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VIO Research Grants Past Recipients
Vanderbilt International Office - Research and Curriculum Grants Brochure
2009-10
Politics, Poetics, and the Representation (Art), Vesna Pavlovic, A&S, with the University of São Paulo, Brazil
Studies of the Effects of Irradiation-Induced Disorder in Diamond Novel Carbon-Based Materials, and III-V Semiconductors, Norman Tolk, A&S, with the University of Melbourne, Australia
Design of 65 nm CMOS integrated circuits for evaluating soft errors, Bharat Bhuva, Engineering, with the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sol, Brazil
Improving Access and Effectiveness of Mental Health Services for Youth through the Internet, Leonard Bickman, Peabody, with the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland, Australia
Robotic Mastoidectomy, J. Michael Fitzpatrick, Engineering, with Leibniz University, Germany
Exploring Collaboration between Vanderbilt University Law School and Melbourne Law School in International and Intellectual Property Law, Daniel Gervais, Law, with the University of Melbourne
Education Policy in Brazil and the United States, Stephen Heyneman, Peabody, with the University of São Paulo
Climate Change Adaptation: Flood Impacts and Perceptions, George Horberger, Engineering, with the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
New Research in Slavery and Atlantic World History in Brazil and the United States, Jane Landers, A&S, with University of São Paulo, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Establishment of a Long-term, Sustainable Collaboration Between Vanderbilt and Leipzig Universities,Jens Meiler, A&S, with Leipzig University
Comparative Study of Organizational Supports for Reforming Middle School Mathematics, Thomas Smith, Peabody, with Beijing Normal University, China and the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Discovery of Giant Planets Orbiting Bright Stars, Keivan Stassun, A&S, with the University of Cape Town, South Africa
Chemistry of Biology of Natural Products: Leads in Anticancer Drug Discovery, Gary Sulikowski, A&S, with the University of Melbourne, Australia
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2008-09
Constructive Approximation Workshops, Ed Saff, A&S, with City University, Hong Kong
Mini-Symposium in Chemistry, Terry Lybrand, A&S, with University of Melbourne, Australia
Urbache Weithe Disease, David Zald, A&S, with University of Cape Town, South Africa
Collaborations on Noncommutative Geometry, Guoliang Yu, A&S, with Fudan University, China
Global Constitutional Justice Program, Mike Newton, Law, with Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Enhancing International Research in the Humanities, Jose Medina, A&S, with Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Youth Development through Community School Intervention, Maury Nation, Peabody, with University of Cape Town, South Africa
Residuated Structures: Algebra and Proof Theory, Costas Tsinakis, A&S, with University of Siena, Italy
Melatonin-Producing Plants to Study Plant Development/Photoperiodism and Act as "Bioreactors" for Medicinal Purposes, Carl Johnson, A&S, with Northwest University, China
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2007-08
Locality, Ritual, and Geopolitical Shift in the Machaca Region of Bolivia, John Janusek, A&S, with University of Essex, U.K.
Collaborative Composition in London and Glasgow, Michael Rose, Blair, with the London Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow
Magmatism, Climate, and Evolution of Sedimentary Basins, Guil Gualda, A&S, with University of São Paulo, Brazil
Model-Based Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis of Nuclear Power Plants, Gautam Biswas, VUSE, with University of South Australia
Inequality and Provenance, James Foster, A&S, with University of São Paulo, Brazil
Carbon Nanotube-Nanocrystal Materials for Electronic Device Applications , Jay Dickerson, A&S, with Imperial College, London
Studies in Ultra-Fast Spin Dynamics in Layered and Reduced Dimensional Semiconductor Structures, Norman Tolk, A&S, with Fudan University
Interface Mechanics for Advance Material Characterizations, Roy Xu, VUSE, with University Pierre and Marie Curie and the Laboratory of Modeling Mechanics, France
The Bergman Space and its Operators via Hillbert Modules, Dechao Zheng, A&S, with Fudan University
Software Tools for Protecting Medical Information Privacy, Bradley Malin, VUMC, with Sabanci University, Turkey
Cardiovascular Development, Tao Zhong, VUMC, with Fudan University
Predicting Academic Achievement: Screening Social and Academic Enablers , Steven Elliott, Peabody, with University of Melbourne and Griffith University, Australia
Examining the Localization and Binding Patners of Protein Phosphatases in the Social Amoeba D. discoideum, Christopher Janetopoulos, A&S, with the University of São Paulo, Brazil
