Outstanding Accomplishments

Deans Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies
Warm congratulations to the inaugural recipients of the new Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies, which honors outstanding graduate students in the School of Medicine who are entering their 4^th year of study. The award provides each student $5,000/year of stipend support for two years. The awardees are:

Wyatt McDonnell (Simon Mallal lab): Wyatt studies HLA class II adaptation of HIV and HCMV in T cells, the help provided by CD4+ cells to B cells, and chronic inflammatory T cell responses.

Sarah Milian (David Jacobson lab): Sarah’s work focuses on the physiological role of the two-pore domain K⁺ channel TALK-1 in human cells.

Natalya Ortolano (Vivian Gama lab): Natalya investigates how the E3 ligase CUL9 regulates neural stem cell differentiation of pluripotent stem cells.

Sierra Palumbos (David Miller lab): Sierra studies how a genetic program drives the creation of synapses between neurons, a key to understanding how brain regions are assembled.

Megan Rasmussen (Vivian Gama lab): Megan is working to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which MCL-1 regulates death and mitochondrial dynamics in stem cells.

Jamie Robinson (Joshua Denny lab): Jamie is using phenome-wide association and her own procedure-wide association approach to study clinical obesity through BioVU and the Synthetic Derivative.

Corey Seacrist (Raymond Blind lab): After crystalizing and characterizing an engineered IPMK kinase, Corey is now studying how SUMO regulates the LRH-1 transcription factor.

Claire Strothman (Marija Zanic lab): Claire studies the dynamics of microtubule minus ends and has shown how their behavior is distinct from that of the well-studied plus ends.

Congratulations

Cancer Systems Biology Consortium
Heartiest congratulations to Vito Quaranta for landing an $8.1 million grant to establish a center focusing on small cell lung cancer as part of the NCI’s Cancer Systems Biology Consortium.

Launch of Appello
We are excited about the launch of Appello Pharmaceuticals, a new company founded in collaboration with Deerfield Management to advance novel compounds developed in the VCNDD for treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. The compounds, which are allosteric modulators of mGluR4, were developed with support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Nashville-based Atticus Trust.

Our New Pew Biomedical Scholar
Congratulations to John Karijolich who has been named a 2018 Pew Biomedical Scholar! 

Louis and Artur Lucian Award
Congratulations to Dan Roden, who received McGill University’s Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases!

New Data Sciences Course from ASPIRE
The BRET Office’s ASPIRE program has won funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to provide a new course to introduce trainees to data science as a career option.

SCRIPS Program Links Basic Science to the Clinic
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has provided a $2.5 million grant to support the SCRIPS program which will provide basic science research training to surgeons and other physicians with procedural skills.

Vanderbilt Oak Ridge Collaboration
Vanderbilt and Oak Ridge National Laboratory plan a new interdisciplinary collaboration to explore cellular processes.

New Discoveries

Right Model for the Job

Gregor Neuert and his lab now report that use of statistical methods based on a normal distribution assumption leads to models with poor predictive ability in systems biology.

Multidrug Resistance Transporter Dynamics

Hassane Mchaourab and his lab have identified central structural-functional correlations of substrate and ion transport in a key MATE transporter.

Overcoming TB Drug Resistance

In a recent report, Neil Osheroff and his lab explore the mechanism of action of gyrase inhibitors, which show promise in the fight against drug resistant tuberculosis. 

Oxidative Damage to HDL

New work from Sean Davies and his lab shows that oxidized lipids can bind to and damage HDL in hyperlipidemic patients, blocking its protective functions.

External Funding Opportunities

Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program
Five award mechanisms are available through the Dept. of Defense’s Ovarian Cancer Award Program. All have pre-application deadlines between May 30 and July 25.

Damon Runyon Innovation Award
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Innovation Awards provide support for extraordinary early career researchers. Applications for Stage 1 funding are due July 6.

Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists
A grand prize of $30,000 and category prizes of $10,000 are available to the winners of this competition targeting scientists within two years of earning a PhD in Cell & Molecular Biology, Genomics & Proteomics, Ecology & Environment, or Translational Medicine. Nominations are due July 15.

American Heart Association Funding
Applications for various AHA fellowships and grants are due July 11 through July 24.

Breast Cancer Alliance Young Investigator Grants
The Breast Cancer Alliance offers 2-year grants of $125,000 total to early career scientists who are pursuing breast cancer research. Applications are due July 20.

Department of Defense Epilepsy Research Program
Two award mechanisms are available through the Dept. of Defense’s Epilepsy Research Program. Pre-application dates are July 26 and Sept. 20.

Simons Foundation Bridge to Independence Award
The Simons Foundation offers grants of $495,000 over three years to help promising young faculty (senior postdoctoral level) establish careers in autism research. Letters of intent are due Aug. 6.

Beckman Young Investigators Program
The Beckman Foundation provides grants of ~$600,000 over four years to highly promising young investigators in the chemical and life sciences. Letters of intent are due by Aug. 6. For more information, contact Aaron Conley.

Fondation Leducq Transatlantic Networks
The Fondation Leducq plans to fund 5 transatlantic networks of excellence in cardiovascular and neurovascular disease at levels of $6,000,000 over 5 years per network. Letters of intent are due Sept. 5. Anyone interested in applying should contact Aaron Conley.

Israel Binational Foundation (BSF)
The BSF partners with the NSF to offer a variety of funding and travel opportunities. For more information and deadlines, click here.

Limited Submission Opportunities

Keck Research Program
Vanderbilt may submit one proposal in medical research and one proposal in science and engineering to the Keck Research Program, which offers $1,000,000 in support of distinctive and novel research. The deadline to apply to be the nominee is July 9.

Sloan Research Fellowships Program
Vanderbilt may nominate up to 3 faculty per department for Sloan Research Fellowships, which provide $70,000 over 2 years to support outstanding early career scientists. The deadline to apply to be a nominee is July 17.

Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award
VU and VUMC (together) may nominate one candidate for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award, which provides $550,000 over five years to young investigators in the fields of cancer, immunology, or neuroscience. The deadline to apply to be the nominee is July 26.

Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM²D
Vanderbilt may submit one nominate each in a number of STEM fields to the J&J WiSTEM²D Scholars Program, which provides $150,000 to support young women establishing a career in research. The deadline to apply to be the nominee is Aug. 6. The deadline to apply to be the nominee is July 30.

Simons Foundation Program
Vanderbilt may nominate two faculty members for the Simons Foundation Investigator Program in Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems, which provides $100,000/year for 5 years to support investigators engaged in modeling living systems. The deadline to apply to be the nominee is Aug. 6.

Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics
VU and VUMC (together) may nominate two candidates for the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program, which provides 50% salary support for 3 years to help junior faculty members carry out innovative bioethics research. Send applications to be the nominee to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by Aug. 7.

Faculty Spotlight – Vivian Gama