December 17, 2021

Stephen Taylor, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award to further his efforts to probe ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves. The award—the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious—supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.  The wave periods he examines move in time increments of years to decades, making his work a long timescale experiment that has just begun to bear fruit—with some exciting breakthroughs expected within the next few years. The award also will support efforts to increase equity, diversity and inclusion among the researchers and students assisting Taylor. MORE

VUMC joins health leaders from across the country in applauding Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., for his 12-plus years of service as director of the National Institutes of Health. Collins, a physician-geneticist and the longest serving presidentially appointed NIH director, will retire at the end of the year. Since his appointment in August 2009, the annual NIH budget has increased by nearly 38%, to $41.3 billion in 2021, according to United for Medical Research (UMR). UMR is a coalition of leading research institutions including VUMC and Vanderbilt University, patient and health advocates and private industry that supports steady and sustainable increases in NIH funding “to save and improve lives, advance innovation and fuel the economy.” Several leaders praise Collins’ accomplishments in a tribute video produced by UMR. Among them are Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Lawrence Marnett, PhD, Dean of Basic Sciences in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. MORE

A team of Vanderbilt researchers led by Jamey Young, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering, John McLean, department chair and Stevenson Professor of Chemistry, and Carl Johnson, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences, has described a novel method for rapidly characterizing the biological impact of genetic editing on bacteria. The new approach enables researchers to take the consequences of specific genetic edits into account as they engineer the production of specific chemicals from bacteria. Ultimately the goal of this work is to discover the best way to genetically modify blue-green algae called cyanobacteria to produce fatty acid molecules that are used as a source of clean energy. The research could lead to much shorter timeframes for green fuel production, drug discovery and the translation of research from the lab to the public in a variety of disciplines.  [This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Research Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.] MORE

Support for Gov. Bill Lee is down among Tennessee voters, fueled in part by his controversial stances on vaccine and mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest statewide Vanderbilt Poll. This decline may reflect the public’s reaction to the state legislature’s actions. For example, both Democrats and Republicans disapprove of the new law prohibiting private companies from requiring their employees to be vaccinated, the poll found. The poll focused on several areas to gauge public opinion on current affairs, such as redistricting in Tennessee, policies related to COVID-19 and the economy, the future of public education, and perceptions of unity in a time of polarization among people. The Vanderbilt Poll is supported by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University. MORE

Shane Callahan, an experienced leader in technology and information security, has been named Vanderbilt University’s first chief information security officer. He will join the university on Jan. 4, 2022. His role is part of a university-wide cybersecurity initiative, launched in the fall of 2021 and developed with the input and guidance of faculty, staff and experts in the field, to protect Vanderbilt’s ability to securely collaborate and communicate online at a time when universities globally are increasingly under attack. Drawing on the university’s existing cybersecurity roadmap, he will build a significantly expanded information security team charged with identifying and reporting on security risks and ensuring the overall protection of university data across platforms. MORE

Al Hubbard, BA’69, and his wife, Kathy Hubbard, have made a $2 million gift to endow the Hubbard Family Chair in the Department of Economics at the College of Arts and Science. The Hubbards’ gift helps support a faculty member whose research and teaching explore the application of economics to public policy and how to address U.S. policy challenges through market-oriented solutions. Peter Rousseau, professor of economics and history, is the inaugural holder of the Hubbard Family Chair. A macroeconomist and economic historian, he studies the role of financial markets and institutions in growth and development. Rousseau also serves as chair of the Department of Economics, and his scholarship on U.S. and European monetary history has been widely published. MORE