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Ben Bratton Faculty Profile
May. 25, 2022—Benjamin Bratton is a new assistant professor at VUMC in the pathology, microbiology, and immunology department. He studies single cell microbial biology. “I’m really excited about how bacteria thrive. Most people want to kill the bacteria, but I want to know why they don’t die,” he explained. “Bacteria grow so fast they’re a great place...
“The Hunger Games: E. coli edition” demonstrates how mutualism and cooperative behavior shape species
May. 20, 2022—Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator Bacteria, not unlike humans, can take up more resources than necessary. When this happens, synthesized byproducts can leak into the environment. This allows the nearby bacteria to evolve cooperative behaviors, such as using the byproducts as nutrients. Cooperation in bacterial communities has also been previously observed with behaviors...
Megan Behringer Faculty Profile
May. 2, 2022—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator Megan Behringer joined Vanderbilt in 2020 and is currently an assistant professor of Biological Sciences with a secondary appointment to Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology. She serves as the associate director of the Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center and is a member of the Evolutionary Studies Initiative, currently serving...
Nashville Earth Day Celebration at Centennial Park
May. 2, 2022—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator The DeSantis DREAM Lab represented the Evolutionary Studies Initiative this past Saturday at the Nashville Earth Day celebration at Centennial Park. The booth was a smashing success by all accounts. Associate professor of Biological Sciences and Earth and Environmental Sciences, Larisa DeSantis and her lab, discussed the...
Researchers suggest that complex bird songs might require large populations
Apr. 28, 2022—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator Growing up in a small community has its advantages, but if you want to learn from world experts, you may have better luck in a big city. This is the case in the world of birds as well. Large populations of birds might be better able to...
Trainees of ESI receive high praise
Apr. 8, 2022—By: Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator We congratulate all trainees who applied for grants this cycle regardless of the result. Putting together major grants is hard work and a feat in and of itself. So, for those that didn’t get funded, keep your heads up, we still think you’re awesome! For the NSF...
Vanderbilt researchers use new method to target potentially undiscovered beneficial therapeutic chemicals
Apr. 5, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator A team of researchers from the Eichman lab and associated with the Evolutionary Studies Initiative led a project that was recently published in mBio. Graduate student Noah Bradley and undergraduate student Katie Wahl (BA21, BCB) were co-first authors on the work studying chemical compounds produced by bacteria....
Medical researchers develop new methodology for molecular mechanisms of disease
Mar. 29, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator Evolutionary Studies Initiative researcher Eric Gamazon and his former postdoctoral researcher, Dan Zhou (now faculty at Zhejiang University), recently published new software and methodology for understanding the molecular basis of disease. They then applied their work to understanding the genetic basis for COVID-19 severity. The study is...
Graduate student Jacob Steenwyk receives prestigious 2022 Harold M. Weintraub Award
Mar. 23, 2022—Jacob Steenwyk, a sixth-year doctoral student studying biology in the Rokas Lab, is a recipient of the 2022 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award presented by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Jacob Steenwyk He is the second Vanderbilt student ever to have received this honor, which recognizes outstanding achievement in graduate studies in biological...
Researchers aim to define host-parasite interactions by modeling the effects of coinfection on community dynamics
Feb. 14, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator Research conducted at Vanderbilt has been published in a new study in The American Naturalist that models how parasites interact to affect their host’s behavior. The results of the research, conducted by Faith Rovenolt, BA’20, and Ann Tate, assistant professor of biological sciences, reinforce an understanding of the influence...