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Vanderbilt Trainees Bring Evolution Education to Classrooms Across Tennessee
Jun. 6, 2025—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator From rural high schools to elementary classrooms, trainees of the Evolutionary Studies Initiative (ESI) are bringing evolutionary science directly to the next generation. On May 9, a team of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers visited McGavock Elementary School in Nashville to lead a series of hands-on science activities...
Vanderbilt’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative Honored with 2025 Friend of Darwin Award
Jun. 4, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has named Vanderbilt University’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative (ESI) as one of its 2025 recipients of the prestigious Friend of Darwin award. This national honor recognizes ESI’s outstanding contributions to advancing public understanding of evolution through interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach. Directed...
Pilot Grants: Opening Doors to Fellowships and Beyond
May. 12, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Since its launch, the pilot grant program has supported graduate students and postdoctoral researchers across a wide range of disciplines—including biological sciences, anthropology, Earth and environmental sciences, and biomedical research. Trainees have used this support to jumpstart fieldwork, generate pilot data, and explore new research directions. Several have...
A Conservative Defense: Downstream NFLs Resist Evolutionary Blitzes
May. 9, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator In football, defense keeps the opposing team in check. A similar strategy is at play inside our cells. Negative feedback loops (NFLs) help regulate how cells respond to signals, for example, dialing down activity when things get too intense. A new study from Vanderbilt University reveals that these...
Trainee Travel Grants Share Vanderbilt Research Worldwide
May. 1, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Since the program began in Fall of 2021, 70 trainee travel grants have been awarded across 13 labs in the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Anthropology. These awards have primarily gone to graduate students (49), though postdoctoral researchers (14) and undergraduates have also benefited...
Big Science, Small Grants: ESI Pilot Funding Powers Research Across Disciplines
Apr. 18, 2025—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Since launching in 2021, the Evolutionary Studies Initiative’s pilot grant program has helped support more than thirty research teams across the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth and Environmental Science, Anthropology, and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. The premise is simple: a little funding, awarded fast, to help researchers try...
New Research Reveals Surprising Dietary Similarities Among Saber-Toothed Cats—Plus, Join Us for a Special Kids’ Day Event at Bridgestone Arena!
Apr. 4, 2025—Nashville, TN – April 4, 2025 – A innovative study led by researchers from Vanderbilt University sheds new light on the dietary ecology of the iconic saber-toothed cat, Smilodon. The study, published in a special issue on sabertoothed organisms in The Anatomical Record, reveals that Smilodon fatalis and Smilodon gracilis—two species that lived thousands to...
Castiglione Lab Discover Horses Run Faster by Ignoring an Ancient Mutation that Says ‘Stop’
Mar. 27, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Evolution often makes a deal with the devil, creating challenges for treating human disease. By mass, the muscles of thoroughbred racehorses consume more than twice the oxygen of elite human athletes. Yet, oxygen produces free radicals, which damage organ tissues. Balancing energy production with oxidative stress is also...
Renowned Expert, Paul Koch, to Discuss Environmental Change Through the Lens of Paleontology for ESI Earth Day Lecture
Mar. 25, 2025—By Nick McCoy, Evolutionary Studies communications assistant Paul Koch, a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will present the Earth Day Lecture at Vanderbilt on April 16th, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Buttrick Hall 102. The lecture is free and open to the public. Koch’s most notable...
Scopes Hotels
Jan. 15, 2025—Hotel Information The link to book in the room block at the Marriott Nashville at Vanderbilt is here. There are several hotels in the area in a range of prices and distances from the Carmichael College. Feel free to use the information below to help make an informed decision regarding your hotel: COST Up-scale Loews...