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We hope you had a great holiday weekend. Enjoy the May newsletter!
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Marnett honored at Cheekwood fête
Faculty and staff held a celebration for Dean of Basic Sciences Larry Marnett at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens on May 20. A portrait of Marnett, unveiled at this event, will be displayed in the atrium of MRBIII beginning in late June.
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Pietenpol honored at spring faculty assembly
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VUMC faculty awards honor clinical, research excellence
The 2022 VUMC faculty awards were presented April 29 during the annual spring faculty meeting. Recpients included Robert Coffey (Medicine), James Crowe Jr. (Pediatrics), Mark Denison (Pediatrics), Kim Rathmell (Medicine), and Jeff Rathmell (Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology).
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Wright awarded, gives keynote
Chris Wright (Cell and Developmental Biology) was awarded the Paul Lacy Medal by the Midwest Islet Club. Wright also presented the keynote address at the 2022 annual meeting and was joined by a number of other Vanderbilt colleagues who also presented talks.
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Students recognized by Graduate School awards
The Vanderbilt Graduate School recognizes outstanding research and leadership among Ph.D. candidates through the nomination and awarding of a variety of scholarships and funding opportunities. Here are this year's biomedical sciences recipients:
- Edward Ferguson Jr. Graduate Award: Noah Bradley (Biological Sciences, Brandt Eichman lab), Andrea Shiakolas (Microbe-Host Interactions, Ivelin Georgiev lab), Jacob Steenwyk (Biological Sciences, Antonis Rokas lab)
- Smriti Bardhan, Ph.D. Scholarship: Taylor Engdahl (MHI, James Crowe Jr. lab), Kelsey Pilewski (Molecular Pathology & Immunology, Ivelin Georgiev lab), Nathan Winters (Pharmacology, Sachin Patel)
- Lai Sulin Scholarship: Margaret Axelrod (Cancer Biology, Justin Balko lab)
Leadership Anchor Awards:
- Christina Chavez (Biological Sciences, Antonis Rokas lab)
- Kacie Dunham (Neuroscience, Tiffany Woynaroski and Carissa Cascio labs)
- Jessica Feller (Neuroscience, Ramnarayan Ramachandran lab)
- Emily Overway (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Richard O'Brien lab)
- Linh Thi Thuy Trinh (Cell and Developmental Biology, Mark Magnuson lab)
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CPB recognizes awardees at retreat
The Chemical and Physical Biology program held its annual retreat in May and recognized several students:
- Graduate Student Association Senior Member Award: Philip Stauffer (Vito Quaranta lab)
- Research achievement award: Emily (Linton) Schmitz (Erkan Karakas lab)
- Poster awards:
- Best poster: Nicole Rogers (Marija Žanić lab)
- Runner up: Hayley Stubb (Tina Iverson lab)
- Early-career poster: Tyler Huth (Will Wan lab)
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Annual awards presented at biochemistry retreat
The following Department of Biochemistry students and postdocs received awards at the department's annual retreat held last month in Chattanooga:
- Frank Chytil Travel Award: Jessica Collins (Neil Osheroff lab) and Stephen Walker (Adrian Olivares lab)
- Laura Busenlehner Award for Outstanding Leadership & Research: Pratibha Ghodke (Fred Guengerich lab)
- Michael Waterman Outstanding Achievement in Postdoctoral Studies Award: Madison Adolph (David Cortez lab)
- Leon W. Cunningham Award for Excellence in Biochemistry: Alexandria Oviatt (Neil Osheroff lab)
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Yan earns AAI travel grant
Chi Yan (Cancer Biology) received an American Association of Immunologists Early Career Faculty Travel Grant to attend their annual meeting.
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Diabetes Day award winners
Diabetes Day, an annual event hosted by the Diabetes Research and Training Center, highlights diabetes-related research at Vanderbilt. A variety of awardees were celebrated at the event, including the following Basic Sciences affiliates:
- Robert K. Hall Service Award: Prassana Dadi (David Jacobson lab)
- Vanderbilt Scholar in Diabetes: Matthew Cottam (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Alyssa Hasty lab), Kelsey McNew (MSTP), Tiffany Richardson (MPB, Al Powers and Marcela Brissova labs)
- Daryl K. Granner Scholar in Diabetes: Xin Tong (Roland Stein lab)
- Poster awards (pictured): Fubiao Shi (Sheila Collins lab), Kyra Smart (Biomedical Engineering, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King lab), Kelsey Pinckard (John Stafford lab), Serena Sweet (MPB, Richard Simerly lab), Emily Overway (MPB, Richard O'Brien lab), Amy Stark (Pharmacology, John Penn lab), Lei Wang (Epidemiology, Danxia Yu lab), Karin Bosma (MPB, Maureen Gannon lab), Troy Morrow (Sarah Jaser lab), and Kung-Hsien Ho (Cell and Developmental Biology; not pictured).
