Nicole Creanza

A person’s native language is often referred to as their “mother tongue.” But does a first language always come from your mother? In a new study conducted by Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Nicole Creanza, postdoctoral student Yakov Pichkar,... Read More

The Creanza Lab, along with alumnus Matt Wilkins, BA’06, created a birdsong identification lesson plan for middle and high school students. The game show lets participants identify which birds they can hear in various pop culture media, such as movies, music, or video games. Read More

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 More

Widespread trust in vaccines often leads to higher vaccination rates, but vaccine shortages can deter even those with confidence in vaccines. Furthermore, while vaccine mandates can create an appearance of universal vaccination, people may remain hesitant, resulting in lower compliance than anticipated. Read More

Nicole Creanza and Yakov Pichkar explore whether subtle cultural differences within a language mirror genetic structure within a population. The answer: Even small cultural differences like dialect can influence the spread of people and genes. Read More

Vanderbilt biologists Nicole Creanza and Kerri-Ann Anderson have developed a new mathematical model, rooted in cultural evolution, that represents vaccine hesitancy as a belief that can influence, but not perfectly predict, whether parents will decide to vaccinate their children. Read More

The cultural evolution of a population depends not only on size but also on the degree of specialization within a population, according to a new study published last month by a team of scientists including Nicole Creanza. The study found that populations can increase their cultural repertoire by subdividing knowledge into smaller groups, but the total group must be sufficiently large for specialization to be advantageous. Read More

Growing up in a small community has its advantages, but if you want to learn from world experts, you may have better luck in a big city. This is the case in the world of birds as well. Large populations of birds might be better able to maintain complex songs than small populations – all because of access to high-quality tutors. Read More

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Faculty Senate Chair Catherine McTamaney presented faculty awards for both spring and fall 2020 as part of the virtual faculty assembly held Aug. 27. Read More

The past decade in particular has been marked by a dramatic increase in music cognition inquiry, as about 100 laboratory groups around the world, including at Vanderbilt, are working across disciplines to understand music’s relationship to the brain, behavior and health, and to develop effective intervention strategies. Read More

With a new app from a team at Vanderbilt, birdsong researchers can better leverage crowdsourced fieldwork and audio recordings from amateur birders and citizen songbird scientists. Read More

A pathbreaking veteran, a scientist who urges students to chart their own course, an art historian who advocates for fellow faculty members, and a nurse who has advanced women’s health on campus are among the recipients of the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center’s annual awards. Read More

For many species, extravagant displays are a critical part of attracting a mate. Think of a peacock’s long tail or a songbird’s elaborate melody. When considering these populations, scientists at Vanderbilt University wondered if they could use new methods to test a theory that has been around for almost 150… Read More

Six faculty-led teams have received 2018 Microbiome Venture Fund awards to pursue projects related to the broad category of microbiomes—the totality of microbes in or on an environment. Read More

The Vanderbilt Institute for Digital Learning distributed more than $32,000 in grants and awards this spring as part of its Innovation Programs initiative. Read More

Humans aren't the only animals who can learn vocal communication from others. By studying the process in zebra finches, we may better understand how it works in humans, too. Read More

Vanderbilt biologist Nicole Creanza is the guest editor of a new themed issue of "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B" highlighting interdisciplinary approaches to understanding human evolution. Read More