Social and Economic Development Programs to Improve Health and Well-Being Indicators in Rural, Resource-constrainedSettings , Alfredo Vergara, VUMC, Bart Victor, Owen, and Ted Fischer, A&S, with the University of São Paulo, Brazil and Universidade Eduardo Modlane, Mozambique
Chemistry of New Anti-Malarial Drugs, David Wright, A&S, with University of Cape Town, South Africa
Global Feminisms Collaborative and the African Gender Institute, a research and pedogigical collaboration , Brooke Ackerly, A&S, with the University of Cape Town, South Africa
Dark Energy and Extrasolar Planets, Robert Scherrer, A&S, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa
Educational Leadership Learning Exchange for the Superintendency, James Guthrie, Peabody, with the national Academy of Education Adminsitration, China
A Collaborative Renal Program between Vanderbilt University and Fudan University, Ray Harris, VUMC, and Fudan University, China
Sustainability, Florence Faucher-King, A&S, with Sciences Po, France
Global Neurology, Heather Koons, VUMC, with University of Zambia
Exploring Potential for Conducting Non-human Primate Brain Research in China, Anna Roe, A&S, with Fudan University, China
Joint Colorectal Cancer Program, Robert Coffey, VUMC, with the University of Melbourne, Australia
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2006-07
School Principal Development and Leadership Evaluation , Ellen Goldring, Peabody, with Beijing Normal University, China
Impatient Surveillance for Viral Respiratory Infections in Children: Protocol in Amman, Jordan, Natasha Halasa, VUMC, with Jordan University
Exchange Program in Musculoskeletal Research, Greg Mundy, VUMC, with the University of Melbourne
Initiation of Vanderbilt-Melbourne Collaboration in Molecular Modeling, Peter Cummings, VUSE, with the University of Melbourne
Metallix Matrix Nanocomposite Materials, Jay Dickerson, A&S, with the University of Cape Town
Neural Bases of Visual Awareness, Randolph Blake, A&S, with Utrecht University, Netherlands
Project Summaries
Politics, Poetics, and Representation
Assistant Professor Vesna Pavlovic, A&S
Department: Art
Description: A group of faculty from Art, Anthropology, and Philosophy are working with colleagues from the University of Sao Paulo’s School of Visual art and Communications to establish a research collaboration and open possibilities for faculty, student and curriculum exchange. They will look at different ways to discuss the city and its positions in relation to the representation of history, place, culture, architecture, urban environment, and cultural and religious responses to climate change. The project will include workshops at USP and Vanderbilt in 2010-11.
Partners: University of São Paulo, Brazil
Ana Taveres, Mario Ramiro
Studies of the Effects of Irradiation-Induced Disorder in Diamond Novel Carbo-Based Materials, and III-V Semiconductors
Professor Norman Tolk, A&S
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Description: Physics faculty from Vanderbilt and Melbourne will study the effects of irradiation damage in novel electronic devices. Discussions on pump-probe techniques, irradiation effects, novel carbon materials growth, and nanoscale III-V semiconducting crystals are expected to lead to high impact research.
Partner: University of Melbourne
Steven Prawer
Design of 65 nm CMOS integrated circuits for evaluating soft errors
Professor Bharat Bhuva, School of Engineering
Department: Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Description: This grant will encourage collaboration between US, European, and South American researchers working on issues of radiation and space exploration. The Radiation Effects and Reliability Group (RERG), one of the largest research groups at Vanderbilt, collaborates extensively with European universities. However, it has been difficult to develop strong partnerships with universities in South America, primarily because most South American countries have not had large space programs. Through this grant, Vanderbilt will initiate a collaborative research effort with Professor Fernanda Kastensmidt of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Allegre, in Brazil.
Partners: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Fernanda Kastensmidt
Improving Access and Effectiveness of Mental Health Services for Youth through the Internet
Professor Leonard Bickman, Peabody College of Education and Human Development
Description: This project addresses the barriers surrounding traditional community-based outpatient mental health services for youth such as geographic isolation, availability of specialists, and stigma. Service delivery using the Internet (e-therapy) has been shown to increase access and lower costs.. This grant will partially fund the initial development of a project that would be the first to integrate a Web-based data collection/clinician feedback system and Internet-based treatment. Researchers will integrate two online applications: a Web-based feedback system and an e-therapy protocol, and will conduct a pilot project and develop two grant applications designed to harness the power of technology to improve children’s lives.
