Research

By Jenna Somers Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez Many students from Spanish-speaking homes—whether designated as English learners or not—struggle with English language and reading comprehension, including students born and raised in the U.S. and who attend English-only-instruction schools. These students’ low scores on standardized English reading and language assessments are often associated… Read More

By Jenna Somers Hilary Travers Earlier this year, the U.S. and Tennessee Departments of Education awarded grants totaling more than $9.9 million to Hilary Travers, PhD’21, research assistant professor of special education, to support educational and post-school outcomes of students with disabilities in Tennessee. In April, Travers received… Read More

By Jane Sevier and Jenna Somers Meghan Burke Meghan Burke joined Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development in August as professor of special education. Her research interests include family advocacy, families of individuals with disabilities, and disability policy. She examines how families advocate for… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers found reduced net flow of cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington’s disease, which could contribute to mutant protein retention and altered responsiveness to medications delivered via the spinal cord. Read More

Screenshot of the GeoPACHA web platform. Red triangles denote archaeological features on the landscape. (Wernke/GeoPACHA) A $350,000 grant to develop next-generation archaeological mapping technology will let a Vanderbilt-led research team reveal information about vast settlement systems and human-modified landscapes in the Andes. Steven Wernke, associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology, is the... Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have uncovered a potential new way to help curb the rapidly rising worldwide prevalence of metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity. Read More

By Jenna Somers James R. Booth A five-year, $3.9 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders will support novel research into the brain function of language development in 4- to- 8-year-old late talkers with language delay to identify predictive biomarkers that could support early… Read More

Biomedical engineering graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are recipients of highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Awards from the National Institutes of Health and NIH Individual Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Awards. A majority of the students are in the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and are researchers in labs... Read More

Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor Neil Dani has been awarded the prestigious Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award for his groundbreaking research on the choroid plexus brain barrier, making him the first-ever Vanderbilt recipient of the award while working for the university. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center have “cracked” the genomic code for sepsis in the lungs and kidneys. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s dedication to encouraging unique and groundbreaking research through internal grants has helped David Hyde, assistant professor of computer science, receive funding from the National Science Foundation. His research has progressed thanks to a Seeding Success Grant, an internal funding award managed by Research Development and Support in the Office of the Vice Provost... Read More

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation will host an internal awards town hall on Friday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Read More

The Seeding Success Grant at Vanderbilt University has helped propel ADVISER, an innovative software platform created by David Hyde, assistant professor of computer science, to earning National Science Foundation funding. ADVISER is designed to democratize access to high-end cloud computing, and the new NSF grant applies it to climate change research. Read More

Justus Ndukaife, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is leading innovative research that more effectively traps nanosized extracellular vesicles and particles to analyze their roles in cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. The research by Ndukaife and his collaborators was recently published in Nano Letters Scientific journal. The research was done in collaboration with the lab... Read More

Laurie Cutting, a renowned scholar and expert in cognitive neuroscience, has been appointed associate provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, where she will aim to foster academic excellence, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. Read More

By Jenna Somers Krista Mehari Youth violence prevention researcher Krista Mehari joined Vanderbilt University Peabody College of education and human development in May as assistant professor of psychology and human development. As a community-based researcher, Mehari works with schools, police departments, local businesses, and organizations to understand… Read More

Despite the practice of exclusionary discipline in schools declining over the past decade, policy and program reforms intended to replace the practice largely have not benefited African American students, according to a new study from associate professor of education and public policy Richard Welsh recently published in Children and Youth Services Review. Read More

A Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering team working to create a navigational system to decrease stone fragments left behind after surgery includes Nicholas Kavoussi, MD, left, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Ipek Oguz, PhD, and Daiwei Lu, computer science Ph.D. student. (photo by Susan Urmy) by Jill Clendening A multidisciplinary team at the Vanderbilt... Read More

Justus Ndukaife, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has received the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award of $1.9 million from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The funding will support Ndukaife’s project, “Understanding the heterogeneity of nanoscale extracellular vesicles, exomeres and supermeres using next generation optical nanotweezers.” Justus Ndukaife Nanosized extracellular vesicles and particles,... Read More