As 2024 comes to a close, we take a look back at the accomplishments and contributions to science and society made by School of Medicine Basic Sciences community members throughout the past year. The efforts of our faculty, trainees, staff, and collaborators have resulted pioneering discoveries that tangibly benefit society.
“Our school achieved remarkable accomplishments both individually and collaboratively in 2024, and my appreciation for the outstanding partnership between our faculty and exceptionally skilled and dedicated staff continues to grow,” said John Kuriyan, dean of basic sciences, School of Medicine. “Looking forward to 2025, I am confident that our school will continue its momentum toward an even more curious, cohesive, supportive, creative, and collaborative community.”
The School of Medicine Basic Sciences facilitates outstanding fundamental science research across four departments, two institutes, 10 centers, and 18 core facilities.
2024 Highlights
Trainees and Postdoctoral Scholars
Seventeen graduate and 36 postdoc programs spanning the School of Medicine support 727 Ph.D. students and 357 postdoctoral fellows. Here are some key accomplishments or highlights:
- Senior Associate Dean of Biomedical Research Education and Training Walter Chazin welcomed nearly 100 new students to the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programand the Quantitative and Chemical Biology Program in August.
- Through BRET’s ASPIRE on the Road program, 12 biomedical trainees visited Boston to explore the city’s biotech industry.
- Fourteen biomedical sciences students were awarded the Provost Pathbreaking Discovery Award.
- Alan Hurtado (Chemical and Physical Biology, Edward Levine lab) received the inaugural Linda Sealy Emerging Scholar Travel Award.
- Olivia Kelly (Pharmacology, Heidi Hamm lab) received the inaugural JKL Wellness Fund award to study non-drug-based interventions for maintaining or restoring wellness to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
- Leigh Anne Tang (Biomedical Informatics, Colin Walsh lab) received the 2024 Brighter Ventures Student Award for her work joining the best of biomedical informatics and precision medicine.
- Teresa Torres (Microbe-Host Interactions, Nicholas Zachos lab) was the first Vanderbilt graduate student to receive the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award from the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
- Shane Watson (Neuroscience, Rick Sando lab), James Hayes (Cell and Developmental Biology, Dylan Burnette lab), and Emma Koory(Cell and Developmental Biology, Dylan Burnette lab) won the inaugural Cell Imaging Shared Resource Life is Beautiful Image Contest.
- Xiaoyu “Lily” Yu (Biochemistry, Kojetin lab) won the 2024 VICB Richard Armstrong Prize.
Kudos to the more than 60 graduate students that currently hold independent fellowship from the National Institutes of Health or other agencies in 2024. This year, 14 trainees received nearly $1.3 million in extramural funding in the form of fellowships and awards:
- Lindsay Bass (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Rachel Bonami lab) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Diabetes Research Connection
- Imani Douglas (Interdisciplinary Graduate Program) from the National Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. Consortium
- Matthew Dungan (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Amanda Doran lab) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Kimberlyn Ellis (Program in Human Genetics, Piper Below lab) from the National Human Genome Research Institute
- Ryan Fansler (Microbe-Host Interactions, Wenhu Zhu lab) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Alejandra Flores (Microbe-Host Interactions, Kristen Ogden lab) from NIAID
- Azuah Gonzalez (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Amanda Doran) from NHLBI
- Emily Green (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Nicholas Markham) from the National Cancer Institute
- Jennifer Markfeld (Hearing and Speech Sciences, Tiffany Woynaroski lab) from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Mary Oliver (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Julie Bohannon), awarded through a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Award
- Alyssa Scartozzi (Program in Human Genetics, Piper Below lab) from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Rachael Corynne Smith (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, John Wilson lab) from NIAID
- Yiwen Wang (Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Luc Van Kaer lab) from the American Heart Association
Publications
From Jan. 1 to Dec. 13, 2024, School of Medicine Basic Sciences affiliate faculty produced 330 publications. These groundbreaking studies were published in leading scientific journals, including Cell, Nature, and more.
- William Wan (Biochemistry) demonstrating intracellular Ebola virus nucleocapsid assembly described in Cell.
- Work from Ken Lau’s (Cell and Developmental Biology) lab includes an authoritative reference article on the hallmarks of precancer in Cancer Discovery and the most precise molecular clock that records the timing of cellular events and clonality in Nature.
- Ian Macara (Cell and Developmental Biology) and Christian de Caestecker (Cell and Developmental Biology, Ian Macara lab) discovered a major clue in how cells sort proteins, solving a decades-old puzzle. The research was published in Nature Cell Biology.
- Erkan Karakas and Hassane Mchaourab (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) illuminated the structural and energetic underpinnings of coupled cargo protein export in Nature Communications.
- Rafael Arrojo e Drigo (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) showed that caloric restriction could be a feasible approach to preserve compromised beta cell structure-function during aging and diabetes in an article published in Nature Communications.
Recognitions
- David Cortez (Biochemistry) received the Hans Neurath Award from The Protein Society for recent contributions of exceptional merit to basic protein research.
- Jennifer Pietenpol (Biochemistry) won the 2024 “Science of Oncology” Award, one of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s highest honors.
- Neil Osheroff (Biochemistry) was named fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Associate for Health Professional Educators. He is the organization’s only elected fellow located outside of Australia or New Zealand.
- Nancy Carrasco (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) received the 2024 Award for the Biophysics of Health and Diseasefrom the Biophysical Society.
- Prashant Singh (Pharmacology) was awarded the Research Excellence Award at the 2024 Fall Staff Assembly for his inspired work on the bacterial flagellum, whichrotates and switches direction.
