Dr. Amanda Martinez-Lincoln was awarded an NIH/NICHD Research Career Development Award. Her K99/R00 will examine the role of executive function during reading and math in children. Learn more about her project at this link: https://reporter.nih.gov/search/v37q1ibXgECjrSnxEy39ag/project-details/10807195#similar-Projects
EBRL at FLUX 2024
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EBRL sends a hearty hello from the scientific conference FLUX! This years conference was held in Baltimore on September 28-30th. Post-docs and PhD students from our lab got a chance to both connect with and present data from our lab to fellow scientists in the field and across disciplines. Scientific conferences like FLUX allow us to make connections with fellow researchers and learn from each other. Members of EBRL go to a variety of different conferences throughout the year and just like always we had a blast!
If you’re curious about the Flux Society, please visit their website here. An excerpt from their website about the purpose of the conference:
“The Flux Society’s purpose is to advance the understanding of human brain development by serving as a forum for professional and student scientists, physicians, and educators to: exchange information and educate the next generation of developmental cognitive neuroscience researchers; make widely available scientific research findings on brain development; encourage translational research to clinical populations; promote public information by discussing implications on the fields of education, health, juvenile law, parenting, and mental health, and encourage further progress in the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience.”
Emily Harriott Awarded Lacy-Fischer Interdisciplinary Research Grant
At Vanderbilt, collaboration between the different colleges is a top priority. The university recognizes that some of the world’s most pressing problems won’t have a solution unless we pool our knowledge together. To that end, the graduate school offers the prestigious Lacy-Fischer Interdisciplinary Research Grants. These grants enable teams across fields to bridge the gap between the disciplines and add to their respective fields. EBRL’s own Emily Harriott has been awarded one of the grants for her and her collaborator Harrison Parent combining the fields of neuroscience and pharmacology to further examine children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1.
If you’d like to find out more about Vanderbilt’s push for interdisciplinary research, learn more here:
https://gradschool.vanderbilt.edu/funding/internal-funding-opportunities/
Dr. Laurie Cutting Appointed Associate Provost
Effective August 1st, Dr. Laurie Cutting received an appointment of Associate Provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation. No stranger to appointments and accolades, Dr. Cutting is happy to be given the chance to drive innovative research forward and strengthen ties with Vanderbilt’s many research partners.
“Laurie is a recognized leader in her field with a strong track record of collaborating with VUMC researchers through her work with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center,” said Padma Raghavan, vice provost for research and innovation. “As associate provost, she will leverage her areas of expertise and broad network of colleagues to spearhead the development of interdisciplinary translational research and innovation proposals to ARPA-H.”
Although we at EBRL aren’t losing Dr. Cutting in any sense, we are ecstatic to see what may lie in store for the future of research at Vanderbilt.
Read more about her new appointment at Vanderbilt’s press release on the appointment.
Dr. Andrew Lynn Joins the Faculty of University of Louisville
EBRL post-doctoral fellow Dr. Andrew Lynn has accepted an offer to join the University of Louisville! Our loss is their gain when he becomes an Assistant Professor in cognitive neuroscience this fall. Post-doctoral fellowships help people who have just earned a doctorate gain the necessary skills and publications to begin their careers as Principal Investigators in academia. He leaves the lab with our blessing and our continued support as he begins his academic career. Good luck in Louisville Andrew!
Emily Harriott wins NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
The National Science Foundation has a long history of investing in students with demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. This year, EBRL’s own Emily Harriott was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship from their Developmental Psychology division. About 12,000 students apply annually for the fellowship across the United States and only about 2,000 receive awards, making it an intensely competitive award. An honor so rare, in fact, that Emily holds the honor for being the first student from EBRL to receive it!
The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support taking into account an annual stipend of $37,000. According to the National Science Foundation, forty of the past beneficiaries have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 440 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. If you’d like to find out more about the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, see their website at this link or read about the history of the fellowship here.
Congrats to Dr. Tin Nguyen on a Successful Thesis Defense!
As you may or may not know, the presentation of a doctoral thesis is a massive milestone for individuals seeking to acquire a doctoral degree. It’s the final great stepping stone before becoming a doctor and we are extraordinarily pleased to announce that EBRL’s own Tin Nguyen officially defended his! Tin is now officially Dr. Nguyen and we couldn’t be happier for him. All of us here at the lab can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
You can learn a little about Dr. Nguyen’s thesis from his flyer here: (You can also send him an email. If there’s one thing we love talking about is research!)
Dr. Cutting to be Awarded at 11th Annual Research to Practice Symposium
The AIM Institute for Learning & Research annual Research to Practice Symposium is a free, day-long event that brings together literacy researchers and educators to learn and collaborate on important literacy themes. This year’s event, which will take place in-person as well as be accessible to a global audience via live stream, will focus on the complexity of reading comprehension and provide educators with insights for the classroom. The presentations will be moderated by Nancy Hennessy, author of The Reading Comprehension Blueprint. The event will also include presentations by Dr. Hugh Catts, Director of FSU School of Communication Science and Disorders at the Florida Center for Reading & Research, Dr. Amy Elleman, Director of the Literacy Studies Ph.D program at Middle Tennessee State University, and Dr. Tiffany Hogan, Director of the Speech and Language Literacy Lab at the MGH Institute of Health Professions.
Dr. Cutting will receive the Hollis Scarborough Award and make remarks during the event. Past Hollis Scarborough Award recipients include Dr. Hollis Scarborough (who received the inaugural award in 2019), Dr. Linnea Ehri, Dr. Mark Seidenberg, and Dr. Don Compton.
Register to attend the 2023 symposium at: www.aimpa.org/symposium.
Dr. Laurie Cutting Receives Peabody Distinguished Faculty Award
In recognition for her continued contributions and labor for Vanderbilt’s research and staff, Dr. Laurie Cutting was honored this year to be awarded the Peabody College Distinguished Faculty Colleague Award for 2021-2022. Receiving this award is an exceptional honor, yet there is always more to do. Research isn’t something you can hold or touch with your hands, but a horizon to strive for. And so, the work continues.
Dr. Aboud Receives Director’s Early Independence Award
Join us in congratulating EBRL’s Dr. Katherine Aboud in receiving the Director’s Early Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health! The award supports outstanding scientists with the intellect, scientific creativity, drive, and maturity bypass the traditional postdoctoral training period to launch independent research careers.
Check out the full release on Vanderbilt’s site here.