Research

Five proposals from School of Engineering faculty have been selected by the Office of the Provost for 2019 Discovery Grants, which advance new ideas and cutting-edge scholarship in the university’s core disciplines. “Discovery Grants serve as a key internal funding vehicle for fostering research that has the potential to improve lives and address society’s complex problems—a vital part... Read More

Sharon Weiss (Vanderbilt University) Sharon Weiss, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering, professor of electrical engineering and physics and deputy director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE), will become the new director of VINSE, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente announced today. Weiss’ appointment will begin on July... Read More

Disclosing a lapse in self control, like straying from a diet or spending too much on something frivolous, can help you do better next time if you truly feel guilty about it, but insincere confessions can actually make you more likely to slip up again. Read More

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines that determine which smokers qualify for CT scans are excluding significant numbers of African Americans who develop lung cancer, a health disparity that merits modifications to lung cancer screening criteria, according to a study from Vanderbilt researchers. Read More

Biomarkers of DNA methylation, which regulate gene expression, can be a predictor of breast cancer risk. Read More

Cataracts are uncommon in babies but when they occur the cloudy lenses must be removed without delay or blindness may result. Read More

Is the sense of touch perceived differently in people without autism? Read More

Inhibited temperament—a tendency to respond to novelty with wariness, fear or caution—may be a risk factor for schizophrenia that could be targeted for preventative interventions. Read More

Fish oil supplementation provides a modest but beneficial effect on reducing molecules associated with colorectal cancer development. Read More

Laboratory and administrative personnel at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were honored last week for research excellence during the 15th annual Research Staff Awards luncheon at the Kimpton Aertson Hotel in Nashville. Read More

The ABIM Foundation has awarded the 2019 John A. Benson Jr., MD Professionalism Article Prize to five scholarly articles — one commentary and four research pieces — that explore physician burnout, unprofessional behavior and integrity in research. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that the gut microbiome composition modulates how dietary nutrients are metabolized, with potential downstream consequences on metabolic health. Read More

Larry Marnett and colleagues have developed what may become the first agent for targeted PET imaging of cancer tissues, such as ovarian cancer, that express high levels of the COX-1 enzyme. Read More

A computer model of forces exerted by cells during development of a fertilized egg into a fruit fly larvae holds promise to help scientists understand the morphogenesis of organisms that are much more complicated. Shane Hutson, professor of physics and biological sciences and chair of the Department of… Read More

“They are behaving like animals, and that’s a link between them and what we recognize as animals," says paleontologist Simon A.F. Darroch. Read More

Andrés Martínez strode briskly on the treadmill, staring straight ahead and counting backwards by seven from 898, a trick to keep his brain from anticipating the literal stumbling block heading his way: a compact 35 pounds of steel specifically designed to make him fall. Special goggles kept him from looking down. Arrows on an eye-level... Read More

The automatic stumble response, so natural for most people, is virtually impossible for those who use prosthetic legs, simply because even state-of-the-art prosthetics cannot adapt to stumbling. Read More

Nine exceptional student design projects have been recognized as winners in the School of Engineering’s annual design competition for the 2018-2019 academic year. More than 70 teams of senior engineering students in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science presented their final projects on April 22—Design Day 2019. The... Read More

A study published June 17 in Nature offers clues as to why blocking inhibitory receptors on tumor-infiltrating T cells may not always work Read More

International human rights treaties really do work, and they work most effectively against the most repressive governments, argues political scientist Emily Hencken Ritter in a new book. Read More