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Duncan named 2022 Goldwater Scholar
Alexandra “Alex” Duncan, an undergraduate student doing research in the lab of Roger Colbran (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics), was named a 2022 Barry A. Goldwater Scholar, a scholarship for undergraduate STEM students with promise for becoming the nation’s next generation of research leaders.
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Vanderbilt recognizes efforts in VERA implementation
Implementing the new Vanderbilt Electronic Research Administration system took a gargantuan and collective effort over two years. At a recent event, the university celebrated the culmination of VERA implementation and highlighted individuals and teams who made critical contributions, including the following Basic Sciences affiliates:
- Spirited Superstars: Beth Rivas (Pod 3), Emma Pacilli (Pod 2)
- Murphy’s Law Superstars: Robert Dortch (Pod 2)
- Early-Adopter Faculty Member Superstars: Gregor Neuert (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics), Ronald Emeson (Pharmacology), Carl Johnson (Biological Sciences), Markus Voehler (Chemistry), Minati Singh (Pharmacology), Will Wan (Biochemistry)
- Research Administrator Working Group: Robert Dortch (Pod 2), Emma Pacilli (Pod 2), Beth Rivas (Pod 3)
- Core Configuration Team: Emma Pacilli (Pod 2)
- Vanderbilt University Research Council: VERA Working Group: Danny Winder (MPB)
- Testing Team: Stephanie Clapper (Pod 2), Susan Hotaling (Pod 3)
- Leadership Advisory Committee: Larry Marnett (Basic Sciences)
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Commencement 2022
Congratulations to the 98 Ph.D. graduates who completed their coursework or lab work in a Basic Sciences-affiliated laboratory, program, or department and earned their degrees in the 2021–2022 academic year!
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Faculty honored as emeriti
Vanderbilt honored 35 retiring faculty members for their years of service by bestowing upon them the title of emerita or emeritus faculty, including the following Basic Sciences faculty members:
- Joey Barnett, professor of pharmacology, emeritus
- Roger Chalkley, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, emeritus
- Peter Jeffrey Conn, professor of pharmacology, emeritus
- Albert B. Reynolds, professor of pharmacology, emeritus
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Kirabo promoted to associate professor
Annet Kirabo (Medicine) was recenlty promoted to the role of associate professor. The Kirabo lab studies the role of inflammation in hypertension.
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Jones joins $3.4 NIMH study
Carrie Jones (Pharmacology) has teamed up with Thilo Womelsdorf (Psychology) on a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study to investigate how next-generation schizophrenia drugs affect brain networks and cognition.
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A conversation with Manuel Ascano
Manuel Ascano (Biochemistry) was recently interviewed by Alex Blee (Walter Chazin lab) for the Department of Biochemistry DEI blog and discusses his career path, "imposter syndrome," and other topics.
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Vue invited to lecture
Antentor Hinton Jr. (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) lab member Zer Vue has been invited to give an oral presentation at the Samuel M. Nabrit Conference for Early Career Scholars on June 16–17 at Brown University.
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VU hosts three-day PAIR-UP workshops
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Fresh-from-the-oven grads!
The following students successfully defended their dissertations this past month:
- Biochemistry: Manuel Castro, Ph.D.; Tyson Reitz, Ph.D.; Maria Fernanda Senosain Ortega, Ph.D.
- Cancer Biology: Rachel Brown, Ph.D.
- Cell and Developmental Biology: Shwetha Narasimhan, Ph.D.
- Microbe-Host Interactions: Melanie Hurst, Ph.D.; Christopher Peek, Ph.D.; Ayaka Sugiura, Ph.D.; Christiaan Wijers, Ph.D.
- Molecular Pathology and Immunology: Matthew Madden, Ph.D.
- Neuroscience: Jane Burton, Ph.D.
- Pharmacology: Joseph Balsamo, Ph.D.
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ASPIRE Career Symposium
The annual ASPIRE Career Symposium will take place on June 3. This year's theme is "A Kaleidoscope of Biomedical Science Careers." Check out their agenda and sign up for whatever sessions catch your eye!
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"Discovery of New
Therapeutics Drug
Development"
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"The Head, Heart, and Hand Work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" workshop
All faculty are invited to a two-part workshop series facilitated by the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Participants will discuss a variety of issues, including how identity shapes our worldview and how culture and society influence how we interact with others. Both workshops will occur at 9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Please register in advance for the June 9 workshop and for the June 16 workshop.
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Juneteenth: A Freedom Celebration
Basic Sciences is hosting a half-day event in honor of Juneteenth, featuring a keynote that will discuss the meaning of the holiday, research talks, poster presentations, and lunch (first come, first served). Happening June 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in 1220 and the atrium of MRBIII.
