Elizabeth Zechmeister

Vanderbilt’s Human Research Protection Program will launch the third and final phase of its institutional review board transition on Jan. 1, 2026, inviting eligible studies to move from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s IRB to Vanderbilt’s new social, behavioral and educational research IRB. Read More

The Vanderbilt Innovation Catalyst Fund, launched in 2023, bridges the gap between academic research and real-world applications by supporting projects with commercial and societal potential. To date, the fund has completed six award cycles, distributing 39 grants to VU and VUMC awardees across diverse disciplines. Read More

Vanderbilt University and England’s University of Liverpool have announced the inaugural recipients of a new joint seed grant program, which supports faculty teams pursuing innovative projects designed to grow into larger collaborations and external funding.  Read More

Pet parrots often outlive their owners, and Vanderbilt researchers want to know why—because uncovering the biological mechanisms behind exceptional longevity could one day help safely extend the lives of humans. With the support of a new $1.3 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, Vanderbilt biologist Gianni Castiglione is taking a bold approach to aging research: reverse-engineering how birds live three to four times longer than similarly sized mammals to identify safe, effective genetic targets for human aging therapies. Read More

A simmering discontent with democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean is creating opportunities for politicians with undemocratic plans, according to a comprehensive survey released Nov. 29 by Vanderbilt University’s LAPOP Lab. Read More

In an age of Cambridge Analytica, uncanny Facebook algorithms and NSA wiretapping, it seems every time we turn around, there is a new assault on that once most precious of commodities: our privacy. In reality, however, what we choose to reveal and what we keep private has long been a source of debate. Read More

Understanding of tuberculosis is associated with higher, not lower, stigmatization of TB patients in Brazil, according to a new report from Vanderbilt’s Latin American Public Opinion Project. Read More

Twice as many adults in Latin America and the Caribbean--more than 80 percent--believe unchecked climate change poses a serious risk to their countries. Only 40 percent of Americans feel the same way. Read More

LAPOP research shows that crime prevalence impacts economic progress in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras Read More

New data gathered by the Latin American Political Opinion Project (LAPOP) include some upticks but also discouraging news about the state of democracy in the Americas. Read More

New data about the state of Latin America will be presented at a news conference in Miami Read More

A new survey in Venezuela shows that the public objects to efforts to curb the legislature's power. Read More

Liz Zechmeister of Vanderbilt University is available to comment on the effect of terrorism on the presidential election. Read More

To say that this has been a crazy year in politics is a laugh-out-loud understatement. We turn to the experts in Vanderbilt’s renowned political science department for insight not only into the 2016 presidential race, but also into the future of U.S. politics itself. Read More

Vanderbilt University's Jonathan Metzl, a mental health and mass shootings expert, and Liz Zechmeister, who studies perceptions of political leaders after terrorism, shed light on the Orlando mass shooting. Read More

The AmericasBarometer survey is the only scientifically rigorous comparative survey that covers all of North, Central, and South America, as well as a significant number of countries in the Caribbean. Read More

A poll taken by the Latin American Opinion Project at Vanderbilt University has bad news for Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro. Read More

Crime and violence are increasingly worrying citizens in the Americas, according to new data released by Vanderbilt's LAPOP center. Read More

Aid programs sponsored by the United States are effective in lowering crime in Central America, according to a Vanderbilt study. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are finding that Jamaicans are feeling more confidence in their local police as they report decreasing incidences of bribe solicitation. Read More