Featured Research

"Our scientists and engineers are making discoveries today that will lead to unimaginable technological breakthroughs tomorrow in medicine, energy and technology. Without long-term sustained federal investments in science and engineering research, these discoveries simply will not be made," write Chancellor Zeppos and University of Tennessee president Joseph Di Pietro in The Tennessean. Read More

"Beyond the damaging effects on the health of our people, disrupting the nation’s biomedical science infrastructure puts our economic future at risk," writes Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Jeff Balser in The Tennessean. Read More

A study of California school districts by Jason Grissom, assistant professor of public policy and education, shows that nearly half of superintendents left their districts within three years, including nearly three-quarters of the superintendents of the largest districts. Read More

Vanderbilt biologists have discovered that mosquitoes possess a previously unknown mechanism for destroying pathogens which takes advantage of the peculiarities of the insect’s circulatory system to increase its effectiveness. Read More

Vanderbilt research looks at how consumers value products based on price and popularity. Read More

Through a set of experiments, Gordon Logan, Nashville musician Jerry Kimbrough and Matthew Crump (now of Brooklyn College-CUNY) have illustrated that guitarists – and players of other related instruments like mandolin, banjo and bass – tend to acquire their skills differently than most other musicians. Read More

They spent a total of $1 billion on TV ads, but most were instantly forgettable—and none swayed opinion. Next time, writes John G. Geer, make the ads memorable. Read More

Sleep research is one of the many initiatives made possible through Vanderbilt’s participation in the Autism Treatment Network. Read More

In a first-of-its-kind analysis, Peabody researcher Joseph Murphy examines the highly understudied homeschooling movement and its impact on students and society. Read More

Researchers have discovered that alligators and crocodiles possess one of the most acute senses of touch in the animal kingdom. Read More

A new study demonstrates how the brain follows Ben Franklin’s famous dictum, “Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.” Read More

Securing the future of Tennessee-based technology endeavors requires stronger appreciation and support for scientific research and development within the state, says Janos Sztipanovits, director of Vanderbilt’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems. Read More

Pampee Young, associate professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology, is one of many U.S. scientists whose research funding will be compromised by the impending enactment of the Budget Control Act (the "fiscal cliff") if Congress does not resolve the budget impasse. Read More

Perhaps pulled more into mainstream consciousness by television shows such as “Hard Core Pawn” and “Pawn Stars,” pawn shops have several advantages over the payday loan operations that have become the most visible source of loans for those with poor credit ratings. Read More

Negative advertising may be obligatory in the presidential campaign, but it doesn't seem to be paying off this time around when it comes to changing voter's minds. “It looks like we are way past much bang for the buck with these ads,” said John Geer of Vanderbilt University. Read More

As the new dean of the Vanderbilt School of Engineering, Philippe Fauchet sees his role as one that stretches far beyond the university. Read More

The New England Journal of Medicine has published a detailed account by April Pettit and colleagues at Vanderbilt University describing one man’s rapid deterioration after receiving a tainted steroid injection for back pain from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. Read More

Patient handovers matter. A lot. That’s the conclusion from Vanderbilt researchers who reviewed three years of patient data and found that major complications occurring within 24 hours after cardiac surgery were cut in half following the adoption of an improved handover process. Read More

At the moment, Republicans and Democrats can’t even agree on the appeal of a giant yellow Muppet. Democrats gave Big Bird a favorable rating by an 85 percent margin. Only 55 percent of Republicans held that view. Read More

Vanderbilt University scientists are cheering this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine for recognizing the discovery that mature cells can be “reprogrammed” into other cell types — a finding which they said has electrified their work. Read More