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Vanderbilt summit on modern conflict to feature commander of U.S. Cyber Command and NSA Director Gen. Paul M. NakasoneThe origins, realities and impacts of the most pressing threats facing the world today are the focus of the inaugural Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats. The May 4-5 summit will feature a keynote address by Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, United States Army, Commander, United States Cyber Command, Director, and National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service. Throughout the conference, internationally recognized leaders and experts in the military and intelligence community will examine the subjects of cyber conflict, artificial intelligence, peer competition and emerging threats and will explore complex topics such as threats from state actors and violent extremist organizations. The invitation-only in-person event will also be livestreamed. MORE
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FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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National Institutes of Health—Biomedical engineer awarded $1.1M to study molecular underpinnings of human brain networks on a large scaleMikail Rubinov, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, computer science, psychiatry and psychology [also faculty affiliate of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute], has been awarded a four-year, $1.1 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to better understand the development and organization of brain networks, as well as their change in development and aging. Rubinov and his collaborators will link aspects of gene expression and brain network phenotypes across several brain regions across many individuals. The ultimate goal of the work is to open new directions in personalized neuroimaging genomics. Brain mapping initiatives have acquired large and comprehensive datasets to study the organization of these networks. This work has advanced our understanding of brain function but left critical gaps in the individual variation of this function at the level of gene expression. These gaps can be filled using increasingly large datasets, which are becoming more available, as well as the team’s complementary and varied expertise in network and cognitive neuroscience, computational biology and human evolution. MORE
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National Endowment for the Arts—NEA research grant supports study of the role of arts internships in graduates’ career opportunitiesResearchers at Vanderbilt and Arizona State University recently won a two-year, $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts research grant to support a mixed-methods study on the prevalence of arts internships and their role in students’ transition from college to careers. In particular, the study will assess trends of inequalities within arts internship experiences. [ Alexandre Frenette, assistant professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Science and associate director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, and co-principal investigator Gillian Gualtieri, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Curb Center,] are interested in understanding whether these patterns of inequality in internships impact arts graduates’ career trajectories and career satisfaction. They hope the study will lead to better practices in higher education arts programs and in the arts labor market to address larger inequities in access to artistic careers. MORE
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Vanderbilt-Metro partnership created to advance collaboration on connected, data-driven servicesVanderbilt University and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County have expanded their working relationship by creating a framework to increase collaboration on projects focused on intelligent and connected urban infrastructure and services. As partners in the new Intelligent Ecosystem Collaborative, Metro Government will identify potential projects that have a need for further investigation, and Vanderbilt will identify research teams that are aligned with the research needs. Through this network, both Metro and Vanderbilt will be positioned to take advantage of increased opportunities for federal funding to advance projects and services that improve community outcomes for Nashville and Middle Tennessee residents. In the future, the collaboration will expand to include additional academic and community partners, particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and local community service organizations. Abhishek Dubey, assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering, is the collaborative’s lead organizer. Hiba Baroud, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is Vanderbilt’s Littlejohn Dean Faculty Fellow and a co-organizer of the collaborative. MORE
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Peabody-led editorial team renewed at top education journalVanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development professor Ellen Goldring will serve for two more years as editor-in-chief of the flagship academic journal in education, the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ). The American Educational Research Association, which publishes the journal, recently announced that its editorial team has been renewed until 2024. Goldring, executive associate dean and Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, leads an editorial team from six different institutions. AERJ features articles that advance the empirical, theoretical and methodological understanding of education and learning. It publishes original peer-reviewed analyses that span the field of education research across all subfields and disciplines and all levels of analysis. It also encourages submissions across all levels of education throughout the life span and all forms of learning. MORE
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Center for Effective Lawmaking hosts ‘Race & Political Representation: Inside & Outside of Congress’ on March 31Join the Center for Effective Lawmaking for a roundtable discussion touching on questions of race, representation and policymaking in the contemporary Congress. Panelists will explore how those advocating for underrepresented groups have made progress inside and beyond Congress. The discussion will be in the Student Life Center Commodore Ballroom on March 31 at 6 p.m. CT. The event is free to attend; registration is required. Hosted by Alan Wiseman, co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, chair of the department of political science and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Economy. MORE
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Expert panel to discuss importance of partnerships in education research and policyThe Nashville Partnership for Educational Equity Research (PEER) and the Peabody Research Office will co-sponsor a panel discussion on research-practice partnerships Friday, April 1. The panel will be held virtually via Zoom from 11 a.m. to noon CT. Advance registration is encouraged. The discussion will focus on what matters in partnership research, how research-practice partnerships challenge common research assumptions and practices, and how this essential work can be supported. PEER, which launched in September 2021, is a research-practice partnership between Peabody College and Metro Nashville Public Schools focused on the district’s core commitment to identify and eliminate educational inequities. MORE
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WATCH: Reform for Redemption: Cyntoia Brown-Long and Gov. Bill Haslam call for criminal justice reformDuring the first-ever public conversation between former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and sex trafficking victim and convicted murderer Cyntoia Brown-Long, the two agreed that significant improvements are needed in the criminal justice system. On March 15, Brown-Long and Haslam came together for Vanderbilt’s first public lecture at Langford Auditorium since the COVID-19 pandemic halted similar events for nearly two years. Haslam granted clemency to Brown-Long at the end of his term in 2019. The two have since developed a friendship that has jumpstarted their conversations on the state’s need for criminal justice reform. The in-person and livestreamed event was hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy. MORE
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Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice hosts panels on power of artistic activismThe Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice will present Artistic Activism and the Power of Collective Resistance, a series of speakers and panels focusing on art as an act of solidarity and resistance, starting March 16 and continuing through 2023. [ María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art] conceived the Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice as an initiative to foster inclusive, meaningful dialogues and collaborations that will have a societal impact resonating beyond academia and the art world. Vanderbilt launched the trans-institutional partnership with Fisk University, the Frist Art Museum and Millions of Conversations in spring 2018. Selene Wendt, art historian, writer and founder of the Global Art Project, is curating the upcoming programs. In addition to a series of online panel discussions with participants from 25 different nations, programs over the next two years will feature more than 30 artworks, including installations, performances, film screenings, sonic works, poetry readings, creative workshops and collaborative projects throughout Nashville. Each virtual gathering is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. MORE
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Initiative for Race Research and Justice to host ‘Was Whoopi Right? A Webinar Panel Discussion about Race and Jewishness’The Initiative for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt Peabody College will host a virtual panel discussion to address actor Whoopi Goldberg’s recent comments about race, Jewishness and the Holocaust. The free event is scheduled for Thursday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT; registration is required. In early February, Goldberg, co-host of The View, was temporarily suspended from the TV show because of her comments about the Holocaust and race. She later apologized for her remarks on air. The discussion will touch on Goldberg’s initial comments and their reverberations in the Jewish community and beyond. 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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