Research Enterprise Newsletter - July 2007: Faculty News
Waterman honored at conference in Slovenia
Dr. Michael Waterman was honored for his lifetime achievements and contributions to the advancement of research on cytochrome P450 enzymes at the 15th International Conference on Cytochromes P450, held June 17-21, 2007, in Slovenia. In addition to his scientific accomplishments, Waterman was recognized for his outstanding work as a mentor who has trained many predoctoral and more than 50 postdoctoral students, most of whom are active scientists in cytochrome P450 research today.
Emeson named to neuroscience leadership post
Ronald Emeson, PhD, has been named deputy director of the Center for Molecular Neuroscience (CMN). In the newly created position, Emeson will assume responsibility for maintaining and expanding the center's research resources and will launch a new Program in Nervous System Engineering. The CMN directly supports three research resources with expertise in neurogenomics, neurochemistry, and imaging. Emeson will oversee the development of those cores, identify new sources of revenue, and improve and extend the services and customer base.
Vermund secures grant for clinical research training in developing nations
VUMC has received a five-year federal grant to support and expand the training of clinical researchers in developing countries. Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, is the grant's principal investigator. The Fogarty International Center of the NIH will provide approximately $2.5 million annually for the NIH/Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars Support Center at Vanderbilt. The new center will support the NIH/Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars Program. Since 2004, the program has trained 70 health professional students from the United States in 15 countries, from Bangladesh to Zambia. The fourth cohort of scholars begins in July 2007. U.S. scholars are matched in host nations with health professional students or recent graduates, often young physicians or health scientists. Together they receive one year of mentored clinical research training at an NIH-funded institution.
Edwards gives last Discovery Lecture of spring
Vanderbilt vaccine investigator Kathryn Edwards, MD, professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Clinical Research, gave the last Discovery Lecture of the spring on June 7. Edwards spoke on the importance of applying new genetic approaches to complex vaccine challenges. During her lecture, she gave several examples of new vaccine technologies that are showing promise, including "reverse vaccinology." Edwards and her Vanderbilt colleagues currently are testing an adenovirus vaccine to prevent malaria, which kills more than 1 million people every year.
Fall Discovery Lectures resume October 11
The popular Vanderbilt Discovery Lecture series will resume October 11 with Nobel laureate Bengt Samuelsson, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology and the Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics. Samuelsson won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology, shared with Sune Bergstrom and John Vane, for discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances. The Discovery Lecture Series brings today's most eminent minds in scientific research and public policy to Vanderbilt. Other fall speakers are Bradley Efron, the Max H. Stein Professor of Humanities and Sciences and Professor of Statistics at Stanford University, and 2001 Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse.