- Bruce Carter (Biochemistry), Lisa Monteggia (Pharmacology), Richard O’Brien (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics), Andrea Page-McCaw (Cell and Developmental Biology), and Kevin Schey (Biochemistry) were named endowed chair holders, the highest academic award that Vanderbilt can give to a faculty member.
New leadership
- Erin Calipari (Pharmacology) was named director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research.
- Walter Chazin (Biochemistry) was named senior associate dean of biomedical research, education and training.
- Tina Iverson (Pharmacology) was named associate dean for faculty.
- Ken Lau (Cell and Developmental Biology) was named inaugural director of the Center for Computational Systems Biology.
- Jeffrey Spraggins (Cell and Developmental Biology, Biochemistry) was named director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center, following the retirement of its original director Richard Caprioli.
Technology Transfer and Commercialization (as of Nov. 13)
- Patents filed: 127
- Technology licenses: 66
Funding
- School of Medicine Basic Sciences faculty secured more than $65 million from the NIH in FY2023, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
- Manny Ascano(Biochemistry) and Alissa Weaver (Cell and Developmental Biology) received a $1.65 million National Science Foundation Molecular Foundations for Biotechnology program grant to explore RNA behavior.
- Ken Lau (Cell and Developmental Biology) and Robert Coffey (Medicine) are leading a $1 million Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation grantto expand efficacy of immunotherapy for colorectal cancer.
- Ken Lau (Cell and Developmental Biology) and Jeff Spraggins (Cell and Developmental Biology, Mass Spectrometry Research Center) are joint project leaders on a $5 million NCI project to build a three-dimensional, multimodal molecular atlas of colorectal cancer across different ages of disease onset.
- Erin Calipari (Pharmacology) is the principal investigator on an $8.9 million NIH grant used to establish the Vanderbilt Alcohol Use Disorder Research and Education Center. Vanderbilt collaborators include Danny Winder (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) and Cody Siciliano(Pharmacology).
- Amanda Linkous (Pharmacology) was awarded a research grant from the Merck Research LaboratoriesScientific Engagement and Emerging Discovery Science program to identify therapeutic intervention points for cancer in the lung and brain.
- Jens Meiler (Pharmacology) and Kevin Schey (Biochemistry) are on a team of 14 investigators across eight institutions to receive $46 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Healthto spearhead the development of a vaccine that could protect against all alphaviruses.
- Rick Sando (Pharmacology) received an NIH New Innovator Award, part of their High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. This $1.5 million award will help advance his work on synapse transmissions.
- Cody Siciliano(Pharmacology) received a $1.3 million W. M. Keck Foundation grant for research with the potential to revolutionize our understanding and treatment of alcohol use disorder.
In the media
- Ken Lau’s (Cell and Developmental Biology) cancer research was featured in New Scientist and Endpoints.
- Stephanie Wankowicz (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Center for Applied AI in Protein Dynamics) was highlighted in Science for her leadership in urging Google DeepMind to release the computer code powering AlphaFold3.
- Erin Calipari(Pharmacology) was interviewed by The National Desk, a nationally syndicated broadcast, about gambling addiction as a public health threat.
- Tina Iverson (Pharmacology) and Prashant Singh (Pharmacology) were featured on the science communication YouTube channel Smarter Every Day for their work on bacterial chemotaxis. The video trended on YouTube and has more than three million views to date. The lab’s research was also featured inChemistry World.
- Joey Barnett(Pharmacology) was interviewed by WSMV about the HBCU Scholars program to attract more minority students into science and medicine.
- Kristen Gilliland (Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery) was featured on NBC’s Nightly News to discuss how stronger marijuana is linked to more psychosis in teens.
Appointments
- Biochemistry
- Anna Edmondson was appointed professor
- Jinhui Dong was appointed research assistant professor
- Areetha D’Souzaand Deepti Karandur were appointed research instructors
- James Markswas appointed research assistant professor
- Rahul Bhowmick and Sezen Meydanwere appointed assistant professors
- Katrin Karbsteinwas appointed professor
- Cell and Developmental Biology
- Madeline Colley was appointed research instructor
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
- Karin Bosma and Michelle Bedenbaugh were appointed assistant professors
- Alejandra Paola Torres Manzoand Zer Vue were appointed research instructors
- Katie Coateand Stephenie Wankowicz were appointed assistant professors
- Pharmacology
- Quynh Anh Nguyenwas appointed assistant professor
- Aaron Bender and Kristen Gillilandwere appointed research assistant professors
- Salvatore Incontro, Snigdha Mukerjee, and Suzanne Nolan-Strlewere appointed research instructors
- Ben Brown, Valentina Cigliola, and Shan Meltzerwere appointed assistant professors
- Secondary appointments
- Fabian Bock(Cell and Developmental Biology) was appointed assistant professor
- Erin Plosa(Cell and Developmental Biology) was appointed associate professor
- Vivian Weiss(Cell and Developmental Biology) was appointed associate professor
- Juan Pablo Arroyo Ornelas(Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) was appointed assistant professor
- Jeeyeon Cha(Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) was appointed assistant professor
Promotions
- Biochemistry
- Ansari Aleem, Wade Calcutt, Hayes McDonald, Michelle Reyzer, Kristie Rose, and Angela Kruse were promoted to research associate professor
- Cell and Developmental Biology
- Marija Zanic was promoted to professor
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
- Wenbiao Chen, Bingshan Li, and Terunaga Nakagawawere promoted to professor
- Erkan Karakaswas promoted to associate professor
- Dale Edgertonwas promoted to research professor
- AnnaOsipovich was promoted to research associate professor
- Pharmacology
- Zhenzhong Maand Pankaj Sharma were promoted to research assistant professor
- Alex Watersonwas promoted to research professor
This is only a small sample of the accomplishments and successes of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences in 2024. To explore more, visit our website.