Giving Day – June 5th

Vanderbilt celebrates its third annual Giving Day on Tuesday, June 5th. To give, please visit the following web site tomorrow: https://givingday.vanderbilt.edu/organizations/basic-sciences

All donations to the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences (VBS) go directly to helping the strategic mission of the Basic Sciences. Giving Day gifts count towards eligibility to become part of the VBS Discovery Circle. In addition, an anonymous donor has offered an $800,000 challenge gift if Vanderbilt meets the goal of 6,300 donors tomorrow and a $200,000 challenge gift if we meet the goal of 1,000 G.O.L.D. (graduates of the last decade) donors. Thank you for considering giving to support our research and training missions.

Congratulations

Kudos to our Graduates
On May 11^th, 83 students earned PhDs in the biomedical sciences. We take great pride in their many accomplishments and wish them well!

VICC Student of the Year
We are proud to announce that Chloe Snider (Kathy Gould lab) received the VICC Graduate Student of the Year Award.

Faculty Awards

We salute our faculty colleagues who were honored at the School of Medicine spring faculty meeting:

Vicki Keedy – Robert D. Collins Award for teaching medical or graduate students or practicing physicians in the lecture setting
Owen McGuinness – Jacek Hawiger Award for teaching graduate students or postdoctoral fellows
Barron Patterson & David Johnson – Denis M. O’Day Award for team-implemented curricular reform
Aida Yared – Michael Rodriguez Award for teaching medical students, residents and/or fellows in the clinical setting
Chevis Shannon – Elaine Sanders-Bush Award for mentoring graduate and/or medical students in the research setting
William Walsh – Anderson Spickard, Jr. Award for clinical excellence in a cognitive discipline
Stuart McGrane – Mildred T. Stahlman Award for innovation in clinical care
Michael Fowler & Robert Miller – John L. Tarpley Award for commitment to care of underserved communities
Hassane Mchaourab – Stanley Cohen Award for research bridging diverse disciplines
David Wasserman – John H. Exton Award for research leading to innovative biological concepts
Lorraine Ware – Grant W. Liddle Award for outstanding contributions in clinical research
Roger Colbran – Charles R. Park Award for basic research revealing insights into physiology or pathophysiology.

TIPS Awards

Basic Sciences faculty will participate in two new Trans-Institutional Programs initiatives:

A Synchrotron-Like X-Ray Source for Structural Biology at Vanderbilt (VRA)
School of Medicine (Clinical): Raymond Blind, James Crowe, Borden Lacy
College of Arts and Science: Lauren Buchanan, Brandt Eichman, Richard Haglund, Janet Macdonald

School of Medicine (Basic Science): Walter Chazin, Stephen Fesik, Tina Iverson

The Initiative for Personalized Microbial Discovery and Innovation (VIA)
School of Medicine (Clinical): Maria Hadjifrangiskou, Jonathan Schmitz, Suman Das, Jane Ferguson, Borden Lacy, Jill Pulley
College of Arts and Science: Brian Bachmann, Seth Bordenstein, Gary Sulikowski
Law School: James Blumstein
School of Medicine (Basic Science): David Weaver

SEC Leader

Congratulations to John McLean (Chemistry, VICB), who was just named a fellow of the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program.

Congratulations On Promotion

Best wishes to Tina Iverson (Pharmacology) on her promotion to full professor.

New Discoveries

Mechanisms of Kidney Damage in Diabetes

A collaboration between Billy Hudson, Richard Caprioli, Raymond Harris, and their labs reveals cathepsin D-mediated albumin degradation in the diabetic kidney.

Timing is Everything

In their latest report, Danny Winder and his lab define how best to use ketamine to relieve symptoms of alcohol abstinence.

Keys to S. aureus Survival

Eric Skaar and his student Jessica Sheldon teamed up with researchers from Stanford University to identify a new S. aureus virulence factor.

Evolution of Eastern Encephalitis Virus

Suman Das and his colleagues use sequences of 433 strains of eastern encephalitis virus to reveal its Florida origins.

New Target Against Ebola

New research from Jim Crowe and his lab identifies the target of naturally occurring antibodies from Ebola survivors.

Reward-Associated Receptors

A new report from Brad Grueter and his colleagues reveals the role of mGlu receptors in brain reward circuitry.

Natural Defenses Against Infection

In recent research from Seth Bordenstein and colleagues, we learn how Nasonia wasps suppress Wolbachia bacterial infection.

Keeping Sepsis In Check

Henrique Serezani and colleagues have identified a new role for PTEN in suppressing inflammation during sepsis.

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.

Department of Defense Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program
Two award mechanisms are available through the Dept. of Defense’s Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program. Both have pre-application deadlines of June 22.

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.

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.

Limited Submission Opportunities

Oak Ridge Associated Universities Events Sponsorship Program
VU may submit one application to the ORAU Events Sponsorship Program, which provides up to $4000 to support events involving more than one ORAU institution. Applications to be the nominee are due June 21.

Searle Scholar’s Program
VU may submit two applications to the Searle Scholar’s Program, which provides up to $300,000 over 3 years to support young research faculty. Applications to be the nominee are due July 3.

Faculty Spotlight – Jeff Conn