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NRMN Juneteenth webinar series
The National Research Mentoring Network will host a series of career development webinars in honor of Juneteenth, all at 11:00 a.m. on the following dates:
- June 16: "Holistic Mentoring," featuring a panel that includes Felysha Jenkins (Basic Sciences), Kafond Williams (Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity), and Antentor Hinton Jr. (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics). Register in advance.
- June 23: "Black Leadership," featuring a panel that includes Heather Beasley (MPB), Andrea Marshall (MPB), Felysha Jenkins, and AJ Hinton.
- June 30: "Making DEI Visible in an Invisible Institution," a panel that includes Jessica Thomas (MPB), Elsie Spencer (MPB), and AJ Hinton.
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Systems Biology of Human Disease
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VI4 DEI Symposium
This year’s VI4 DEI Symposium, “Careers in STEM: Perspectives from Latin Scientists” will take place on Friday, September 23. Speakers and full agenda coming soon!
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VICB Research Symposium
The VICB 2022 Student Research Symposium will take place on Friday, August 12. Register to attend and present a talk or poster and see more information on the VICB website.
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VIRAL info sessions
The Vanderbilt International Researcher Alliance will host information sessions on June 2 at 3:00–4:00 p.m. in 1220 MRB III (free pizza!) and June 8 at 10:00–11:00 a.m. in 419AB Light Hall (free coffee and donuts!). Come learn about VIRAL and how to become a member.
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VUMC announces masking change
As of last week, VUMC announced that they are reimplementing mandatory masking in all non-clinical spaces (in addition to the existing masking rules in clinical spaces). The university is not making a similar change, so make sure to have a mask handy if you need to go through VUMC spaces.
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Richard Armstrong Prize
Nominations for the Richard Armstrong Prize for Research Excellence are now open and will close on June 6 (deadline extended!). Vanderbilt doctoral candidates with an active VICB faculty advisor are eligible for this prize. Winners will present an oral presentation at the VICB symposium and will receive a $1000 honorarium. Contact Tia Patton for nominations or any questions.
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New postdoc initiative!
The Department of Cell and Developmental Biology is starting a new program for facutly to recruit postdocs. Award recipients will receive a $3,000 signing bonus plus $3,000/year for two years.
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Ditch the ethidium bromide
Many biomedical laboratories use ethidium bromide as a nucleic acid stain for processes like agarose gel electrophoresis. If possible, opt for a more environmentaly friendly option, such as SYBR Safe, that shows lower toxicity levels.
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Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund
The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is accepting applications for research awards of up to $100,000 (direct costs) from the Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund until June 30. Any questions about this opportunity can be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.
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Sanofi iAwards
The Sanofi iAwards initiative, whose goal is to accelerate innovative early-stage, disease-relevant research, is accepting applications until June 5. Interest areas and more information can be found here.
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DoD Innovation Pathways
The Department of Defense recently announced an “Innovation Pathways” website providing a “one-stop shop” for the DoD innovation ecosystem. The site serves as a gateway to the DoD’s efforts to bring in new ideas and technology, with a special focus on students, universities, and businesses.
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Calling all career scientists!
The Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health invites early career scientists to join their Early Career Reviewer program. Participants will gain first-hand NIH grant review experience, which can be helpful in preparing their own grants.
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NIH Director's Pioneer Award
The Pioneer Award offers funding opportunities for exceptionally creative scientists proposing pioneering approaches to major challenges in biomedical, social science, and behavioral research. Applications are due September 9, 2022.
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Have a job opening you’d like to promote? Send us a link or a description and contact info, and we’ll post it here.
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About this issue’s banner
Matthew Roeske, an MSTP student in the Neuroscience graduate program, generated a surface reconstruction of the left human hippocampus from hundreds of structural MRI scans of patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. The surface is composed of 41,000 individual points, and each point has a specific coloration that indicates the magnitude of hippocampal shape deformation in schizophrenia patients at that precise location. Roeske works in the lab of Stephan Heckers (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences).
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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.
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Faculty and facility profiles
Check out our faculty interviews and our facility highlights here.
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About the newsletter
This 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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Help friends and family keep up with Basic Sciences!
Basic Sciences has a number of new communication avenues that you or your loved ones can use to keep up with what's going on here. If they're not already getting the Reading List, Vital, and Lab-to-Table Conversations announcements, send them to our subscription center!
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Keep up with biomedical science seminars
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If your paper has been accepted...
We're really excited to promote your papers—by sharing on social media, writing a press release or story, making a video about your research, or other promotion as capacity allows—help us by letting us know if your paper has been accepted (preferably before the embargo is up) or recently published!
Fill out this form and tell us a little about your paper and its impact.
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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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Faculty profile: Breann Brown
Breann Brown, assistant professor of biochemistry, provides an overview of her research, which uses structural biology to understand how aberrations in macromolecular protein assembly underlie human diseases. View the interview on YouTube.
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Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences
MRB III U-B1200
465 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37240
Phone: (615) 322-0907 | basicsciences@vanderbilt.edu
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