Partners: Universities of Melbourne and Queensland, Australia
Robert King (Psychiatry, Queensland); Jane Burns (ORYGEN Research Center, Melbourne)
Robotic Mastoidectomy
Professor J. Michael Fitzpatrick, School of Engineering
Department: Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Description: This project involves developing a computer-controlled, autonomously acting robot to perform a specified surgical procedure – a mastoidectomy. Mastoidectomy is a core surgical procedure in Otolaryngology-Head-and-Neck Surgery because of its high frequency (over 100,000 procedures performed annually in the United States), the unique anatomy involved (vital structure encased in bone which does not deform during surgical intervention), and the surgical technique (performed using a high-speed drill). This surgery removes an infection or growth in the bone behind the ear. The research team has significant expertise in computer guidance in surgery in general and otologic surgery in particular.
Partners: Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
Tobias Ortmaier (Mechatronics)
Exploring Collaboration between Vanderbilt University Law School and Melbourne Law School in International and Intellectual Property Law
Professor Daniel Gervais, Law School
Description: This project works to establish lasting institutional collaboration between Vanderbilt University Law School and the Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILaH) and the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA) at the University of Melbourne. The Working together, the two institutions will develop research projects in the areas of intellectual property law and international law, as well as explore possible collaboration in business and environmental law. Established in 2002, IPRIA is the largest intellectual property center in Australasia. It is a collaborative effort involving the Faculty of Economics and Commerce, Melbourne Law Schhol and the Melbourne Business School.
Partners: Melbourne Law School
Andrew Christie, Chris Dent
Education Policy in Brazil and the United States
Professor Stephen Heyneman, Peabody College of Education and Human Development
Department: Leadership, Policy and Organizations
Description: Brazil and the United States have federal education systems with many similar problems and dilemmas— achievement gaps between rich and poor, black and white, north and south, city and country; inefficiencies at both higher education and K- 12 levels; problems of overlapping governance; curricular quality; dropouts and repetition; urban ghettos where students appear to lack a desire to learn. Both have multiple layers of education authorities -- municipal, county, state and national; both have high ambitions to overcome inherited impediments and improve efficiency, quality and equity and hence improve prospects for economic growth. This project will begin collaboration on education policy between Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University and the Faculty of Economics, Administration and Management at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. The project will start with two workshops on education research, one at Peabody and a second in São Paulo.
Partners: University of São Paulo
Carlos Azzoni (FEA), Marcos Rangel (FEA), Ricardo Madeira (FEA), Fernando Botelho (FIA)
Climate Change Adaptation: Flood Impacts and Perceptions
Distinguished Professor George Hornberger, School of Engineering
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
Description: Vanderbilt began collaboration with the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Moratuwa (UM), Sri Lanka, the purpose of which is to assist the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) to explore impacts due to climate change and implement necessary action for effective adaptation involving stakeholders. NBRO is a multi-disciplinary research institute in the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Sri Lanka. NBRO’s primary research domain includes risk assessment and reduction strategies. NBRO has been involved in developing standards, guidelines and educational material to adapt to and prevent impacts from disasters (NBRO, 2010). The collaborative project will primarily focus on investigating flood and related impacts, and eliciting essential human dimensions related to adapting to climate change.
Partners: National Building Reseach Organization (NBRO), Sri Lanka and University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
WJB Fernando (NBRO), Kishan Sugathapala (NBRO), Udeni Nawagamuwa (Moratuwa), Chethika Jayaratne (NBRO), Dayan Munasinghe (NBRO), Jude Prasanna (NBRO)
New Research in Slavery and Atlantic World History in Brazil and the United States
Associate Professor Jane Landers, A&S
Department: History Department
Description: During February 2010 colleagues from three Brazilian universities visited Vanderbilt for a workshop on “Slavery and the Atlantic World.” The workshop was designed to share current research with interested faculty and graduate students from Vanderbilt, who also presented their researchThis collaboration will be followed by an upcoming workshop at the University of São Paulo on the same topic with faculty and graduate students from Univesidade Federal Fluminense and Universidade Estadual de Campinas also participating.
