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Susan R. Wente named president of Wake Forest University
Susan R. Wente, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, will become president of Wake Forest University July 1, 2021, after a pathbreaking 19-year career at Vanderbilt where her influence and leadership were felt at every level of the institution. From August 15, 2019, through June 30, 2020, Wente led the university as interim chancellor, a time that coincided with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. With a mantra of “trust, transparency and teamwork,” she served as the primary architect of the university’s COVID-19 response and its Return to Campus plan, which made Vanderbilt one of just a handful of leading universities nationally to successfully invite all students back to campus this academic year. Wente is the first woman to lead Vanderbilt, the first woman to serve as its provost and will be Wake Forest’s first woman president. Throughout her tenure at Vanderbilt, Wente has worked to advance opportunities for women across the university and has been a strong advocate for equity and inclusion in academic affairs. MORE
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FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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Trans-institutional collaboration receives $2 million BRAIN Initiative grant, developing brain organoids to map neurological development
Vivian Gama, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, and Leon Bellan, associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, have won a $2.3 million, three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative. The researchers will be developing three-dimensional brain organoids and related tissue—miniaturized and simplified versions produced in vitro—that resemble a human brain at 24 to 25 weeks post-conception. These will provide an unparalleled window into brain development and potentially into currently untreatable neurological disorders. The grant will bring together researchers including Ethan Lippmann, assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering . . . . MORE
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New series of classes highlights diverse disciplines, with Vanderbilt at the core
On a bright fall morning, a small group of students gathered in the front room of one of the original homes on Vanderbilt’s campus. The space, dating from 1875, had once been packed with thousands of books collected by Professor William Vaughn, the university’s original librarian and one of its earliest faculty members. Now, many generations later, students—focused on maintaining appropriate physical distance and securing their masks amid a historic pandemic—headed to the home’s dirt-floor cellar to dig for clues and an understanding of the school’s past. It’s all part of a series of trans-institutional courses designed through the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities that uses Vanderbilt’s campus as a kind of living lab, giving future historians, architects, archaeologists, curators and engineers unique hands-on experiences. [A highly competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities is partially funding this series.] MORE
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Meharry team among those accepted to the NSF Innovation Corps for work developed through Vanderbilt’s innovation center, the Wond’ry
A team of Meharry Medical College students has been accepted to the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program to continue work on a health-education platform developed through participation in a program offered by Vanderbilt University’s innovation center, the Wondr’y. This is the first team from Meharry Medical College to be accepted to the I-Corps program, which will begin in Spring 2021. Vanderbilt’s Ideator program, run through the Wondr’y, works with burgeoning inventors among faculty, students and staff from universities throughout the Southeast. The program provides training, expert mentorship, individual office hours with experienced entrepreneurs and idea evaluation experts, and microgrant funding. MORE
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Despite limitations of pandemic, research continues at Peabody College, School of Nursing
Vanderbilt researchers are prolific and resolute in their pursuit of transformative research and innovation. During the Research Ramp-up process, more than 3,000 Vanderbilt research personnel have returned to in-person research activities, while many others have continued remotely through perseverance and ingenuity. On campus and at home, they are making discoveries that advance knowledge and improve lives. [ Amy Needham from Peabody College is investigating the effects of early motor intervention in play, and James Muchira from the School of Nursing is studying links in mother-child cardiovascular health, coronavirus anxiety.] MORE
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Ask an Expert: How can you spot misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines?
Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor of Psychology Lisa Fazio discusses how to distinguish between valid and false information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. MORE
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Grand opening concert highlights Vanderbilt’s partnership with National Museum of African American Music
Vanderbilt University will celebrate the grand opening of the National Museum of African American Music on Saturday, Jan. 30—the day the museum officially opens to the public—with a virtual concert from Vanderbilt Blair School of Music featuring works by Black composers. [T]he grand opening concert is the first of many events in which Vanderbilt will partner with NMAAM in support of the legacy of African American musicians and their impact on American culture and musical history. Since Vanderbilt announced its partnership with NMAAM in 2019, plans have been discussed for panels, performances and lectures with scholars, musicians and departments across campus. Additionally, the university’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will help support an expanded collection of books, scores, sound recordings and material objects related to African American music. These will be available for display and study at the museum while also serving as a resource for scholarly research at Vanderbilt. MORE
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Vanderbilt to celebrate Black History Month with events throughout February
Vanderbilt University’s annual celebration of Black History Month—a time to acknowledge and appreciate the history, experience and accomplishments of Black people on the Vanderbilt campus, across the country and globally—will kick off on Monday, Feb. 1, with a virtual program coordinated by the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. Other events in the monthlong series will include presentations, panel discussions, play readings, yoga sessions and more, most to be held virtually. MORE
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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
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