Research

Two Vanderbilt researchers are part of a team that earned a $1 million grant to develop AI-based training that will help neurodiverse people learn to drive—addressing a huge obstacle for that population. “The ability to drive will open up new opportunities for employment and a life of independence for many neurodiverse individuals,” said Nilanjan Sarkar,... Read More

A collaborative team led by Piran Kidambi, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, William Fissell, associate professor of nephrology and hypertension at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Shuvo Roy, professor of bioengineering at University of California, San Francisco, and Francesco Fornasiero, biosciences and biotechnology staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, has developed a new... Read More

Vanderbilt faculty and staff have been key contributors to a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan that was released by Metro Nashville on Sept. 19. Janey Camp, research professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Jaclyn Mothupi, director of social innovation at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, co-chaired the subcommittee on adaptation and resilience as part of Mayor John... Read More

A new study by Vanderbilt researchers provides a remarkably detailed view of the earliest events leading to the development of cancer, and of potential new ways to prevent it. Read More

Research led by David Merryman, a professor of biomedical engineering, pharmacology and medicine who holds the Walters Family Chair, has resulted in the development of VU6047534, a new drug that treats pulmonary arterial hypertension—a type of high blood pressure that affects arteries in the lungs and in the heart—without serious neurological side effects. Merryman conducted... Read More

Vanderbilt researchers found reduced net flow of cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington’s disease, which could contribute to mutant protein retention and altered responsiveness to medications delivered via the spinal cord. Read More

Screenshot of the GeoPACHA web platform. Red triangles denote archaeological features on the landscape. (Wernke/GeoPACHA) A $350,000 grant to develop next-generation archaeological mapping technology will let a Vanderbilt-led research team reveal information about vast settlement systems and human-modified landscapes in the Andes. Steven Wernke, associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology, is the... Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have uncovered a potential new way to help curb the rapidly rising worldwide prevalence of metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes. Read More

The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a three-year grant to support research led by Houra Merrikh, PhD, professor of Biochemistry, and Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology and director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, to create an anti-evolution drug to reduce the capacity of cancer cells to develop resistance. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity. Read More

Being named a fellow is one of the highest distinctions the nursing profession bestows, as it recognizes the impact an individual has made on health, health care and nursing. Professors Jennifer Kim and Rolanda Johnson and Assistant Professors Leanne Boehm and Lori Schirle will be inducted into the academy on Oct. 7. Read More

Biomedical engineering graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are recipients of highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Awards from the National Institutes of Health and NIH Individual Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Awards. A majority of the students are in the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and are researchers in labs... Read More

By Jenna Somers Autumn Kujawa A two-year, $1.45 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will support a study to test a novel therapeutic approach for preventing the emergence of anhedonia, a hallmark symptom of depression, in high-risk children. Autumn Kujawa, associate professor of psychology… Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center have “cracked” the genomic code for sepsis in the lungs and kidneys. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s dedication to encouraging unique and groundbreaking research through internal grants has helped David Hyde, assistant professor of computer science, receive funding from the National Science Foundation. His research has progressed thanks to a Seeding Success Grant, an internal funding award managed by Research Development and Support in the Office of the Vice Provost... Read More

Kendra M. Faucett, DNP, BS’00, CNM, APRN, CNE, FACNM, will become academic director for the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s Nurse-Midwifery specialty on September 18. She comes to Nashville from her role as an assistant professor and course coordinator at Frontier Nursing University.  “I am thrilled to be joining the No. 1 midwifery program in the country,” Faucett said. “Vanderbilt has an outstanding reputation,... Read More

The Seeding Success Grant at Vanderbilt University has helped propel ADVISER, an innovative software platform created by David Hyde, assistant professor of computer science, to earning National Science Foundation funding. ADVISER is designed to democratize access to high-end cloud computing, and the new NSF grant applies it to climate change research. Read More

Raheleh Filsoofi has been awarded a Tennessee Art Commission Grant for her project, “The Resonance of the Lands: Finding Identity and Place in Tennessee Through Clay, Music, and Community.” The program involves mapping and extracting clay from various locations across the city to create 25 clay instruments, taking inspiration from the traditional Middle Eastern clay darbuka. Read More

10 basic sciences graduate students were recognized for their high academic and scientific achievement and for the originality, significance, and rigor of their dissertation research with the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies. Read More

Vanderbilt engineering professor Justus Ndukaife is leading innovative research that more effectively traps nanosized extracellular vesicles and particles to analyze their roles in cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Read More