|
Esteemed psychologist, university leader Cybele Raver named Vanderbilt provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs
C. Cybele Raver, a distinguished psychologist who serves as deputy provost at New York University, has been named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Vanderbilt University, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier announced. Raver will begin her new role July 1, 2021. In NYU’s Office of the Provost, Raver has provided leadership for faculty, research and graduate student affairs for the past nine years and has played a key role in fostering interdisciplinary research across the university’s 19 schools and colleges. MORE
| |
FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
| |
Vanderbilt graduate researcher awarded prestigious $161,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has awarded an Integrated University Program fellowship grant of $161,000 to environmental engineering graduate research assistant Irfan Ibrahim to further his work on nuclear reactor safety. The office’s awards provide 50 scholarships and 31 fellowships for nuclear scientists and engineers at 35 colleges and universities in 23 states. Ibrahim’s research involves supporting safety and reliability assessments of advanced nuclear reactors. Specifically, his work supports early-stage risk analyses of molten salt reactors, which show promise as efficient and reliable sources of carbon-free electricity. MSRs are built with technology and components that require rigorous analysis. MORE
| |
Soldier-Inspired Innovation Incubator team advances to finals for xTechBOLT prize, will compete for $500,000
During battle, many soldiers who become wounded find themselves at the mercy of another soldier’s medical training, hoping beyond hope that the soldier administering aid will remember their training well enough to save the wounded soldier’s life. Under such duress, recalling the details of medical training could be difficult, and the failure of memory lethal. But what if there were a way to augment brain function for improved medical learning retention? A transdisciplinary team from Vanderbilt, Soterix Medical and the U.S. Army is collaborating to answer that question. Recently, the team advanced to the finals of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command’s xTechBrain Operant Learning Technology—xTechBOLT—prize competition . . . . Promoting high-risk, high-reward research in memory retention is the goal of the competition, and the Vanderbilt team’s expertise in educational neuroscience, industry innovation and military needs may prove to be the winning combination. As the first university to sign an Educational Partnership Agreement with the Army Futures Command, Vanderbilt is a leader in soldier-inspired innovation, and the work of the xTechBOLT team is the latest example of that leadership. MORE
| |
Research Snapshot: Vanderbilt faculty examine user experience of electronic health records for physicians
Health care providers use electronic health records as a tool for quickly sharing relevant patient medical information. Unfortunately, medical providers’ information needs are often misunderstood by the people who design information tools, including EHRs. A team of Vanderbilt-led researchers sought to better understand the goals, constraints and frustrations of medical providers when they access EHR data to provide a more complete picture to technology vendors. After analyzing 732 coded excerpts from interviews with physicians, the researchers found seven common concepts that would enhance usability. By uncovering the most important EHR features for physicians, vendors can redesign displays to enhance efficacy and efficiency. This research was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. MORE
| |
Inside the Data Science Institute: Slave Societies Digital Archive
Daniel Genkins, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of History, worked with the Data Science Institute to build a machine learning pipeline to process digitized ecclesiastical records that touch on the lives of people of African descent, both free and enslaved, in the early modern Atlantic. [The Slave Societies Digital Archive has received federal support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.] MORE
| |
Graduate student wins fellowship to study gut microbiome’s relationship to childhood obesity
Graduate student Catherine Shelton has been selected as one of two students nationally to receive the ninth annual Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotics Fellowship grant from Danone North America, the fresh dairy and plant-based products company. Shelton will use her grant to fund her research on identifying early-life microbiota components that may prevent obesity in children. Research has shown that early perturbation of gut microbiota—the microorganisms in the intestines—by environmental triggers like antibiotics or a high-fat diet may cause childhood obesity, Shelton explains. While these studies suggest that the early-life microbiota and their metabolites may be protective against childhood obesity, their specific protective role in host metabolism remains unknown. The purpose of Shelton’s research is to find ways the gut microbiota supports metabolic health in early life. MORE
| |
Vanderbilt Provost Susan R. Wente celebrates achievement through adversity with Class of 2020
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier welcomed back the Class of 2020 for a special in-person and virtual ceremony on May 1 at Vanderbilt Stadium. Wente served as interim chancellor when the Class of 2020 had their degrees conferred virtually last year and committed to hosting the Class of 2020 in person this spring when their ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19 last year. In her address, she called on these alumni to continue to meet transformative and challenging moments with the fortitude, intellectual resources and support networks they developed during their time at Vanderbilt. MORE
| |
Dr. Anthony Fauci opens Commencement celebrations for Class of 2021
Vanderbilt University is honoring its Class of 2021 with a special weekend of Commencement celebrations May 14–16. All activities will observe campus health and safety protocols. [On Friday, May 14 at 11 a.m. CT,] Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top leader in infectious disease research and an internationally renowned biomedical scientist, will deliver the virtual Graduates Day address to the Class of 2021. The virtual event is open to the public, but registration is required. MORE
| |
The Wond’ry pairs up with VUIT to launch ‘Genius Bar,’ bringing technical innovations to life
To assist the Wond’ry’s Ideator and Builder entrepreneurs developing innovations with a technology component, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center and VUIT have launched the Wond’ry-VUIT Genius Bar. In the spring 2021 semester, the Wond’ry worked with 27 teams of aspiring entrepreneurs across Ideator and Builder programming. Of these efforts, nearly half are technology-driven, making the opportunity to partner with technologists and for the technologists to mentor Vanderbilt innovators mutually beneficial. Entrepreneurs in the program include Vanderbilt faculty, graduate students and postgraduate students and other local campuses without entrepreneur centers, including Meharry Medical College. Developers from VUIT with expertise in data science, cloud architecture, web, software and mobile app development, and health care IT knowledge around security and HIPAA considerations, consult with Wond’ry entrepreneurs on a range of technical topics. MORE
| |
Churchwell to step down from VUMC diversity leadership roles, devote focus to university EDI work
Dr. André L. Churchwell will step down from his Vanderbilt University Medical Center administrative role as chief diversity officer and as senior associate dean for diversity affairs at the School of Medicine on June 30. Going forward, he will devote that portion of his time to his role as vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University. Churchwell has served in various roles to increase VUMC’s diversity and inclusion for more than 12 years, and he has served as VUMC’s chief diversity officer since 2015. In 2019, he also was named interim vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University, and he was permanently appointed to the position in 2020. Churchwell works with other Vanderbilt leaders to advance and support best practices for promoting a culture of inclusivity at the university. 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
| |
|
|
|
|