Student in Kirabo lab passes away
Thanvi Dola, an undergraduate student who worked in the lab of Annet Kirabo (Medicine), passed away on Oct. 1, per an email from Dean of Students G.L. Black. Members of the Vanderbilt community expressed that Dola was a hardworking and accomplished student and researcher and that she would be remembered for her empathy and compassion for others.
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School of Medicine Basic Sciences launches new website
Vanderbilt Basic Sciences rolled out its new website using "FutureVU," Vanderbilt University’s official design system, which aims to provide a consistent and cohesive visual identity across all university school websites.
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Crowe and Osheroff among 2023 AAMC award honorees
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Hasty and Rathmell receive 2023 Endeavor Award
Alyssa Hasty (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) and Jeffrey Rathmell (Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology) are part of a multidisciplinary team that received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research to study the connection between obesity and cancer. They will be co-principal investigators with Kathryn Wellen (University of Pennsylvania) and Liza Makowski (University of Tennessee Health Science Center).
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Egli elected to EASA
Martin Egli (Biochemistry) has been elected as a member to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts for his outstanding achievements in the natural sciences.
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Kirabo receives funding to study salt intake and genetic variations
Annet Kirabo (Medicine) has received a new, two-year exploratory research grant to study the link between salt taste sensitivity and salt intake, blood pressure, hypertension, and genetic variations in individuals of African descent.
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Pharmacology retreat awards
- Department keynote speaker: Colleen Niswender (Pharmacology)
- Alumnus keynote speaker: Laurent Audoly
- Best student poster: Kangjun "KJ" Li (Pharmacology, Jerod Denton lab)
- Best postdoc poster: Deborah Luessen (Jeffrey Conn lab)
- Best first-year talk: Montana Young (Pharmacology, Heidi Hamm lab)
- People’s choice: Kristine Yoon (Pharmacology, Erin Calipari lab)
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Yu wins poster award
Xiaoyu "Lily" Yu (Biochemistry, Douglas Kojetin lab) won a best poster award at the 8th Gateway NMR Conference in October at the University of Notre Dame.
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Travel grant
Anna Eitel (Biochemistry, Heidi Hamm lab) has received a 2023–2024 Russell G. Hamilton Graduate Leadership Institute Graduate School Travel Grant.
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Fresh-from-the-oven grads
The following graduates successfully defended their dissertations this past month:
- Biological Sciences: Justin Critchlow, Ph.D.
- Human Genetics: Jacqueline Piekos, Ph.D.
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Reminders about citing NIH grants on papers
Researchers occasionally and improperly overcite grants unrelated with the research. This NIH post revisits the issue as a reminder about the importance of properly citing NIH grant support and accurately representing funding support for the published study.
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Announcement of a major change in how NIH grants are scored
After careful input gathering, development, and discussion, the NIH announced that a simplified review framework will be implemented for grant receipt deadlines of Jan. 25, 2025, and beyond.
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Quantum Potential World Premiere
At the world premiere of #QuantumPotential, Vanderbilt Blair School of Music professor Ji Hye Jung's (Percussion) performance of “Velocities” by Joseph Schwantner was matched to images captured in the lab of Matthew Tyska (Cell and Developmental Biology). The video was produced by artist and associate professor Kendra Oliver (Pharmacology).
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Vanderbilt leads effort to accelerate real-world impact of biomedical innovations
Vanderbilt will receive $12 million to establish and manage the Mid-South Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub—REACH—which will focus on accelerating real-world impact of biomedical innovations through education, mentorship, and financial support for entrepreneurs.
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Undergrad helps fight infectious diseases with AI-focused Immersion Vanderbilt project
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Vanderbilt researchers and students like School of Engineering undergraduate Karen Pu (Computer Science, Jens Meiler lab) are expanding the power of computer modeling to identify mutating viruses—and potentially improve vaccines.
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Interview with Count von Count
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BRET Winter Showcase application
All Basic Sciences students, postdocs, faculty, and staff are invited to share their talents during the fifth annual BRET Winter Showcase on Dec. 14 at 6:00 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. Contribute on stage or in the on-site art gallery. Apply by Nov. 14 at 12:00 p.m. CST.
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ASPIRE grant repository
The ASPIRE program maintains a repository of funded grant applications written by Vanderbilt graduate students. Currently the repository contains example F31 NIH NRSA, AHA, and NSF GRFP grant applications. If you are a Vanderbilt student who is interested in viewing the repository, fill out the request form here. If you are a Vanderbilt student or postdoc interested in sharing your grant application materials, please fill out the submission form here.
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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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Lab-to-Table: Hollywood Reimagined with AI
Our next Lab-to-Table Conversation will take place in person! Get yourselves ready for a live screening of On the Dying Grass and a moderated discussion about science, self, AI and art at Vanderbilt and beyond, featuring moderator Kendra Oliver (Pharmacology) and panelists Ole Molvig (History), Claire Sisco King (Cinema and Media Arts), and David Thorstad (Philosophy).
Join us on Nov. 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Sarratt Cinema. Advance registration requested.
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Ingaugural Nature Conference coming to VU
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Virtual ORCID workshop for researchers
The ORCID US Community Consortium, of which Vanderbilt is a member, is offering an ORCID Workshop for Researchers on Nov. 16. As many know, federal agencies and publishers increasingly ask for digital persistent identifiers like ORCID. The VU Libraries recommend this session if you do not already have an account. Virtual ORCID Workshop for Researchers, Nov. 16
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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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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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About this issue's bannerNeurons in the brain receive highly stereotyped patterns of synaptic inputs that depend on extracellular adhesion codes. This image, from Jaybree Lopez, Neuroscience graduate student in the Rick Sando (Pharmacology) lab, shows a mouse CA1 pyramidal neuron in a hippocampal slice that was filled during electrophysiology recordings. This approach enables subsequent morphological analysis of specific synaptic inputs and lets researchers see how precise connectivity is altered due to mutations in adhesion receptors.
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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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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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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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