Chemistry
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Vanderbilt awarded up to $46M through ARPA-H to develop tools against alphaviruses
Jens Meiler, Distinguished Research Professor of Chemistry, was named the principal investigator for the project, in cooperation with 14 investigators across eight institutions. The team will work together to use advanced technology, including computational modeling, AI-driven predictions and structural biology, to develop a groundbreaking vaccine against all alphaviruses that offers long-lasting protection. Read MoreDec 2, 2024
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New study sheds light on seasonality in mood disorders
A recent study conducted by Vanderbilt chemistry professors Sandy Rosenthal and Oleg Kovtun found that people experiencing depressed states had lower daytime activity, and people’s daytime activity increased with longer days and more sun exposure. Read MoreOct 31, 2024
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John M. Jumper, DeepMind researcher and Vanderbilt alumnus, shares 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry
John M. Jumper, BS’07, is one of three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Oct. 9. Jumper currently is a senior staff research scientist for DeepMind, a London-based company that made a huge leap forward in solving the protein folding problem using artificial intelligence. He is the third Vanderbilt alumnus to win a Nobel Prize. Read MoreOct 10, 2024
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New drug candidates targeting blood clots developed through computer-aided drug design
Using computer-aided drug design, Heidi Hamm, Craig Lindsley, and Jens Meiler and their labs generated a novel series of biologically active compounds that can serve as a basis for anti–blood clot preventative drugs. Read MoreJun 11, 2024
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Vanderbilt University Native Meadow flourishing with collaborative research projects
Tucked behind the 6 Magnolia Building on Vanderbilt’s Peabody Campus is what might look to some like a lush garden of weeds. In reality, it’s a strategic Native Meadow full of pollinator-friendly plants. Since its inception, the meadow has flourished, and many faculty, staff and students have found ways to collaborate and interact with the space, thought of as a ‘living lab.’ Read MoreApr 29, 2024
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15 years of the Beckman Scholars Program: Providing unparalleled undergrad research opportunities
The highly selective Beckman Scholars Program is celebrating 15 years of partnership with the College of Arts and Science. Over the years, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation has provided more than $543,000 in support of 23 undergraduate Beckman Scholars at Vanderbilt who engage in unique, hands-on, mentored research. Read MoreApr 3, 2024
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McLean awarded Herty Medal for chemistry achievements, distinguished service
John A. McLean, Stevenson Professor of Chemistry and dean of graduate education and research in the College of Arts and Science, has been named the winner of this year’s Charles H. Herty Medal by the Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society. The award recognizes outstanding work and service by a chemist in the Southeast. Read MoreMar 26, 2024
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Vanderbilt chemist Ben Brown awarded $2.375M to develop nonaddictive painkillers with AI
Avenir Award funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse recognizes research that represents “the future of addiction science.” Brown’s research is creating an AI-experiment feedback loop that will help optimize painkilling drugs to be less addictive. Read MoreJan 18, 2024
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New collaborative research project seeks improved treatment for cystic fibrosis
Lars Plate, assistant professor of chemistry and biological sciences, has received a $2.76 million collaborative grant to investigate medical therapy for people with cystic fibrosis. The interdisciplinary project brings together teams with varied expertise in computational structural biology, proteomics, biophysics, and physiology in hopes of improving the quality of life for those afflicted with the genetic disease. Read MoreNov 16, 2023
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Vanderbilt University’s Quantum Potential unveiled: Meet the minds shaping our future
Quantum Potential is a collection of wild but precise portraits of the scholars, scientists and students at Vanderbilt who are finding new ways to understand the world—and change it. A premiere event will take place Oct. 11 at 6 p.m., including a screening of two short films, behind-the-scenes discussions and an immersive performance. The event is open the general public; registration is required. Read MoreOct 6, 2023
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$51M NIH grant, among the largest to the university and medical center since 2017, brings ELVIS to VUMC
The grant will help biomedical scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in launching a research platform devoted to molecular underpinnings of early-childhood determinants of health. The project, called ELVIS, or, less connotatively, the ECHO Laboratory core at Vanderbilt for Integrated Sample biobanking and processing, is part of an expansion of the NIH’s multi-center Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program Read MoreSep 20, 2023
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Multi-institutional Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry awarded $20M CCI grant
The Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry received a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support its expansion to 11 partner institutions, including Vanderbilt University. Read MoreSep 13, 2023
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Watch: Lab-to-Table Conversation: ‘How I Got Over: Navigating Academia as a Black Scientist’
A Lab-to-Table Conversation on Monday, Feb. 27, will discuss some of the challenges that Black trainees and faculty face in their STEM fields of study and the strategies they've used to be successful in the face of these challenges. Read MoreFeb 13, 2023
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Five Vanderbilt faculty elected as 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows
Five Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty members were elected 2022 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read MoreJan 31, 2023
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Renã Robinson receives National Institutes of Health grant for faculty success program to promote equity in science
Renã Robinson, Dorothy Wingfield Phillips Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow and professor of chemistry, received $2.04 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to start a program that will help underrepresented minority faculty further their success in STEM. Read MoreJan 18, 2023
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New screening method could pave the way for future cancer drug discoveries
The laboratories of Brian Bachmann and Jonathan Irish have developed a method to discover new small molecules that may kill cancer cells by working through the body’s immune system. Read MoreJan 17, 2023
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Lars Plate wins Scialog Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and USDA
For his work on zoonotic threat mitigation, Lars Plate was awarded $50,000 from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Read MoreJan 17, 2023
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Three Vanderbilt chemists to research therapeutics, fuel conversion, and enzyme design with NIH MIRA grants
College of Arts and Science faculty members Nathan Schley, Allison Walker, and John Yang have each been awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health to continue their groundbreaking chemistry research. The faculty members are conducting big-picture research with practical applications in a variety of health contexts—including drug synthesis, biomolecular conversion, and disease treatment. Read MoreJan 5, 2023
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Spraggins, Caprioli win $13.6M from NIH to create “atlases” of the brain, kidney and eye
Researchers in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have received three grants totaling $13.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop molecular “atlases” of the brain, kidney, eye and other tissues. Read MoreNov 18, 2022
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Retired Vanderbilt chemistry professor whose expertise benefited community has died
Larry C. Hall, a retired chemistry professor who taught thousands of Vanderbilt students and directed training programs for high school and college teachers and others with responsibility for hazardous materials, died Aug. 15. Read MoreAug 22, 2022