Undergraduate Research

Vanderbilt biologists have discovered that mosquito sperm have a “sense of smell” and that some of same chemicals that the mosquito can smell cause the sperm to swim harder. Read More

Two months before graduating with a degree in civil engineering Mason Hickman earned two awards at the 2013 Southeastern Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education for his research on portable structures capable of withstanding blasts from explosives. Read More

(photo by John Russell) Ryoma (Puck) Ohi, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, talks with students during the second Vanderbilt International Summer Research Academy (VISRA). The eight-week program is designed for international undergraduate students considering careers in biomedical research and gives them a taste of… Read More

Since the Academy was established in 2002, more than 650 undergraduates have participated in the summer research program. About 10 percent have pursued graduate and/or medical studies at Vanderbilt. Read More

Experience, so they say, is the best teacher. But when it comes to cutting-edge laboratory-based research, hands-on work often is the exclusive purview of graduate students and faculty. So how does an undergraduate student interested in research go about obtaining the experience and exposure that can help launch a career?… Read More

Learn about an unusual research lab on Vanderbilt’s campus which employs almost entirely undergraduate students. Read more: Biology Lab Utilizes Undergraduate Research to Study Protein Diseases   Produced by Vanderbilt student Harrison Dreves. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt chemists have designed and successfully synthesized the largest artificial protein using a new approach that greatly expands scientists’ ability to create proteins unknown in nature. Read More

A network of scientists who study how the brain acquires visual expertise has received a five-year renewal of support from the National Science Foundation. Read More

Astronomer David Weintraub has given introductory astronomy a “CSI” format by following the scientific evidence that gives us the age of the universe and has put this in a popular science book. Read More

Students at BSC111c poster session discussing project that determined the phylogenetic relationship of a number of common insects (Susan Urmy / Vanderbilt) In an educational environment increasingly characterized by canned and virtual science experiments that always come out right, Vanderbilt’s alternative introductory biology laboratory (BSC 111c) stands… Read More