Hasty named senior associate dean for faculty
Alyssa Hasty (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics), associate dean for faculty in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, has been promoted to senior associate dean for faculty.
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Colon named assistant dean for research
Selene Colon’s title has been changed from Assistant Dean for Research Logistics and Compliance to Assistant Dean for Research. Although the new title is shorter it reflects the expansion of the scope of her responsibilities in light of the excellence of her performance as ADRLC during her first year in Basic Sciences.
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Shapiro to replace Conley
Aaron Conley, former director of external affairs and partnerships and head of the Basic Sciences communications team, has started as the new executive director of leadership programs within Development and Alumni Relations. Marissa Shapiro, senior communications strategist within the Division of Communications and Marketing, will lead in his stead starting on Oct. 16.
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NSF grant to advance bio- manufacturing
Alissa Weaver (Cell and Developmental Biology), Ethan Lippmann (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering), and John Wilson (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering) received a notice of award for a $3 million grant over four years from the National Science Foundation to advance large-scale biomanufacturing of cell-derived nanoparticles that can deliver precisely targeted drugs to the site of a disease.
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Merrikh, Park awarded Kleberg grant
Houra Merrikh (Biochemistry) and Ben Ho Park (Medicine) have received a three-year grant from the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation to generate an anti-evolution drug to reduce resistance in cancer.
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Carrasco wins BPS award
Nancy Carrasco (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) has received the Biophysical Society Award for the Biophysics of Health and Disease and will be honored at the BPS Annual Meeting in February.
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Crowe named recipient of ASM award
James Crowe Jr. (Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology) will receive the 2024 American Society for Microbiology Award for Applied and Biotechnological Research for his revolutionary research on monoclonal antibodies. The award will be presented at the 2024 ASM Microbe meeting in June 2024.
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Caprioli, Weaver named master innovators
Richard Caprioli (Biochemistry) and David Weaver (Pharmacology) were named awardees of the 2023 Master Innovator Recognition Program by the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization.
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Marty Douglass named 2023 Hanna Gray Fellow
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Fall Staff Research Excellence Award winners announced
Congratulations to Alec Rodriguez (Alyssa Hasty lab) and Melissa Chambers (Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility) and Scott Collier (CryoEM) for winning Vanderbilt Fall Staff Research Excellence awards.
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Browning selected as FASEB advocacy fellow
Kaitlyn Browning (Biochemistry, Houra Merrikh lab) has been chosen as an inaugural Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellow by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
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2023 Lou DeFelice awardees named
The Lou DeFelice Travel Awards allows recipients and their mentors to travel to either the SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) or ABRCMS (Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students) research conferences this fall. The 2023 awards were presented to the following Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy participants:
- Suzanne Navarro, mentored by Aaron Aday
- Trinity Owens, mentored by Antentor Hinton Jr.
- Oumou Samake, mentored by Charreau Bell
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Saleem, Wolters earn fellowships
Mohammad Saleem (Annet Kirabo lab) received a development grant from the American Heart Association. Rachael Wolters (Microbe-Host Interactions, James Crowe Jr. lab) earned a fellowship from the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs.
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McCarty wins training enhancement, poster awards
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Basic Sciences represents at global conference
A group of Basic Sciences investigators made their presence known at the 2023 CMT Global Research Convention. Bruce Carter (Biochemistry) presented a talk for patients and families on Charcot-Marie-Tooth types, Margaret Read (Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization) moderated a panel on translating research to business, and Katherine Stefanski (Chuck Sanders lab) earned a top poster award.
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Biochemistry retreat award winners
- Top poster
- Samantha Lisy (Manny Ascano lab)
- Jessica Day (Emily Hodges lab)
- Jillian Armenia (Neil Osheroff lab)
- Poster honorable mentions: Jenny Tran (Breann Brown lab), Kaitlyn Browning (Houra Merrikh lab), Kate Clowes (Chuck Sanders lab)
- Top talk
- Katherine Stefanksi (Chuck Sanders lab)
- Lily Yu (Doug Kojetin lab)
- Honorable mentions: Sabrina van Ravenstein (James Dewar lab), Jorge Rúa-Fernández (David Cortez lab).
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Yu earns travel grant
Lily Yu (Doug Kojetin lab) received a Graduate School Travel Grant for a project titled "Molecular basis of Nurr1-RXRα activation."
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Fresh-from-the-oven grads
The following graduates successfully defended their dissertations this past month:
- Cancer Biology: Erik Beadle, Ph.D.
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics: Benjamin Kesler, Ph.D.
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About to purchase a freezer for you lab?
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Simple Beginnings ceremony wecomes doctoral students
Simple Beginnings is Vanderbilt’s annual ceremony to welcome each new class of doctoral students in the biomedical and biological sciences. The highlight of the event, which is hosted by the Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training, is the presentation of personalized lab coats to the students.
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BRET annual report now available
The BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program published their annual report. You can read it on ISSUU or can find it and previous years' reports on the Annual Reports archive.
