Members of TN congressional delegation visit VU to discuss Fort Campbell partnerships, Latin America research, and veteran education
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Congressman Mark Green (R-TN07) visited Vanderbilt University recently to learn more about the Army Futures Command Pathfinder Program partnership with Fort Campbell, research and education related to Latin America, and university efforts to educate and employ veterans. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier hosted Blackburn and senior leaders from Fort Campbell, including Col. John Lubas, deputy commander for operations of the 101st Airborne Division, on Vanderbilt’s campus. Organized by the Office of Federal Relations . . . the visit built on prior meetings on Capitol Hill related to Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee’s growing partnership with Army Futures Command and Fort Campbell. MORE
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FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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National Institutes of Health—Audrey Bowden receives NIH funding to develop point-of-care detection of jaundice in newborns
Audrey Bowden, Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow and associate professor of biomedical and electrical engineering, has won a grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to develop a novel noninvasive smartphone-integrated device to provide accurate, point-of-care detection of jaundice in newborns of all skin tones. Existing noninvasive methods to monitor hyperbilirubinemia are not yet fully able to replace blood tests, though some are clinically accepted for jaundice screening. Bowden and her team are developing a technology that uses light in a way that can penetrate through the skin. With her expertise in light-based technologies, Bowden will use optical coherence tomography, a technique with the ability to segment out light that comes back from the skin from light that comes back from the blood. MORE
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Department of Defense—Body Builder: How Karl Zelik is using biomedical engineering to prevent back pain and enhance endurance
Growing up as one of four athletic, daredevil brothers and then competing as a college athlete, Karl Zelik, associate professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering and physical medicine and rehabilitation, amassed numerous breaks, bruises, stitches and sprains. Zelik and a team of graduate and undergraduate students, postdocs and research staff have been testing and modifying versions of a wearable assist device, called an exosuit, to alleviate back strain and injuries, especially for those who do heavy and repetitive lifting. The latest evolution of the exosuit is the result of a special partnership between Vanderbilt University and the U.S. Army through the Pathfinder Program, which supports the innovation of soldier-inspired, research-based technologies. MORE
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Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization breaks records in leveraging innovation and discovery at Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization generated more than $100 million in licensing revenue—quadruple its annual average—and reviewed more than 1,000 material transfer agreements and facilitated nearly 300 U.S. patent applications in the 2022 fiscal year. CTTC provides professional commercialization services to the Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center communities to optimize the flow of innovation to the marketplace and generate revenue that supports future research activities. CTTC serves as a conduit for the transfer of promising intellectual property to industry; contributing to regional economic development by licensing locally and supporting new venture creation and encouraging greater translational research collaborations between academia and industry. MORE
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New Vanderbilt Peabody College faculty members Deon Benton and Cristina Zepeda study cognitive development from infancy through college
Assistant Professors of Psychology and Human Development Deon Benton and Cristina Zepeda joined the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development this fall. Benton directs his own lab at Peabody—the Computational Cognitive Development Laboratory, which focuses on understanding how infants and young children learn about cause and effect and how they evaluate people based on their actions. Benton uses computational modeling and experiments to answer these questions. Zepeda’s research spans the adolescent period from middle schoolers through college-aged students and examines how to apply the science of learning to improve adolescent students’ experiences and learning trajectories. At Vanderbilt, Zepeda is continuing research on high schoolers’ metacognition and learning through a project focused on metacognitive monitoring and evaluation . . . . MORE
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Continuing our cybersecurity transformation
Vanderbilt has made significant strides in advancing cybersecurity across the institution over the past year—including hiring its first-ever chief information security officer, creating nearly a dozen new IT policies, and increasing visibility and protections across the university’s managed IT environment. But there is much more work to do, said Brett Sweet, vice chancellor for finance, information technology and chief financial officer. Sweet and Shane Callahan, Vanderbilt’s inaugural chief information security officer, give an update on the university’s progress in a new video message to mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. MORE
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Vanderbilt faculty, staff, alumni featured at 2022 Southern Festival of Books
Vanderbilt-related authors will have a strong presence at the 2022 Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word, which takes place at War Memorial Plaza and Nashville Public Library Oct. 14–16. The 34th annual festival is free and open to the public, and this marks the event’s return to downtown Nashville after two years of virtual programming. The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities will offer a track based on this year’s theme of “Mending and Transforming.” In addition, discussions on six books published by Vanderbilt University Press are scheduled. VU Press and the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will co-host a festival booth on War Memorial Plaza, where visitors will be able to browse discounted press books and learn about the latest offerings from the press and the libraries at Vanderbilt. Several Vanderbilt alumni who are published authors will participate in the sessions, including Frye Gaillard, BA’68; Andrew Maraniss, BA’92; and Destiny Birdsong, MA’07, MFA’09, PhD’12. MORE
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Vanderbilt University strengthens ties with Centennial Park
Vanderbilt University will elevate its long-term collaboration with Centennial Park Conservancy through a capital gift to help enhance the cultural and physical environment of the West End Neighborhood and surrounding community. The university has pledged $750,000 over a three-year period for direct support of the conservancy’s and Metro Parks’ Centennial Park Master Plan to restore, renovate and revitalize Nashville’s central park. The two completed phases of the plan have enhanced the park’s Great Lawn, increased walkability from West End Avenue to the Parthenon, created the Musicians Corner amphitheater, and honored women and children through the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument and the Children’s Memory Garden. This gift also will support the creation of a new, world-class event pavilion adjacent to Lake Watauga for community gatherings and park programming. MORE
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