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FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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National Science Foundation—Vanderbilt receives $3M from National Science Foundation to launch cutting-edge astronomy graduate program
Vanderbilt University researchers from the departments of physics and astronomy, math, electrical engineering, and history have received a $3 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Award to establish a graduate certificate program in the emerging field of multimessenger astronomy. Over five years, the program will train and educate 300 physics, astronomy, math and engineering graduate students through national summer schools and courses at Vanderbilt and Fisk universities. Led by Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, students included in the Establishing Multimessenger Astronomy Inclusive Training program will be among the first pursuing research in this field. The field of MMA collects and harmonizes messages from space in the form of visible light, X-rays, gamma rays, high-energy particles and gravitational waves to learn more about the universe. MORE
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Dept. of Defense—Soldier-inspired innovation incubator team wins $500K first-place prize at xTechBOLT CompetitionFor U.S. Army personnel operating in the field, sudden situations requiring medical knowledge—such as an IED explosion—are particularly stressful as well as dangerous. With prior training, however, soldiers who earn the Expert Field Medical Badge are prepared to respond and potentially save lives. Applying insights from the emerging field of educational neuroscience, a transdisciplinary team from Vanderbilt University, Soterix Medical and the U.S. Army recently won the $500,000 first-place prize in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command’s xTechBrain Operant Learning Technology (xTechBOLT) prize competition, which seeks to promote high-risk, high-reward research in learning and memory retention. By applying a new brain stimulation technique, the transdisciplinary team hopes to enhance the learning of those studying to earn the badge with the ultimate goal of applying this technique to a range of fields and disciplines. The prize-winning team represents one of several collaborations to arise from Vanderbilt’s educational partnership agreement with Army Futures Command, which was spearheaded by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research to expand the university’s leadership in soldier-inspired innovation. MORE
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National Institutes of Health—Vanderbilt researchers make extensive brain imaging data set available for cross-disciplinary studyA new comprehensive data set featuring neural images from children ages 5, 7 and 9 has been made available for cross-disciplinary research purposes. Led by James Booth, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Educational Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt, the brain imaging initiative includes structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, as well as extensive psychoeducational assessments and in-depth parental questionnaires. The MRI component is unique because it uses multiple tasks that tap into various aspects of language at the word and sentence level. Booth explains that the large scale and scope of this data set are unique. The data includes neural images from more than 300 children and provides unique data because each individual has multiple time points. Booth further explains that the data set offers strong potential for clinical breakthroughs. The neural imaging collection project was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. MORE
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National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, DARPA—Lopez lab develops computational tools to further understanding of complex biological systemsThe history of hermeneutics started with Aristotle—parts comprise the whole. To understand the whole, we need to understand the parts. And to understand the parts, we need to understand them in the context of the whole. Carlos F. Lopez, associate professor of biochemistry, described this concept and its connection to systems biology. The biomedical research field has “spent a lot of time breaking down the whole to understand individual components, such as the organs in a human or single cells in a tissue,” Lopez said. “But now we are trying to take our knowledge of components and understand how each works as part of the whole system.” To unpack these systems biology questions, it takes massive amounts of (often) noisy or uninformative data. Often the tools to address these challenges simply do not exist, so the Lopez lab will develop them. The software, tools and expertise of the Lopez lab helps researchers internationally sift through large data to obtain hypotheses through analytics that help reduce bias and open new discoveries. Lopez added, “Systems biology is at a threshold where something big is going to happen.” [The research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.] MORE
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National Institutes of Health—School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt fosters unique research opportunities for promising teen scientists
The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt . . . offers high schoolers a four-year, interdisciplinary, research-centered learning experience at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities, where internationally recognized faculty are leading the way in diverse fields of scientific study. The program offers students research opportunities that are unique to the Vanderbilt community. For example, this month two Metro Nashville Public Schools students in the SSMV senior class have been named as Tennessee’s only Top 300 Scholars in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, a national competition designed to recognize promising young scientists in the U.S. The SSMV has received funding from Vanderbilt University, Metro Nashville Public Schools, the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health and other generous donors. MORE
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Self-powered wildfire detection plan earns CEE team national runner-upA team of Vanderbilt undergraduate engineering students took the second spot in a national Jump into STEM challenge to develop holistic solutions that improve the resilience of the built environment. The Vanderbilt team competed in the “Resilience for All in the Wake of Disaster” challenge and was runner-up behind the University of Utah. The Jump into STEM Challenge is an online building science competition designed to attract undergraduate and graduate students to the field. It is sponsored by national labs that include Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The students developed the wildfire detection plan and submitted it to the Jump into STEM challenge as part of [Professor of the Practice of Civil and Environmental Engineering] Lori Troxel’s Sustainable Design course last fall. MORE
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Research in Colorado mountains takes students’ environmental immersion to new heights
Vanderbilt junior Callie Hilgenhurst and a dozen of her classmates took their research to a new immersive level, collecting soil and rock samples 9,000 feet up in the Sawatch Mountain Range of Colorado. Their work in the mountains and then in the lab helped show the movement of glaciers, ultimately giving clues about the impact of climate change. The immersive trip was part of a new class in the College of Arts and Science called Glacial Geology. Many of the students in the class said making an impact on climate change is crucial. That’s why faculty designed the class with only one prerequisite, allowing students with diverse majors to take the course. MORE
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WATCH: Bishop Michael Bruce Curry and Jon Meacham call for positive change in discussion of religion, politics
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WATCH: Poet Nikky Finney honors the wisdom of Black women at virtual MLK Day keynote event
Acclaimed poet and author Nikky Finney paid tribute to the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. during her keynote address for Vanderbilt University’s virtual commemoration on Jan. 17. In keeping with the MLK Day event theme, “Where We Belong—Building the Beloved Community,” Finney honored generations of Black women who nurtured, educated and inspired King and countless others through what she calls the “motherload” of knowledge. She described what she called the long and invisible lists of Black women at the center of every state’s historical fight for civil and human justice. MORE
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Vanderbilt’s Bob O’Dell elected 2022 fellow of American Astronomical Society for role in creating Hubble Space TelescopeRobert O’Dell, Distinguished Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been named a 2022 fellow of the American Astronomical Society for extraordinary achievement and service to the field of astronomy. Throughout his career, O’Dell has built a legacy of scientific contributions in the study of planetary nebulae and the interstellar medium, in particular, as the world’s foremost expert on the Orion Nebula. According to his colleague . . ., neither the Hubble Space Telescope nor the Space Telescope Science Institute would exist if O’Dell had not shouldered the burden of working inside NASA for a decade to spearhead the effort to create both. His dedication and advocacy for the creation of Hubble Space Telescope since 1972 are encapsulated in a tool that has defined professional astronomy and shaped history-making science for three decades. MORE
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‘The Science of Flavor’ virtual event to take place Jan. 31
Flavor combinations in food bring enjoyment, nostalgia, nutrition and conversation. But where do flavors come from? What is their chemistry? How is the scientific understanding of flavor changing? And how is this science impacting industry and restaurants? On Monday, Jan. 31, from noon to 1 p.m. CT, the School of Medicine Basic Sciences’ monthly virtual Lab-to-Table Conversation will discuss the history of flavor science, how it has changed, and how it is being applied in the restaurant space and in industry. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. 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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