Research
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Vanderbilt researcher receives nearly $2.7 million in NSF and NIH funding to explore how augmented reality can ease loneliness in older adults
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 MoreSep 12, 2022
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The Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, named National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Hub lead institution
Vanderbilt University has been chosen by the National Science Foundation to lead the new Mid-South Innovation Corps Hub, a group of nine universities that make up a regional coalition of diverse, tech-forward institutions to promote inclusive innovation, spur economic development and prosperity and transform Midsouth metro areas into growth and commercialization centers for STEM-related technologies. Read MoreSep 8, 2022
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Vanderbilt engineering professor to use $3 million grant to develop technology to help cancer patients better fight disease
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 MoreSep 6, 2022
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Study identifies key player in T cell “education”
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 MoreSep 1, 2022
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Vanderbilt research shows how a gel that “melts” at cold temperatures can be used to start chemical reactions
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 MoreAug 29, 2022
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Vanderbilt researchers discover how gut inflammation leads to bone loss
Gastrointestinal inflammation, such as occurs in inflammatory bowel disease, triggers the expansion of a population of “bone-eating” cells, leading to bone loss. Read MoreAug 25, 2022
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Study describes how E. coli co-opts cells, causes recurrent UTIs
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 MoreAug 25, 2022
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Vanderbilt professor to use portion of $2.3 million grant on robot technology to help patients avoid invasive colectomies
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 MoreAug 25, 2022
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Researchers discover how salt increases blood pressure
A Vanderbilt research team has discovered that activation of a certain protein complex involved in the inflammatory response in immune cells contributes to salt-sensitive hypertension. Read MoreAug 17, 2022
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Vanderbilt’s online education doctorate ranked No. 1 by ‘Fortune’
Fortune has ranked Vanderbilt University as having the No. 1 online education doctorate in organizational leadership for 2022. The online doctoral program in leadership and learning in organizations is geared toward mid-career professionals and maximizes flexibility to help them complete their degrees within approximately three years. Read MoreAug 17, 2022
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How childhood trauma affects brain development and risk for incarceration: Virtual event Aug. 25
A Thursday, Aug. 25, discussion will connect how childhood trauma impacts brain development and behavior, its intersection with the justice system, and how we can integrate this understanding in prevention, diversion and restorative efforts. Read MoreAug 17, 2022
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VUSE professor, student receive prestigious Fulbright awards to study abroad
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 MoreAug 16, 2022
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Nanoparticles boost anti-cancer immunity
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 MoreAug 16, 2022
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Environmental engineering graduate student wins DOE nuclear technology R&D award
Megan Harkema, a third-year graduate student studying nuclear environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University, has been awarded a prize in the Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Fuel and Supply Chain. Read MoreAug 12, 2022
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Vanderbilt research on nuclear safety offers new pathways for clean energy, leads to industry awards
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 MoreAug 10, 2022
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Artificial intelligence researchers win international “social good” award for tool designed to optimize childhood vaccinations in Nigeria
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 MoreJul 29, 2022
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Video vital for telehealth visits
Vanderbilt study of 18,130 telehealth visits at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic defines risk factors associated with telehealth access and suggests how health systems can improve access. Read MoreJul 28, 2022
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Specialty pharmacists help reduce MS relapse risk
Just one-third of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis remain on disease-modifying therapy, and specialty pharmacists are in a unique position to help coordinate therapy discontinuation or change and reduce the risk of relapse. Read MoreJul 28, 2022
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Janey Camp to lead Vanderbilt Engineering center focused on transportation research
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 MoreJul 28, 2022
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Janey Camp to lead Vanderbilt Engineering center focused on transportation research
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 MoreJul 28, 2022