Partners: University of São Paulo, Univesidade Federal Fluminense, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Marina Mello de Souze, Christina Wissenbach, Mariza Soares, Silvia Lara
Establishment of a Long-term, Sustainable Collaboration Between Vanderbilt and Leipzig Universities
Assistant Professor Jens Meiler, A&S
Department: Chemistry Department
Description: This grant supports workshops at Leipzig University (LU) and Vanderbilt involving 5-7 visiting faculty from each institution. Proposed research topics include the development of small molecule modulators of the Human Neuropeptide Y 4 receptor as a novel strategy for the treatment of obesity and study of the structure, dynamics and interactions of the Human Neuropeptide Y 2 receptor. NPY is an abundant neuropeptide in the mammalian central nervous system regulating food intake, blood pressure, anxiety-related behaviors, and stress. NPY receptors are potential targets for treatment strategies against obesity or cancer. These workshops are a critical step in realizing the vision of this long-term collaboration, including application for external funding. Additionally, the partnership hopes to initiate a faculty exchange and short-term undergraduate exchange.
Partners: Leipzig University, Germany
Annette Beck-Sickinger (Biochemistry), Evamarie Hey-Hawkins (Chemistry), Ralf Hoffman (Chemistry), Daniel Huster (Medical Biophysics), Mario Morl (Molecular Biology), Andrea Anneliese Robitzki (Molecular Biology), Torsten Schoneberg (Molecular Biochemistry), Jan-Christoph Simon (Medicine), Peter Stadler (Bioinformatics), Norbert Strater (Bioanalytical Chemistry)
Comparative Study of Organizational Supports for Reforming Middle School Mathematics
Associate Professor Thomas Smith, Peabody College of Education and Human Development
Department: Leadership, Policy and Organizations
Description: The collaboration extends a project that Professors Cobb and Smith have been conducting in four large urban school districts in three U.S. states over the past two years. Professor Clarke’s work on cross-cultural comparisons of classroom practice supports the project’s capacity to address cultural difference in the goals, methods and practices of reform. The primary goal of this research is to investigate, test, and refine a set of conjectures about support structures that enhance the impact of districts’ adoption of a reform-oriented mathematics curriculum, as well as the professional development that supports the curriculum’s implementation, on mathematics teachers’ instructional practices, pedagogical content knowledge, and student achievement.
Partners: Beijing Normal University, University of Melbourne
Yiming Cao (Mathematics), Lidong Wang (Mathematics), David Clarke (Education)
Discovery of Giant Planets Orbiting Bright Stars
Associate Professor Keivan Stassun, A&S
Department: Physics & Astronomy Department
Description: The discovery of planets around other stars in the mid-1990’s ushered in a completely new field in astronomy. Most of the planets discovered to date have been detected by their gravitational influence. A more fruitful technique for learning more about the planets themselves is the transit method, in which millions of stars are monitored over the course of months or years, and astronomers search for stars whose light briefly dims in a way that indicates that it was periodically eclipsed by a planet. The power of the transit method is magnified in cases where the planet’s host star is especially bright. KELT-South, which stands for stands for Kilodegree Extremely LittleTelescope, will search the brightest stars for transiting planets, which will be the most scientifically valuable of all extrasolar planets. KELT-South was constructed at Vanderbilt and has been installed at its final location in Sutherland, South Africa. The placement of KELT-South in South Africa provides a vantage point for searching for planets around stars that are only seen from the Southern hemisphere. This grant will bring a graduate student at the University of Cape Town, to Nashville to involve him directly in the data reduction and analysis side of the KELT-South project.
Partners: University of Cape Town Rudi Kuhn (Astronomy)
Chemistry and Biology of Natural Products: Leads in Antitcancer Drug Discovery
Professor Gary Sulikowski, A&S
Department: Chemistry Department
Description: This grant will bring Professor Mark Rizzacasa, from the University of Melbourne, to Vanderbilt tp present a short course on Organic Synthesis to graduate students in chemistry and pharmacology as well as staff scientists in the Vanderbilt Program in Drug Discovery and the VICB Synthesis Core and. Professor Rizzacasa has recently developed an efficient synthesis of silvestrol, a potent anticancer agent isolated from extracts of a woody plant found in Malasyia. This natural product has generated considerable interest as a lead for the development of a new anticancer drug. It has shown excellent activity in vitro and in vivo against human breast and prostate cancer. Professor Rizzacasa’s visit will allow for in depth exploration of collaborative opportunities with Vanderbilt faculty that could advance silverstrol and related compounds toward the status of a clinical candidate in cancer therapy.
