Research

In this episode of Quantum Potential, Gen. Nakasone, former NSA director, founding director of Vanderbilt’s Institute of National Security, Distinguished Research Professor of Engineering Science and Management, and special advisor to the chancellor, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to discuss the challenges of national security in the 21st century and academia’s role in training the next generation of multifaceted national security professionals. Read More

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC, collaboratively) may select one nominee for the Curing Kids Cancer Innovative Research Award. Read More

Vanderbilt University may submit up to two letters of intent to the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research 2025 Endeavor Award. Read More

A recent study out of Vietnam, published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, offers important insights into how culture effects adolescents’ aggressive responses to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs include child abuse and neglect, exposure to domestic violence, and other such damaging experiences. The study focused on the… Read More

In this episode of Quantum Potential, Amanda Little, writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science, joins Provost C. Cybele Raver to discuss how journalism can highlight the tipping points humanity faces and how people-first storytelling can move us from observation to action. Read More

Vanderbilt University may submit one application to the CFMT Community Impact Grants competition. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy recently conducted a national poll about Americans’ opinions on topics including higher education, the state of the economy under President Donald Trump’s administration and immigration, among other key issues. The results reveal interesting nuances in public sentiment, as well as divisions among those Republican voters who identify as part of the Make America Great Again movement and those who identify more with the traditional Republican Party. Read More

Researchers led by John T. Wilson, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and biomedical engineering, have developed a new approach using a molecularly designed nanobody platform that seeks to make immunotherapy more effective in the treatment of cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt University may submit only one proposal to the NEXT for AUTISM Autistic-Led and Community-Based Grants. Read More

By Jenna Somers Richard Welsh Suspended FuturesTransforming Racial Inequities in School Disciplineby Richard O. Welsh Suspended Futures: Transforming Racial Inequities in School Discipline is a new book that guides K-12 education decision-makers in reducing racial disparities in school discipline.  Written by Richard Welsh, associate professor of… Read More

A recent study from the labs of Lars Plate and Jens Meiler, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, analyzed both selectively responsive and poorly responsive variants of cystic fibrosis and revealed the molecular determinants of drug response. Read More

New research from Vanderbilt Business explores how cringeworthy marketing can spark backlash and go viral for the wrong reasons. Learn how brands recover and avoid future failures. Read More

A group of researchers from the lab of Larry Marnett, the Mary Geddes Stahlman Professor of Cancer Research, recently paired a precisely targeted imaging agent to an anticancer agent and found that they could specifically attack cancer cells and not normal cells with it. Their work was performed in collaboration with School of Engineering faculty members Craig Duvall and Rebecca Cook, and was published in Molecular Pharmaceutics in April 2025. Read More

Danial Asgari, a postdoctoral researcher in the Tate Lab, and Ann Tate, associate professor of Biological Sciences, recently published a study in Molecular Biology and Evolution titled “How the Structure of Signaling Regulation Evolves: Insights from an Evolutionary Model.” Their findings show that negative feedback loops (or NFLs) acting closer to a cell’s final decisions, such as turning genes on or off, are especially resistant to evolutionary change. Read More

While we know that intermediate-mass black holes should exist, little is known about their origins or characteristics—they are considered the rare “missing links” in black hole evolution. However, four new studies have shed new light on the mystery. The research was led by a team in the lab of Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Karan Jani, who also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Lunar Labs Initiative. Read More

In a new study published in Science, Lisa Monteggia’s and Ege Kavalali’s labs show that it is feasible to substantially extend the efficacy of a single dose of ketamine from its current duration of up to a week to a longer period of up to two months. Read More

The VPA recently announced a new phase of growth, with the addition of key senior staff, distinguished senior fellows and renowned advisory committee members. This expansion further solidifies its leadership in policy areas such as AI and Technology, Competition and Regulation, Industrial Policy and Economic Security and Public Options and Governance. Read More

Vanderbilt University may nominate two candidates for the 2026 Searle Scholars Program. Read More

The National Center for Science Education has named Vanderbilt University’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative as one of its 2025 recipients of the prestigious Friend of Darwin award. This national honor recognizes ESI’s outstanding contributions to advancing public understanding of evolution through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach. Read More