Research

A new method pioneered by the lab of Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Ken Lau is poised to make previously inaccessible medical knowledge that has been locked away in old patient samples newly accessible to scientists. Read More

Ela Knapik still remembers the first zebrafish she saw under a microscope—two days old, no bigger than an eyelash, tail wiggling, heart visibly beating. That was more than 20 years ago during her search for a postdoc position. That tiny fish has held her attention ever since and helped unravel many of the biological mysteries she has published about during her professional career. Read More

A new report published by the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator (VPA) proposes “CityRx,” a system of public pharmacies for New York City, which would combine a “public option” for pharmacies with support for independent pharmacies to restore and improve access to pharmacy services for all New Yorkers. Read More

The Nashville Innovation Alliance has awarded a Vanderbilt University research team a Civic Tech Jam grant. The recognition is part of the Nashville Tech Studio, an initiative that leverages the expertise of universities in Middle Tennessee to pilot and deploy technology-based solutions that address some of Metro Nashville's largest and most complex challenges. The team—Aniruddha Gokhale, professor of computer science, and Yogesh Barve, research scientist, both based in the Vanderbilt Institute for Software Integrated Systems—was one of five selected. Read More

While artificial intelligence can accelerate scientific discovery, moving discoveries toward practical applications still depends on human collaboration. That idea shaped Vanderbilt’s 2026 Life Science Showcase: AI in Translational Research. Read More

Last week, representatives from Vanderbilt and EPB hosted an official launch event in Chattanooga to share information about the Institute for Quantum Innovation and Vanderbilt’s quantum campus. Read More

The day 14-year-old Christos Constantinidis finished reading Asimov’s New Guide to Science, he knew he was going to be a scientist. Today, he studies what’s actually happening in our brains when we’re thinking. Read More

The eyes of some bats may help Vanderbilt researcher Gianni Castiglione develop new ways to protect human sight. Castiglione, assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences in the School of Medicine, has been named a Pew Biomedical Scholar. The award provides support to advance research that draws on evolutionary adaptations in animals to develop potential therapies for human disease.  Read More

Vanderbilt’s Innovation Ambassadors program provides faculty across Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center with peer guidance on innovation, intellectual property and commercialization. Through the Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, faculty ambassadors help researchers explore how discoveries can move beyond the lab and into real-world application.  Read More

Vanderbilt NeuroCline, a consortium of researchers from Vanderbilt Health and Vanderbilt University, has received a prestigious award to explore using artificial intelligence to find new drug targets for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neuron disease. Read More

A new investigation finds that workplace monitoring platforms are systematically sharing personal data about workers and online activity with hundreds of outside data brokers and big tech companies in ways that are not clearly disclosed and that, in some cases, may contradict the platforms’ own privacy policies. Read More

In a groundbreaking study published recently in the journal Nature, researchers at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Health have created the first growth charts for white matter in the brain over a human lifetime. The work brings together nearly two decades of Vanderbilt research collaborations, the university’s extensive MRI data collections, and an advanced AI-enabled computing platform. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Center for Structural Biology and Center for AI in Protein Dynamics recently hosted a symposium called “Bridging Atoms and Algorithms: A Symposium on AI and Structural Biology.” The March event brought together Vanderbilt faculty, trainees, and invited speakers to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and structural biology, share research, and foster new scientific collaborations. Read More

On an April morning, more than 100 Vanderbilt students, faculty, staff and community partners gathered around poster displays that told stories of collaboration, creativity and shared purpose. The inaugural “Bridging Campus and Community: Community Engagement Symposium,” held April 23, invited attendees to explore 32 presentations showcasing how Vanderbilt and community organizations are working together to address real-world challenges. The poster-style event celebrated partnerships spanning service-learning, research and creative work. Read More

William R. Kenan, Jr. Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences Brandt Eichman is the first Vanderbilt faculty member to be awarded the prestigious Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellowship. Jointly funded by the Royal Society and the Wolfson Foundation, the fellowship invites outstanding international researchers to a U.K. university or research institution to foster collaborative connections and enrich global scientific research. Read More

Two research groups connected with the Vanderbilt School of Engineering have been awarded multimillion-dollar grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA to work on solving some of the toughest problems in space exploration: protecting electronics from radiation and stabilizing energy generation and delivery systems. These issues are mission-critical as NASA plans missions to the moon and Mars. Read More

Conventional wisdom has long held that people who live in violent neighborhoods suffer consequences whether they’re direct victims of crime or not. A new study from Assistant Professor Panka Bencsik has begun to scientifically test that hypothesis—which is an important part of quantifying violent crime’s overall costs and negative impacts. “This paper shows how [people] still suffer from crimes occurring close to home,” Bencsik said, information that could be useful to policymakers who want to promote mental health. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Asness Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats examined how advances in technology—particularly artificial intelligence, drones and cyber capabilities—are reshaping conflict and allowing smaller actors to challenge more powerful nations. This year’s theme was “The Shadow of War, The Illusion of Peace: National Security in the Age of Asymmetry,” and explored the shifting balance of power, technology and diplomacy in our complex era. Read More

Vanderbilt faculty like Associate Dean for Research Abhishek Dubey are on the leading edge of investigation and development of AI. Dubey, also director of the SCOPE lab, develops advanced AI-driven frameworks and decision-making methods to improve public safety, transportation and infrastructure. Read more about Dubey, his research and his commitment to connecting academia and industry for the advancement of society. Read More

The National Science Foundation has granted Assistant Professor Mona Ebrish a CAREER Award, the foundation’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty. Ebrish’s work centers on strategic modification of semiconductors to tailor their electrical behavior—aiming to push past long-standing limitations in device fabrication. She wants to achieve “new freedom in how we design, fabricate and ultimately integrate these materials into future electronic platforms.” Read More