|
|
| FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
| |
Department of Defense—Vanderbilt to lead $5 million Air Force center of excellence in radiation effects research on electronics
The Institute for Space and Defense Electronics at Vanderbilt University has been selected as the Center of Excellence in Radiation Effects by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Air Force Research Lab. The $5 million, five-year program will be led by Vanderbilt in partnership with The Ohio State University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. The goal is to develop tools, experimental techniques, theoretical understanding, and models that can be applied to multiple emerging technologies that will be integral to advanced satellite systems, GPS navigation, remote sensing, communications, and other electronics applications. The capabilities developed through the center will contribute to a wide range of Department of Defense programs and systems. The DOD currently funds work on many electronic and photonic systems that have the potential to provide dramatic improvements in space microelectronics, but little is known about how these new systems will perform or survive in extreme environments, particularly those with significant radiation requirements. MORE
| |
National Science Foundation—Researchers to test wearable tech to detect problem behaviors in children with disabilities and offer intervention strategies
Vanderbilt researchers have won a National Science Foundation grant to use wearable technologies to detect problem behaviors in children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities and offer strategies to protect them from potential harm. Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at increased risk of showing problem behavior that expose them to being hurt, removed from the classroom, or hospitalized. With support from a four-year, $1.1 million NSF Smart and Connected Health grant . . . Vanderbilt engineering and pediatric researchers will integrate transdisciplinary expertise in cutting-edge wearable sensing, affective computing, machine learning, and behavioral and clinical science to transform existing models of behavioral intervention for problem behaviors in children and adolescents with IDD. The goal is to test whether the system—the sensors, the app, and human input—can predict the precursors of problem behavior, how well it works when used in the real world with therapists, and what users think about the system. MORE
| |
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Veterans Affairs—Uncovering how injury to the pancreas impacts cancer formation
Pioneering research from scientists at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that acinar cells in the pancreas form new cell types to mitigate injury but are then susceptible to cancerous mutations. Findings from this research, led by Kathy DelGiorno, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology establish a “better understanding of the mechanisms of healing in the pancreas and when these processes go awry,” DelGiorno said. Pancreatic cancer is a major public health burden and is slated to become the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. by 2030. Currently, the average five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 10 percent, one of the worst of any cancer type. New and innovative treatments are greatly needed to change these outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients. The Vanderbilt team has received a National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award to follow up on this work. [This research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.] MORE
| |
National Institutes of Health—Professor discovers signaling pathway that lets ketamine act as a rapid antidepressant
Ketamine has been gaining interest over the past several years as a fast-acting antidepressant. Lisa Monteggia, professor of pharmacology and director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, furthered her prolific research on the topic by investigating a specific mechanism of action for ketamine’s antidepressant action within the brain. This study showed that ketamine requires expression of [a key molecule, brain-derived neurotrophic factor,] and its receptor in specific regions of the hippocampus to act as an antidepressant. The study also found that ketamine strengthens connections between synapses in the hippocampus, which is thought to contribute to the rapid nature of its antidepressant effects. Monteggia hopes these findings can contribute to the mapping of a neural circuit essential for antidepressant action, which would be useful for the development of more rapid and effective antidepressants. Support for this research was provided by the National Institute of Mental Health. MORE
| |
National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs—COVID-19 virus test sensitivity varies with body’s circadian rhythm
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, health care practitioners have relied on COVID-19 testing to tell them what safety precautions to follow with each patient. Carl Johnson, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences, wondered how the virus might act differently depending on the time of day and the body’s circadian rhythms. [A team of researchers collaborated] to determine if the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 varies based on time of day. They found that people were up to two times as likely to have an accurate positive test result if they tested in the middle of the day compared to at night. As Johnson and his co-authors report, the peak shedding in the afternoon, when patients are more likely to interact with others or seek medical care, could play a role in increasing the spread of the virus in hospitals and the wider community. This research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. MORE
| |
National Institutes of Health—Eat breakfast and stop late-night snacking
Researchers have confirmed that due to daily circadian rhythms regulating metabolism, when you eat is as important as the how much and what you eat when trying to gain, lose or maintain weight. Carl Johnson, professor of biological sciences, collaborated with graduate student Kevin P. Kelly to test how the timing of daily meals and snacks throughout the day affects weight maintenance. With 24-hour access to some food, those eating the biggest meal of the day in the morning gained less weight than those who ate their biggest meal at the end of the day and before sleep. These results, along with those from a previous study Johnson conducted, suggest that eating a larger, protein-filled breakfast is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy weight. A smaller but still significant change would be to avoid late-night snacking. This novel research shows that timing of meals is important for weight maintenance regardless of fasting. This research was supported [in part] by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. MORE
| |
Vanderbilt astrophysicist leads international workshop to turn plans for a crewed lunar observatory into reality
Karan Jani, research assistant professor of physics and astronomy, co-chaired the first international workshop focused on gravitational wave detection on the moon. The workshop builds on Jani’s recent studies that make the case for building a crewed, lunar-based observatory. The workshop convened more than 350 leading experts from the fields of GW science, planetary science and lunar exploration to discuss the geophysical properties of the moon and opportunities for this type of observation with key technologies that are already at an advanced stage of development. Participants were in agreement that lunar GW detection could become a realistic space science mission with international cooperation. Discussions highlighted the exciting possibility that a GW detector on the moon could provide a more complete understanding of where gravitational waves come from, and the orbit of the moon around Earth would significantly increase the ability to triangulate the position of those sources. MORE
| |
Vanderbilt acorns to become forests of the future
With the crisp, cooler temperatures, Vanderbilt’s iconic white oaks have begun dropping their acorns. While the campus squirrels are busily storing their share, Vanderbilt has partnered with the Tennessee Department of Forestry to collect acorns to plant the forests of the future. Vanderbilt Facilities and the Department of Forestry set up nets on the Peabody College campus to collect acorns from some of Vanderbilt’s dozens of white oaks. The collected acorns will be taken to East Tennessee, where they will be grown and cultivated for a year before the seedlings are distributed across the state. The goal of this project is to increase the genetic diversity among the state’s population of trees. MORE
| |
Panel to explore why municipal governments seem more effective than national government
Local and regional municipalities across the nation can typically come to solutions more quickly and easily than do national governing bodies. Why is that? The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will host a virtual discussion on Nov. 3 with three former and current municipal leaders to talk about how to employ effective local strategies at the national level. The event will stream Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 12:30 p.m. CT. The discussion is free and open to the public. Registration is required. MORE
| |
Author, columnist Margaret Renkl to lead panel discussion on how Nashville, the South are changing
Author and New York Times columnist Margaret Renkl will join Vanderbilt University Press authors Rachel Martin and Steve Haruch to discuss the evolving nature of Nashville and the American South through culture, food, race relations and politics in a special panel discussion. The virtual event, “Nashville Through the Decades,” will be streamed Tuesday, Nov. 9 at noon CT and is hosted by the Chancellor’s Lecture Series in partnership with Vanderbilt University Press. The discussion is free and open to the public. Registration is required. MORE
| |
|
| Follow the Office of Federal Relations on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
| |
VUbrief summarizes Vanderbilt news items to inform our Congressional community
of developments at the university.
Visit our website for past issues of VUbrief.
Vanderbilt University
Office of Federal Relations
(202) 216-4361
| |
|
|
|
|
