Heartfelt Congratulations

Lindsley Awarded Smissman Lectureship

Craig Lindsley (Pharmacology) has been awarded the 2018 Smissman Lectureship by the University of Kansas for outstanding contributions to the fields of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology.

Petrie Promoted to Assistant Dean for Biomedical Career Development

Kim Petrie (Assistant Professor of Medical Education and Administration) has been named Assistant Dean for Biomedical Career Development. As the founding Director of the BRET Office of Career Development, Kim is co-PI of Vanderbilt’s NIH BEST award and played a key role in establishing the ASPIRE program. Her own Career Story is featured below.

Discover Biomedical Research – A Resounding Success

For two weeks in July, six local high school students immersed themselves in biomedical research under the mentorship of four Vanderbilt graduate students. The program – Discover Biomedical Research – was designed by graduate students and sponsored by the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity to offer high school students a hands-on research experience. All participants were enthusiastic about the program and agreed that it was over too quickly.

Career Stories

In this issue, we resume our Career Stories series, highlighting the paths of Vanderbilt graduate students and postdocs as they pursue a diverse range of careers. Our fourth career story features Kim Petrie, our newly appointed Assistant Dean for Biomedical Career Development and the founding Director of the BRET Office of Career Development. Kim’s story reflects not only how she found and shaped her own career, but also how her efforts led to the ASPIRE program that has touched the lives of so many Vanderbilt trainees since its inception.

Academic Pathways Program Open for Applications

The Academic Pathways Program is designed to help prepare recently graduated doctoral students from diverse racial, ethnic, and other backgrounds and experiences for academic careers. Fellows receive an annual stipend of $60,000 for two to three years along with benefits, travel funding, and a research allowance. Applications are due Nov. 1st.

New Discoveries

The Contractile Ring at Super-Resolution

Exploiting the resources in the new Nikon Center of Excellence, Kathy Gould and her lab took a very close look at the multi-layered structure of the S. pombe contractile ring.

Tracing the Origin of Colorectal Cancer Metastases

Bingshan Li and his lab used genome-wide analysis to show that colorectal cancer likely metastasizes by multiple discreet seeding events.

Obesity-Fighting Dietary Lipids

Research in Sean Davies’ lab demonstrates the role of an enzyme, NAPE-PLD, in converting an obesity-fighting lipid into its active form.

Dangers of Excess Dietary Mn

New findings from Eric Skaar and his lab reveal that excess dietary manganese can increase the risk of staph infections in the heart.

Promoting Growth of Islet Beta Cells

New research from Alvin Powers and colleagues distinguishes signaling pathways that determine juvenile beta cell response to growth stimulation.

Natural Defense Against HIV-1

Christopher Aiken and colleagues demonstrate that cyclophilin A works together with TRIM5α to inhibit nuclear import of HIV-1.

Funding Opportunities

New NIGMS Funding Mechanism
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is terminating its Program Projects Grant program and will replace it with a new funding mechanism titled, “Collaborative Program for Multidisciplinary Teams” (RMI).

American Heart Association Collaborative Sciences Award
The AHA is accepting letters of intent for submissions to its Collaborative Sciences Award Program, which fosters innovative collaborative approaches to projects that pair investigators from at least two broadly disparate fields. Awards are for $250,000 per year for three years. Guidelines and further information are available on the AHA website. The deadline for letter submission is Nov. 1st.

TIPS Grants
Faculty are encouraged to consider organizing a project and submitting a proposal for a 2018 Vanderbilt TIPS (Trans-Institutional Programs) award. Pre-proposals are due Oct. 31st. Read more here and here.

University Courses
Faculty are encouraged to consider submitting proposals for the University Courses program, which seeks to encourage the development of new, creative, interdisciplinary courses that leverage synergies across Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges. Proposals are due Nov. 13th. Read more here and here.

Chancellor Faculty Fellows
The Chancellor Faculty Fellows program was established to demonstrate Vanderbilt University’s commitment to supporting and retaining outstanding faculty who have recently received tenure. The award provides $80k over two years to support the professional development of faculty fellows. Department chairs and/or deans may nominate candidates by sending required materials to cff@vanderbilt.edu by Oct. 31st.

Limited Submissions Opportunities (LSOs)

Improved Limited Submissions Opportunities Process
Limited submissions opportunities (LSOs) are funding opportunities offered by sponsors that limit the number of applications that can be submitted from each institution. The Provost’s Office has now started an initiative to increase awareness of these opportunities and streamline the application process to become Vanderbilt’s nominee. Basically Speaking highlights LSOs prior to the applications deadline (see below), but all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to receive updates.

Brain Research Foundation Fay/Frank Seed Grant Program
Vanderbilt and VUMC may collaboratively nominate one candidate for the Fay/Frank Seed Grant Program, which awards $80,000 over two years to support new research in the field of neuroscience. The research may not concurrently receive support from other sources. Applications to be the Vanderbilt nominee are due Oct. 16th.

NSF Research Traineeship Program
Vanderbilt may submit up to two letters of intent for the NSF Research Traineeship Program, which provides up to $3 million in funds over five years to support the development and implementation of transformative models for STEM graduate education and training. Applications to be a Vanderbilt nominee are due Oct. 16th.

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program
Vanderbilt may submit up to three proposals for the NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program, which supports acquisition or development of a shared research instrument. The three proposals may fall into the acquisition track (up to $4 million over 3 years) or development track (up to $4 million over 5 years). If three proposals are submitted, at least one must be for development. Applications to be a Vanderbilt nominee are due Oct. 18th.

Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards
Vanderbilt may nominate up to two junior faculty for the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award sponsored by Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Award amounts are $5,000, and the nominee must be within the first two years of his/her tenure track appointment. Applications to be a Vanderbilt nominee are due Oct.18th.

Mallinckrodt Scholars Program
Vanderbilt and VUMC may collaboratively nominate up to two faculty for the Mallinckdrodt Scholars Program, which provides $400,000 in funding over four years to support early stage investigators engaged in biomedical research anticipated to significantly enhance our understanding and/or treatment of disease. Applications to be a Vanderbilt nominee are due Oct. 23rd.

The WiSTEM²D Scholars Program
Vanderbilt University can nominate one applicant each in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, manufacturing, and design to compete for an award through the new Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM²D Scholar’s program that aims to support the development of promising women in STEM fields. Awards provide $150,000 in funding over a three year period. Applications to be a Vanderbilt nominee are due Oct. 30th.

The Keck Foundation Research Program
Vanderbilt University can nominate two applicants, one in research and one in science and engineering for the W.M. Keck Foundation Research Program, which provides grants of ~$1 million in support of research that has a distinct and novel approach, questions a prevailing paradigm, or has the potential to break open new territory in the field. Applications to be a Vanderbilt nominee are due Dec. 31st.

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