The Campus

Project scientists Joshua Pepper, Keivan Stassun and David James with the KELT telescope Vanderbilt astronomers have constructed a special-purpose telescope that will allow them to participate in one of the hottest areas in astronomy: the hunt for earthlike planets circling other stars. The instrument, called the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope… Read More

  Dr. Andy Norman meets with a former patient in Nigeria. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Institute for Global Health has received a one-year, $3 million federal grant to provide AIDS treatment and prevention services in Nigeria. It is the second major treatment grant the institute has received under PEPFAR, the… Read More

  “The two most important dates in everyone’s life [are] the day you were born and the day you realized why you were born. When I landed in New Orleans after Katrina, I knew why I was born.” ~Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré in a Sept. 18 address launching the Vanderbilt University School… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently performed its third organ transplant in which organs were harvested from donors who were pronounced dead because of cardiac death. The new organ-procurement protocol differs from the longstanding practice of using an organ donor whose heart is still beating until the time the organs are harvested. Read More

Vanderbilt is No. 18 in this year’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition of annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report magazine. The university climbed one position from last year, tying with Emory University and the University of Notre Dame. Vanderbilt also ranked No. 14 among national universities in… Read More

It’s hard to find good smoke patrols. They’re expected to go up to people and explain that they’re violating our rules. ~Ken Browning, director of VUMC Plant Services Don’t even think about lighting up on the Vanderbilt Medical Center campus. On Sept. 1, VUMC enacted a ban reflecting a strong… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have received a five-year, $5.7 million federal grant to study the human brain using one of the world’s most powerful magnets. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering grant represents the renewal of a Bioengineering Research Partnership grant originally awarded for $4 million in 2002 to… Read More

Photo by Daniel Dubois. “There were no rules, there was no hierarchy, there was no management. “ –Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, on how his firm rallied after 658 of 970 employees perished in the World Trade Center. Lutnick spoke at Commencement for the Owen… Read More

www.vanderbilthealth.com/clinicaltrials Asthma? Sleep apnea? A spare tire around your waist? Whatever the malady, chances are Vanderbilt is studying it in a clinical research trial. This new Web site aims to at least triple the number of volunteers for clinical trials of new vaccines, cancer treatments, and a multitude of… Read More

Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers Band performs at Rites of Spring, an annual student-produced music festival to celebrate the end of the academic year. Headline acts for the April 18-19 event were Spoon and Lil Jon. PHOTO BY JENNY MANDEVILLE… Read More

Photo by Daniel Dubois. RNA Interference Heals Growth Deficiency Disorder Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated for the first time that a new type of gene therapy called “RNA interference” can heal a genetic disorder in a live animal. Their study, published last fall by the journal Endocrinology, shows that RNA… Read More

    Photo by Steve Green     Coach Johnson Honored for Suicide Prevention Work Head Football Coach Bobby Johnson was recognized during a ceremony in March for his efforts toward youth suicide prevention when The Jason Foundation presented him with its Grant Teaff “Breaking the Silence” Award. The award… Read More

A full-time and fully staffed office to support the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community at Vanderbilt will launch this fall. The K.C. Potter Center, named in honor of a former dean of residential and judicial affairs at Vanderbilt who was supportive of the GLBT community, will replace a part-time… Read More

Richard McCarty Photo by Daniel Dubois. Richard McCarty, a distinguished psychologist who has led the largest school at Vanderbilt University for the past seven years, has been named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Richard embodies Vanderbilt’s values of excellence and fairness,” said Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos in… Read More

Illustration by Normand Cousineau Although manufacturers are responsible for much of the greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States, individuals largely contribute to the problem of climate change, too. So what can be done about it? A diverse group of experts at Vanderbilt University has created the Climate… Read More

Monroe Carell Jr. during one of his frequent visits to the hospital that bears his name Photo by Dana Johnson. ­­­Monroe J. Carell Jr., BE’59, a Nashville executive admired as much for his philanthropy as for his business acumen, died June 20 after a courageous battle… Read More

Sevin Awarded Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit Dieter Sevin, professor of Germanic languages and literatures and chair of the department, has been awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is the only order awarded by the president of that… Read More

Vanderbilt has launched its own channel on YouTube, the wildly popular video-sharing site. The channel features a broad range of offerings, including lectures, concerts and news pieces, and content straight from the classroom. Vanderbilt is one among just a handful of universities nationally with a branded YouTube channel. Read More

Kathryn Edwards works to find a vaccine that would protect everyone from a pandemic flu. Photo by Dana Johnson Vanderbilt University Medical Center will receive nearly $24 million from the federal government over the next seven years to continue evaluating innovative vaccines for pandemic flu, malaria and other infections. Read More

In a major policy shift, Vanderbilt University Medical Center will no longer allow faculty, staff, residents or students to accept personal gifts from industry, regardless of the nature or value of the gift. The policy is a response to patient concerns nationwide that medical decisions are influenced by drug companies. “A… Read More