Research

Mariam Adam puts a priority in her work on innovative musical collaborations that benefit her students while building a legacy to be discovered by future generations. The assistant professor of clarinet is a fierce advocate for music education who has performed with such greats as Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Read More

Bennett Landman who holds a Stevenson Chair, has more than 2,000 collaborations globally that look at all sorts of different diseases, from the head down to the shins. But the heart of his work remains medicine and the promise of a world where AI-driven imaging leads to earlier diagnoses and better patient outcomes. Read More

In this episode of Quantum Potential, Felipe Barrera-Osorio joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to discuss his groundbreaking research—comparing the impact of need-based versus merit-based micro-scholarship programs in rural, low-income communities in Cambodia, Colombia and Mexico. He explains how these programs were so successful that national governments around the world expanded investments in education. Read More

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC, collaboratively) may nominate one associate or full professor to submit a Letter of Intent for the 2026 Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award (SIA). Read More

Though Helicobacter pylori lives in the guts of about half of the world's adults, infections can go undetected for decades. The problem: the bacteria is the primary risk factor for gastric cancer, and one strain of the germ carries a higher risk. Vanderbilt researchers Tim Cover and Jennifer Shuman analyzed how the genetic makeup of H. pylori strains affects how they change the molecular makeup of gut tissues and lead to gastric cancer. Read More

Read the stories of what motivates members of Vanderbilt's faculty to pursue excellence as researchers, professors, experts and innovators. Read More

Understanding how proteins get from point A to point B is top of mind for Stephanie Wankowicz, assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics and principal investigator at the Wankowicz lab. She conducts research on how entropy, a measure of the tendency toward disorder or randomness within a system, shifts when a protein binds to a drug or another protein. Now, her work is being shared through the diffUSE project, a new multi-institutional collaboration focused on reshaping the future of structural biology by moving beyond traditional “snapshot” views of proteins to reveal their full dynamic motions. Read More

As Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Physics and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Julia Velkovska studies the tiny particles that form our universe. She focuses on how nuclear matter behaves when confronted with extreme density and temperatures (think trillions of degrees)—similar to the conditions existing microseconds after the big bang, right as the universe was starting to take shape. Just this year, Velkovska and her team of physicists were awarded the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, along with 13,508 colleagues across four landmark CERN experiments. The prize honors decades of work expanding our understanding of the physical universe. Read More

Dean Pamela Jeffries of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing conducts research around innovative instruction using technology and simulations that give student nurses a way to begin learning how to make clinical decisions without putting patients at risk. Read More

Charles G. Finney Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics Eunjoo Kim does research that focuses on new perspectives and methods of preaching and worship that are relevant to changing cultural contexts. Read More

In March, students and faculty from Vanderbilt University and Tennessee State University took an environmental tour of Nashville, funded by the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy, and Climate. The students learned about the city’s history and recent sustainability projects to improve the environment. Yolanda J. McDonald The tour included… Read More

Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development’s expertise in designing and offering gifted education was highlighted in March when Peabody Global Initiatives and Chris Vanags, director of the Peabody Research Office, hosted a pair of Japanese visiting researchers. Hirokazu Kumazaki, professor in the Department of Neuropsychiatry at… Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the Wabash Center to study artificial intelligence and its impact. The project, “We Can Wait No Longer: Educating Theological Educators About Artificial Intelligence,” seeks to inform Divinity faculty of the mechanics behind AI and the latest advancements. Read More

Learn about the women who inspire Steven Townsend in his breakthrough research that puts a spotlight on women, their health and discoveries around the healing powers of breast milk. Read More

As fewer people enter the education profession and high rates of principal turnover persist, school districts need strategic and systematic approaches to recruiting, hiring, and supporting effective school leaders. Principal pipelines may be the answer. Principal pipelines are a comprehensive and aligned system for identifying, developing, and supporting school leaders. Read More

By Jenna Somers Alex Astrella At age two Alex Astrella, MEd’23, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. His parents were told that he had little chance of graduating high school or becoming financially independent. Today, Astrella is the founder and CEO of Blu Star Productions, an award-winning film studio… Read More

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University Peabody College of education and human development has launched the Early Childhood Governance Landscape, a new tool that illustrates how states structure early childhood governance—and what those choices mean for coordination, funding, and access to services for young children… Read More

The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt, which provides free online resources about teaching and learning, helped about 1.5 million people from all 50 states, more than 1,000 public school districts and more than 1,500 U.S. colleges and universities. That’s an increase of 15 percent over 2022, reflecting the growing importance of online instructional resources in today’s educational landscape. And its reach is even broader than that—hospitals, health care systems and justice systems logged in to benefit from its effective, evidence-based resources. Read More

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 More

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 More