Call for Nominations: 2025 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar

Posted by daviskd2 on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 in News.

Nominations for the 2025 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar are invited now through June 27, 2025.

Candidates for the Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar are graduate students in biomedical sciences at Vanderbilt (Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. track) who have completed the qualifying exam and have at least one year left to complete the Ph.D. degree. Competitive nominees are those who demonstrate excellent leadership qualities through their research and service to the scientific community, as well as characteristics that exhibit outstanding potential to impact medicine through research during their careers.

The Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar receives a $1,000 cash prize and is afforded the distinct opportunity to be mentored for a year by the corresponding recipient of the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science – a scientist of national reputation who has a stellar record of research accomplishments and is known for their mentorship. Additionally, the Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar is eligible to receive up to $1,000 reimbursement to be used for travel expenses related to advancing their professional development.

This cycle’s Scholar will be mentored by the 2025 Vanderbilt Prize recipient, Dr. Huda Akil, Gardner C. Quarton Distinguished University Professor of Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School and Senior Research Professor, Michigan Neuroscience Institute.

The Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar will be recognized during Dr. Akil’s Discovery Lecture on September 11, 2025.

Nominee eligibility:

• Graduate student in biomedical sciences at Vanderbilt (Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. track)
• Must have at least one year left to complete the Ph.D. degree
• Must have completed the qualifying examination

Nomination process:

Nominations are accepted from department chairs or program directors in the biomedical sciences, as well as directors of graduate studies and faculty mentors.

Nomination materials should be submitted as a single PDF by June 27 to vumcresearchenterprise@vumc.org:

• Nominee’s CV
• Nomination letter from the faculty mentor, advisor, or nominator
• Copy of the nominee’s thesis proposal
• Committee report from the nominee’s qualifying examination

For more information, visit the Office of Research website.