Partners: Univeristy of Melbourne, Australia
Mark Rizzacasa (Chemistry, Bio21)
Success Stories
With start-up funding from VIO, the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has spearheaded a new project with our core partners at the University of São Paulo. Along with VIGH, faculty from the Owen School (OGSM) and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) have partnered with the Faculty of Economics at USP (FIA) and the University of Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) to design, implement and evaluate a program that will create social and economic development with a direct impact on health and health care delivery services in the Zambézia province of Mozambique. Following the initial funding for exploratory meetings, VIGH successfully applied for additional funding from VIO with matching funds from VUMC, OGSM and A&S to continue the project. The preliminary structural analysis and needs assessment took place this summer and fall.
Professor Steven Elliott, with colleagues at the University of Melbourne and Griffith University in Australia, used VIO seed funding to conduct a study to measure the predictive validity or a screening system for social skills and academic competence when the criterion variable is student achievement. Schools in the US and Australia are increasingly interested in developing tools to identify students early on who are at risk for developing special needs later on. This study will help to develop and validate assessments that can be used to advance educational practices for students with educational difficulties in both countries. Professor Elliott and his colleagues will present a paper on their findings at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting in San Diego, CA in April 2009.
The Global Feminisms Collaborative (GFC), led by Brooke Ackerly, received exploratory funding from VIO to pursue a research relationship with the African Gender Institute (AGI) at the University of Cape Town. Jane Bennett of the AGI, visited Vanderbilt in January 2008. As a result of that visit, the AGI will host a graduate student this summer (funded in part by VIO), work to develop joint undergraduate curricular opportunities, and integrate the research networks of AGI and GFC.
With an exploratory grant, physics professor Jay Dickerson collaborated with Prof. Aldo Boccaccini of Imperial College, London to develop new methods for synthesis of carbon nanotube-nanocrystal structures. Separately, nanotubes and nanocrystals have important practical uses. Combining the two, however, presents the possibility of revolutionizing optical, magnetic and energy-storing devices. Professors Dickerson and Boccaccini recently had their research activities featured on the website for the London Center for Nanotechnology, and co-authored an article in Nanotechnology (pdf).
With a project development award, Professor Randolph Blake brought a pre-doctoral student from the vision sciences group at Utrecht University (Netherlands) to the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, where he was enrolled as a visiting graduate student in Fall 2007. The student completed one project that will be submitted for publication, facilitated a research collaboration incorporating two labs at Vanderbilt, and gave a tutorial on computational modeling to the VVRC lab, among other contributions. Blake's project, funded by the NIH, focuses on visual bistability, and has been featured in several co-authored articles in journals like Psychological Science, Journal of Vision, and Perception.
With a project development grant and matching funds from Dean Benbow, Professors Ellen Goldring and Steven Elliott (Peabody), along with faculty from Beijing Normal University, will hold a joint seminar on leadership development and assessment research at Beijing Normal or Peabody later this year. Prior to the joint symposium, each university will conduct seminars at the partner institution. Given China’s increasing interest in education reform, this partnership is key to growing our reputation in that country.
Natasha Halasa (Pediatric Infectious Disease) received a Category B grant to build a collaboration with Jordan University. With those funds, Dr. Halasa was able to bring Dr. Najwa Khuri-Bulos (Jordan University Pediatrics) to Vanderbilt for most of October, 2007. During the visit, Drs. Khuri-Bulos and Halasa were able to conduct more research on a joint project concerning respiratory surveillance, leading to publication and poster presentation at a major international symposium in Singapore in 2008. Additionally, Dr. Halasa is engaged in discussion with the General Counsel office on negotiating a contract that would allow international medical students to do medical rotations at Vanderbilt. A long-term goal of the collaboration would include the exchange of faculty between the two universities—an exchange that extends beyond the department of Pediatrics. Drs. Halasa and Khuri-Bulos are applying for additional funding that would allow them to continue their research and allow for Dr. Khuri-Bulos to return to Vanderbilt as a visiting professor.
Professor James Dickerson(Physics) received an exploratory grant to conduct joint research with faculty at the University of Cape Town on “Metallic Matrix Nanocomposite Materials.” As a result of Professor Dickerson’s collaboration with UCT, the PI’s at both institutions are pursuing a joint patent, and foresee the resulting product appealing to a broad market in Africa and elsewhere.
Peter Cummings, Electrical Engineering, received a Category B grant to establish a collaboration on the potential for mathematically modeling events involved in bone cell biology. Working with Greg Mundy, Center for Bone Biology, who also received funding to initiate an exchange program in musculoskeletal research, the two have had great success with Engineering and Medical faculty at the University of Melbourne. The teams have published an article in Bone journal, are seeking additional funding, and plan to initiate the graduate student or post-doctoral exchange.
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