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Vanderbilt’s Innovation Catalyst Fund is open for proposals
Vanderbilt University has launched its newest internal funding initiative, the Innovation Catalyst Fund. The application portal officially opens Oct. 1 and will remain open for submissions until the first cycle proposal deadline on Oct. 31.
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Provost announces Science Space Planning Committee
Provost C. Cybele Raver recently announced the formation of the Provost’s Science Space Planning Committee, a faculty- and staff-led initiative established to ensure that Vanderbilt’s physical spaces properly serve the needs and goals of scientific research and discovery. We strongly encourage your individual participation to ensure we can understand and address the space-related goals and needs of our community.
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Serezani becomes SLB officer
Henrique Serezani (Pharmacology) has been elected councilor for the Society for Leukocyte Biology for the 2024-2027 term.
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Stephens invited to two programs
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NIH guidance for oversight of foreign sub-awards
The National Institutes of Health has released its final guide notice clarifying its longstanding policy on foreign sub-award and consortium agreements. Learn more.
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Parking Alternatives
In an effort to mitigate traffic congestion during peak hours for the staff, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars who hold annual parking permits who typically park in the 25th Avenue Garage, the university is offering use of garages on campus typically reserved only for the daily parking program.
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"Molecular Muse"
Head over to the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery in Cohen Memorial Hall to see artwork by students in the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation Artist-in-Residence Program. This exhibit, “Molecular Muse,” runs through Nov. 17.
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Karpay Award applications open
The Karpay Award in Structural Biology recognizes a senior graduate student who has performed exceptional research in structural biology. Applications are open now through Oct. 13 at 3:00 p.m.
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2023 SOM Research Staff Awards due
Nominations are now open for the 2023 School of Medicine Research Staff Awards. The nomination deadline is Oct. 20, 2023.
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NIH Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams
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Grant pacing workshops
Edge for Scholars is hosting one more Grant Pacing Workshop for Independent Investigator (R) submissions on Oct. 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
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VIRAL Meet & Greet
The Vanderbilt International Researchers Alliance is hosting its annual Meet & Greet on Oct. 6 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
on the seventh floor terrace of MRBIII. Indian and Mexican food and beverages will be provided (only two alcoholic drinks will be served per person and IDs will be checked at the door). RSVPs appreciated but not necessary.
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Smith to speak at Emerging Scholars Lecture
The next Discovery Sciences Emerging Scholars Lecture will take place on Oct. 20 at 12:00 p.m. in 202 Light Hall. Iris Smith, research instructor at Cleveland Clinic, Lerner Research Institute, will present her work on PTEN structural and functional dynamic architecture.
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CSB Special Seminar
The Center for Structural Biology will host a special seminar at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 in 1220 MRBIII. Paula Booth from King’s College will speak about co-translational folding of membrane proteins.
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Ingaugural Nature Conference coming to VU
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Annual postdoc symposium
The 17th Annual Vanderbilt Postdoc Association Symposium will take place on Nov. 17. This interdisciplinary, one-day conference highlights postdoctoral research and provides a venue for networking and professional development. Lightning round and poster presentation submissions closed on September 4. Register if interested.
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Have a job opening you’d like to promote? Send us a link or a description and contact info, and we’ll post it here for three issues. Renew postings anytime!
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Corrections- In the last issue, we indicated that Jashim Uddin, Craig Duvall, and Kasey Vickers were co-PIs on a Phi Beta Psi grant. Craig Duvall and Vickers were uninvolved with this project, which was awarded solely to Uddin.
- In our celebration of Jerod Denton, Craig Lindsley, and Brad Grueter's National Institute of Mental Health grant, we included a photograph of Kasey Vickers instead of Grueter. Here is a photograph of Grueter.
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About this issue's bannerPictured above is a heart muscle cell known as a cardiac myocte, sent to us by Zachary Sanchez (Cell and Developmental Biology), from the lab of Dylan Burnette. It was genetically manipulated through transfection to express a fluorescent protein that localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell (the ER is depth coded—the color change reflects a change in height). The purpose of this experiment was to see the morphology of the ER in an immature cardiac myocyte and compare it to what has been reported in the literature for mature cardiac myocytes.
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Catch up on Basic Sciences news!We regularly update our website with some of the latest VU Basic Sciences news stories. Check it out.
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Faculty and facility profilesCheck out our faculty interviews and our facility highlights here.
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About the newsletterThis newsletter recognizes the achievements and latest discoveries of students, postdocs, faculty, and staff associated with Basic Sciences departments, centers, and cores or who carry out basic biomedical research at Vanderbilt.
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Basic Sciences has a number of new communication avenues that you or your loved ones can use to keep up with what's going on here. If they're not already getting the Reading List, Vital, and Lab-to-Table Conversations announcements, send them to our subscription center!
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Keep up with biomedical science seminars
To receive weekly email notices about upcoming seminars focused on the biomedical sciences, please email Tracy O'Brien. To submit your event for the weekly email, send it to the "bioseminar" email address.
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Send us your news Got an announcement or an upcoming event? Did we miss out on celebrating you or your lab's successes? Let us know!
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