouTube sensation and host Destin Sandlin talks with Vanderbilt Professor Tina Iverson and Senior Research Associate Prashant Singh about bacterial “motors” and how they work in the microorganisms that make us sick. The video racked up more than 1.4 million views in its first day. Read More

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health has renewed a five-year grant through the NIH’s flagship T32 institutional training grant program. T32 grants provide funding to support students and postdoctoral trainees working in focused areas of research that advance the NIH mission. Read More

Vanderbilt School of Nursing Associate Professor Deonni Stolldorf, PhD, RN, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, one of the most prestigious honors in nursing. Fellows are selected based on their contributions and impact to advance the public’s health. Read More

Vanderbilt assistant professor of pharmacology Cody Siciliano has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to study oral chemesthesis, the burning sensation you feel in your mouth when you sip alcohol. Understanding this sensation better could lead to new treatments for alcohol use disorders, but research in this area is scarce. Read More

Jeffrey Spraggins, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, biochemistry, and chemistry, has been named director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center. He succeeds Richard Caprioli, Stanford Moore Chair in Biochemistry, who established the MSRC in 1998 and who is retiring this summer. Read More