Arts And Science

When economics and communication of science and technology double major Leilani Rucker, Class of 2026, stepped into the Wond’ry’s Fiber Arts Build Lab, she had the feeling her lifelong love for fashion design was about to gain momentum. In the FAB Lab, Manager Alexandra Sargent Capps provides experiential opportunities to promote sustainable fashion and upcycling. Capps piqued Rucker’s interest when she showed up with a bin of colorful neckties from a clothing drive. Rucker’s imagination was sparked, and she set out to create a small upcycled clothing collection to display during Vanderbilt Fashion Week. Read More

In this episode of Quantum Potential, Amanda Little, writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to discuss how journalism can highlight the tipping points humanity faces and how people-first storytelling can move us from observation to action. Read More

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, in partnership with the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association, announced the 2025 award winners at the Spring Postdoc Awards Ceremony on May 21. The event highlighted the vital contributions that postdocs make across various disciplines at the university.   Read More

A recent study from the labs of Lars Plate and Jens Meiler, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, analyzed both selectively responsive and poorly responsive variants of cystic fibrosis and revealed the molecular determinants of drug response. Read More

Danial Asgari, a postdoctoral researcher in the Tate Lab, and Ann Tate, associate professor of Biological Sciences, recently published a study in Molecular Biology and Evolution titled “How the Structure of Signaling Regulation Evolves: Insights from an Evolutionary Model.” Their findings show that negative feedback loops (or NFLs) acting closer to a cell’s final decisions, such as turning genes on or off, are especially resistant to evolutionary change. Read More

While we know that intermediate-mass black holes should exist, little is known about their origins or characteristics—they are considered the rare “missing links” in black hole evolution. However, four new studies have shed new light on the mystery. The research was led by a team in the lab of Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Karan Jani, who also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Lunar Labs Initiative. Read More

The National Center for Science Education has named Vanderbilt University’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative as one of its 2025 recipients of the prestigious Friend of Darwin award. This national honor recognizes ESI’s outstanding contributions to advancing public understanding of evolution through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach. Read More

Vanderbilt has announced eleven awardees in the latest round of its Innovation Catalyst Fund, an initiative that supports translational research that has promising commercial potential. Read More

In this episode of Quantum Potential, Craig Lindsley, William K. Warren, Jr. Professor of Medicine, University Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacology and executive director of the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to discuss transformative research exploring how subtle tweaks to brain chemistry could change the way we treat neurodegenerative diseases and chronic pain. Read More

Vanderbilt-New York City's first foray into public programming invited New York City residents to engage with the university in a three-event series titled “Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America.” The series, held between March and May, convened faculty and thought leaders for conversations that explored what it means to be an American today as our role in the world is shifting. Each event drew several hundred attendees, filling the venue to capacity—a strong signal of the enthusiasm for Vanderbilt’s debut programming. Read More

“Creating cuisines is about building community through agriculture and bridging the local with the global,” said Ted Fischer, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Anthropology, during the opening session of “Food for Thought”—a free program presented by Vanderbilt University and the Frist Art Museum. This series brings together Vanderbilt faculty, Frist curators and local leaders to explore cultural and societal issues through art. The Spring 2025 season focused on two Frist exhibitions: Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism and Tennessee Harvest. Read More

University leaders, faculty, students and invited guests gathered at the McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies to celebrate its new home at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ Central Library. The interdisciplinary center promotes media literacy by providing essential resources to evaluate the objectivity of news coverage, digital media and other narratives.  Read More

Our past has something to say. 2025 Guggenheim Fellow Larisa DeSantis is ready to translate. Read More

Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English Major Jackson sees poetry as an art best appreciated in communion with others and approached through the senses as much as the intellect. He believes deeply in the power of poetry to break down barriers and foster understanding. Read More

For the first time in 45 years, Vanderbilt volleyball is back—and they’re already making history. This month, the team will embark on a 10-day tour of Japan, where they will train and scrimmage with local teams in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. Throughout the trip, they’ll immerse themselves in high-level athletic training while experiencing Japanese culture, language and tradition. For many players, it will be their first time leaving the United States—a transformative experience made possible through a cross-campus partnership of Athletics, the Global Safety and Health team and the Department of Asian Studies.   Read More

Josh Clinton, Abby and Jon Winkelried Chair and professor of political science, and co-director of the Vanderbilt Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to discuss how transparency and increasing public literacy about statistics—including an awareness of limitations—can disrupt Americans’ mounting distrust in polling data. Read More

Vanderbilt University has joined the Urban Humanities Network (UHN) as a consortium campus, solidifying the university’s place among leading institutions at the forefront of urban humanities scholarship. Established in 2022, UHN unites universities, organizations, and researchers dedicated to interdisciplinary study within the urban humanities, which operates at the nexus of humanities, urbanism, and design. Read More

Since its inception in 1999, the VBI has spearheaded interdisciplinary neuroscience research and education. Over the years, the VBI has grown into a vibrant, trans-institutional hub that spans the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering, the Peabody College of education and human development, and other schools and departments throughout Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

At a time of deep political divisions, registered Tennessee voters are united in their overwhelming support for key federal programs, according to the latest semiannual statewide Vanderbilt Poll. Concern about the U.S. economy and personal financial futures is also prevalent, while partisan divides are more apparent on issues such as immigration, tariffs and President Donald Trump’s response to court rulings against his actions and policies.   Read More

What keeps Class of 2025 student Duaa Faquih inspired and grounded? Check out her 5 questions here. Read More