Research

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common—and lethal—forms of childhood cancer, accounting for 15 percent of pediatric cancer deaths each year. (Despite the name, neuroblastoma is not a form of brain cancer; it typically consists of tumors found in the abdomen, chest, neck, pelvis and bones.) Currently, children with neuroblastoma are treated with aggressive forms... Read More

A new model suggests that a protein involved in the generation of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) works differently than previously thought. Read More

As the population of older adults continues to boom across the U.S., Vanderbilt researcher Nilanjan Sarkar is partnering with Lorraine Mion of the Ohio State University and two Middle Tennessee long-term care (LTC) facilities to investigate how augmented reality technologies can ease loneliness among residents. Sarkar, the David K. Wilson Professor of Engineering and a... Read More

John Wilson, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Vanderbilt University, has received a $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop technology that seeks to boost a person’s immune system to better fight cancer. Wilson is the Principal Investigator of the five-year grant. He specializes in the study of cancer immunotherapy... Read More

New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output. Read More

A new study by Vanderbilt researchers demonstrates the ability to initiate chemical reactions by cooling materials instead of heating them— a counterintuitive process that could open new vistas for applications ranging from monitoring shipping conditions to developing smart clothing that guards against dangerously low temperatures. The paper, published in August by the journal RSC Advances,... Read More

Gastrointestinal inflammation, such as occurs in inflammatory bowel disease, triggers the expansion of a population of “bone-eating” cells, leading to bone loss. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered why the uropathogenic bacterium E. coli, the leading cause of urinary tract infections, is so tenacious; their findings could lead to new ways to prevent recurrent UTIs. Read More

Robert Webster, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, is part of a collaborative team that has received a more than $2.3 million grant to further develop technology that seeks to prevent patients from having invasive colectomies by using steerable robot-like instruments. Under his second startup... Read More

A professor and undergraduate student in Vanderbilt University’s School of Engineering are both recipients of esteemed 2022-2023 Fulbright awards that allow scholars to teach and conduct research abroad. Ravindra Duddu is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and Kristi Maisha is a civil engineering major. Duddu will use his Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship to... Read More

by Bill Snyder The growth of epithelial ovarian cancer, one of the most lethal malignancies, is associated with the presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), white blood cells that can block the anti-cancer activity of the immune system and immunotherapy. Fortunately, TAMs can be “repolarized,” converted from immunosuppressive tumor-promoters to inflammatory tumor-fighters. Now, Associate Professor of Pharmacology Fiona Yull,... Read More

Two leading energy companies that used a Vanderbilt-pioneered process to develop safer nuclear reactors received a prestigious technology award from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in June. A team led by Steve Krahn, professor of the practice of nuclear environmental engineering, worked in collaboration with EPRI to develop a “safety-in-design” methodology that was adopted... Read More

  A team of Vanderbilt computer scientists, working in collaboration with Google Research and a global aid organization, HelpMum, received top honors in the “social good” category for a paper describing a new tool designed to optimize childhood health and wellness in Nigeria at the 2022 International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence Organization (IJCAI). Institute... Read More

Janey Camp has been named the director of the Vanderbilt Engineering Center for Transportation and Operational Resiliency (VECTOR) where interdisciplinary groups work on a variety of transportation and infrastructure resilience projects using groundbreaking applications and risk management practices. “It is an absolute honor to move into this leadership role for VECTOR at such an exciting time... Read More

A Vanderbilt study suggests that clinicians should take a deeper dive into distinguishing EGFR mutations when prescribing targeted therapies for non-small-cell lung cancers. Read More

Cynthia Reinhart-King, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering, has accepted the position of Senior Associate Dean for Research. Her appointment comes as Associate Dean for Research and John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering Peter Cummings steps down and has announced his retirement. Reinhart-King is a cellular bioengineer who is a leader... Read More

Three engineering faculty members have received grants to support the early stages of pioneering research projects identified as likely candidates for further funding from federal, foundation and industry sponsors. Spring 2022 Seeding Success Grants were awarded to 14 faculty and are the second cycle of the internal early investment funding initiative. The grants, awarded to faculty spanning the... Read More

Lymphedema study results could be a game-changer for breast cancer patients and survivors. The Vanderbilt-led trial found that patients with early detection who used L-Dex with additional intervention were less likely to progress to chronic lymphedema than patients monitored with a tape measure receiving the same intervention.  Read More

The Vanderbilt rocket team won the coveted NASA Student Launch Project Review Award for the best documentation of the project progress through 2021-2022. The national Student Launch rocketry competition was held in April and results were announced June 3. This is Vanderbilt’s 15th year to participate in the annual NASA event and teams have won the... Read More

Reported June 13 in Neurology, an Alzheimer’s disease risk study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center measures significantly reduced risk associated with healthy lifestyles, including non-smoking, leisure-time exercise, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption, adequate sleep and healthy diet. Read More