FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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Health Resources and Services Administration—School of Nursing receives HRSA grant to train community health workers
Vanderbilt School of Nursing has received a $3 million Health Resources and Services Administration grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to create a training program, standardized set of competencies and certification for community health workers in Tennessee. The new initiative is in partnership with the Tennessee Community Health Worker Association and Rural Health Association of Tennessee. The Community Health Worker Training Program of Tennessee, which kicks off with informational sessions in early 2023, will train up to 90 people per year to help their communities. Community health workers are employed by social service agencies, clinics, hospitals, schools and health departments, and are crucial for those who have limited access to medical resources. They also understand potential barriers that residents face when they need care—everything from mistrust of medical professionals and misconceptions to transportation issues. MORE
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National Institutes of Health—Renã Robinson receives NIH grant for faculty success program to promote equity in science
Renã Robinson, Dorothy Wingfield Phillips Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow and professor of chemistry, received $2.04 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to start a program that will help underrepresented minority faculty further their success in STEM. Collaborators on the grant include researchers from the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina. The Faculty Accomplished Community that Cultivates Equity and Success in Science effort aims to support underrepresented minority faculty members at predominantly white institutions and provide them with the tools and resources needed to be successful biomedical scientific leaders. Faculty ACCESS will provide programming to faculty that is centered on wellness. The programming will explore how to cope with race-related stress, avoid burnout, set boundaries and more. MORE
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Department of Veteran Affairs, National Institutes of Health—Vanderbilt biochemists join international researchers in discovery of the first new antibiotic for urinary tract infections in more than 20 years
Neil Osheroff, John Coniglio Chair in Biochemistry and professor of biochemistry and medicine, is part of an international research collaboration resulting in what is on track to be the first new antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in more than 20 years. The antibiotic, gepotidacin, completed enrollment in phase III trials ahead of schedule based on analysis of its efficacy and safety. GSK, the global biopharma company conducting the trials, plans to submit a New Drug Application for the antibiotic to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early 2023, according to a release. Gepotidacin inhibits bacterial DNA replication by a distinct mechanism of action supplied by the Osheroff lab that is foundational to GSK’s forthcoming FDA application. Osheroff and his colleagues were awarded grants by the Department of Veterans Affairs and by the National Institutes of Health to conduct this research. MORE
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National Science Foundation—Vanderbilt engineer receives NSF award to develop neural analysis methodology
Mikail Rubinov, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has been awarded $600,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop new computational methods for analysis of large-scale brain activity data. The three-year project is funded by the NSF Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) [and] was awarded alongside a companion project from the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) . . . . Rubinov is Vanderbilt’s Principal Investigator on this project while Catie Chang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and computer science, is Co-Principal Investigator. [The project will analyze neural circuitry that underpins changes in motivation, mood, and alertness across behavioral states in humans and zebrafish; these changes play an important role in healthy brain function and are disrupted in neurological and psychiatric disorders.] He said the multi-species approach can ultimately help infer the changes in humans noninvasively. MORE
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National Institutes of Health—New screening method could pave the way for future cancer drug discoveries
The laboratories of Brian Bachmann, professor of chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology, and Jonathan Irish, associate professor of cell and developmental biology and pathology, microbiology and immunology, have developed a method to discover new small molecules that may kill cancer cells by working through the body’s immune system. The method is the first of its kind, to the [researchers'] knowledge, that combines a single-cell screen with metabolomics, the large-scale study of small molecules. The [researchers] hope that this method for determining new immunogenic cancer drugs will lead to more efficient treatments. Ultimately, these potential drug discoveries may lead to new tools to treat cancer and improve patient outcomes. [The research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.] MORE
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National Institute of Mental Health—Velma McBride Murry appointed to national advisory board for mental health
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently appointed Velma McBride Murry to the National Advisory Mental Health Council. The council advises the current U.S. secretary of health and human services and the director of the National Institute of Mental Health. McBride Murry, University Distinguished Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, and University Distinguished Professor of Health Policy in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, will serve a four-year term. She looks forward to engaging in conversation and advocacy for mental health funding and increasing transparency around the awarding of NIMH grants. McBride Murry has conducted research on African American families and children for over a decade and examines the protective factors that deter behavioral problems and risk engagement among youth. MORE
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Acclaimed journalist warns against indifference in MLK Day keynote; students step up for day of service
Byron Pitts, Emmy Award-winning journalist, author and co-host of ABC’s Nightline, warned against the dangers of becoming indifferent to helping others and challenged members of the Vanderbilt community to see their potential to change the world through service. Pitts delivered the university’s 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series keynote address at the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music’s Ingram Hall on Jan. 16. Pitts told stories about his harrowing childhood in East Baltimore and struggles with learning. He did not read until he was 13 and was told he shouldn’t be in school. Yet, with the help of his faith, his mother and others who chose to champion him, Pitts persevered through high school and college and followed his dream of becoming a journalist. Vanderbilt launched its annual MLK Commemorative Series in 1985 to honor King’s legacy through programs, lectures, interactive teach-ins and community service. MORE
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Vanderbilt announces new program in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies
The College of Arts and Science has launched a new undergraduate program in Asian American and Asian Diaspora (AAAD) Studies, including both a major and a minor, in spring 2023. The new program, housed in the Department of Asian Studies, aims to provide students with a more comprehensive knowledge of Asian diaspora and perspectives, Asian and U.S. history, and race relations in the United States. The program’s relevance is paramount in the wake of recent anti-Asian violence and rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Asian American student population at Vanderbilt doubled from 2013 to 2020, growing from 8% to 16% of the total undergraduate population. Due to these factors, students, faculty, and the administration agreed that the university needed an intellectual and institutional space for the study of Asian American histories and issues. MORE
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Tools for Effective Lawmaking event on Feb. 3 hosted by the Center for Effective Lawmaking
The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) invites you to a forum aimed at providing tools for legislative staffers who wish to know more about effective lawmaking. Seasoned congressional, White House, and media veterans will discuss how staffers can most effectively interact with their institutions. CEL is a joint partnership between the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University that seeks to advance the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and U.S. legislative institutions. This event for congressional legislative staff will be held on Friday, Feb. 3 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am ET in the South Congressional Meeting Room, Capitol Visitors Center (CVC 217). Light breakfast refreshments will be served. RSVP Here. If you are unable to attend yourself, feel free to pass this invitation to other members of your office who may be interested. If you have any questions or comments about this event, please email us at thelawmakers@virginia.edu.
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