VUMC

Evolutionary Studies Initiative Receives NIH Training Grant for Computational Evolutionary Approaches to Disease

Dec. 5, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator In July 2025, the Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt University secured its first initiative-wide grant to train the next generation of biomedical scientists. The grant funded through the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences T32 Training Program, provides funding for two graduate students annually...

Drawing with Neanderthals and mammoths with four large COVID cartoons in front. Black text reads Medical researchers develop new methodology for molecular mechanisms of disease

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...