Vanderbilt Kennedy Center News Monday, October 2, 2023

Weeding Out the Bad from the Good: Strategies for Researchers Preventing and Identifying Invalid Online Survey Responses

Weeding Out the Bad from the Good: Strategies for Researchers Preventing and Identifying Invalid Online Survey Responses

Last Updated: 9/22/2023 10:34:20 AM

Erin Calipari, associate professor of pharmacology and associate director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, has received a grant of nearly $2 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to understand what happens in the brain that makes individuals return to drinking after periods of abstinence.

Erin Calipari receives $2M to study how alcohol use disorder develops in the brain

Last Updated: 9/18/2023 11:07:52 AM

Study with a million-plus subjects finds shared genetic susceptibility to tobacco, alcohol, opioid and cannabis addictions.

Brain Genetics Influence Profile of Addiction Risk

Last Updated: 9/14/2023 1:47:34 PM

Design and Development of VR HMDs With/For Autistic Groups; Examples of Applied VR Led by Autistic Input and Feedback

Design and Development of VR HMDs With/For Autistic Groups; Examples of Applied VR Led by Autistic Input and Feedback

Last Updated: 9/12/2023 1:09:15 PM

Earlier this year, the U.S. and Tennessee Departments of Education awarded grants totaling more than $9.9 million to Hilary Travers, PhD’21, research assistant professor of special education, to support transition outcomes of students with disabilities in Tennessee.

Peabody College researcher awarded more than $9.9 million to support students with disabilities, visual impairments

Last Updated: 9/8/2023 3:24:41 PM

Many students from Spanish-speaking homes—whether designated as English learners or not—struggle with English language and reading comprehension, including students born and raised in the U.S. and who attend English-only-instruction schools. These students’ low scores on standardized English reading and language assessments are often associated with their disproportionate representation in special education, but the use of English-only assessments raises concerns about educational equity as well as whether and to what extent students from Spanish-speaking homes are misrepresented in special education.

Mancilla-Martinez receives $1.66M grant to study assessment practices for students from Spanish-speaking homes

Last Updated: 9/8/2023 3:23:59 PM

A five-year, $3.9 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders will support novel research into the brain function of language development in 4- to- 8-year-old late talkers with language delay to identify predictive biomarkers that could support early screening and treatment.

Booth leads first longitudinal study to identify biomarkers of language delay in young children

Last Updated: 9/1/2023 2:28:40 PM

Kindred Stories: Mental Health and Disability [Art Exhibit]

Kindred Stories: Mental Health and Disability [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 8/25/2023 11:11:32 AM

Laurie Cutting, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor and professor of special education, psychology and human development, electrical and computer engineering, radiology and pediatrics, has been appointed associate provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, effective Aug. 1.

Laurie Cutting appointed associate provost in Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation

Last Updated: 8/14/2023 8:44:27 AM

Former Vanderbilt Kennedy Center director Travis I. Thompson, Ph.D., died Aug. 2, in Roseville, Minn., after an extended illness.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center mourns the loss of former director Travis Thompson

Last Updated: 8/8/2023 11:12:37 AM

Kathryn Humphreys, associate professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt Peabody College, has won a 2023 Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences. According to the federation, the award “recognizes scientists from FABBS member societies who have made major contributions to the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior.”

Humphreys receives Early Career Impact Award for contributions to brain and behavioral sciences

Last Updated: 8/2/2023 10:25:21 AM

Mark Wallace, Louise B. McGavock Chair of Neuroscience, professor of psychology, is leading a five-year project to characterize how sensory and multisensory perception develops in children.

Vanderbilt neuroscientist leading international research to explore multisensory perception development in children

Last Updated: 7/31/2023 9:28:04 AM

On July 20, representatives of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation headed to Washington, D.C. to advocate for Rett syndrome.

Neul, International Rett Syndrome Foundation advocates in Washington, D.C.

Last Updated: 7/24/2023 10:11:10 AM

The Academy for Excellence in Education was established in 2006 to provide a forum to foster higher levels of participation and promote excellence and scholarship in the delivery of education to health professionals.

Academy for Excellence in Education elects 13 new members

Last Updated: 7/20/2023 8:24:51 AM

The first drug to treat the symptoms of Rett syndrome was recently approved, following a Nature Medicine study publishing results from the pivotal phase 3 LAVENDER study led by investigators from Vanderbilt University Medical Center to evaluate efficacy and safety of trofinetide.

Rett syndrome drug studied at Vanderbilt approved for patients

Last Updated: 7/14/2023 10:49:41 AM

Megan Saylor, professor of psychology and human development, has been appointed chair of the Department of Psychology and Human Development, beginning July 1, 2023. She replaces Bethany Rittle-Johnson, Anita S. and Antonio M. Gotto Chair in Child Development and professor of psychology and human development, who led the department as chair from January 2019 to June 2023.

Megan Saylor becomes chair of the Department of Psychology and Human Development

Last Updated: 7/6/2023 1:55:55 PM

A recent study published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology demonstrates that measures of brain function related to emotional processing in adolescents with depression could improve predictions of treatment outcomes in response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Study reveals brain function predictors of treatment outcomes for adolescent depression

Last Updated: 7/6/2023 10:45:07 AM

The Call for Poster Abstracts for the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

2023 VKC Science Day set for Nov. 30; Call for Posters opens on July 3

Last Updated: 6/27/2023 12:25:12 PM

New understandings emerge of the psychiatric, cognitive and behavioral cues that precede motor symptoms in Huntington’s disease.

Brain Manifests Early Signs in Huntington’s

Last Updated: 6/7/2023 6:49:31 PM

New research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry provides the most rigorous and comprehensive evidence to date that children exposed to severe psychosocial deprivation at a young age benefit substantially in cognitive and physical outcomes when they receive enriching family-based care.

Humphreys’ study shows broad benefits of family-based care on recovery from psychosocial deprivation

Last Updated: 5/24/2023 4:58:58 PM

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center announces new leadership for its University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VKC UCEDD). Julie Lounds Taylor, Ph.D., and Pablo Juárez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, will succeed Elise McMillan, J.D., who officially retires June 30, 2023. Taylor and Juárez each have longstanding histories with the VKC and bring unique expertise to the UCEDD leadership team with an emphasis on research, program development and expansion, and advocacy.

Welcoming Pablo Juárez and Julie Lounds Taylor as VKC UCEDD co-directors

Last Updated: 5/24/2023 11:34:28 AM

After 28 years of working to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families, Elise McMillan, J.D., has announced she will retire from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) in June 2023. McMillan currently serves as the director of the VKC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VKC UCEDD), director of Community Engagement and Public Policy team, and senior lecturer in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center UCEDD director Elise McMillan to retire

Last Updated: 5/24/2023 11:33:27 AM

Research Ethics Grand Rounds Panel Discussion: "Community Engagement and Collaboration in Research Development and Implementation"

Community Engagement and Collaboration in Research Development and Implementation

Last Updated: 5/22/2023 12:33:38 PM

Kennedy Center Lectures on Development and Developmental Disabilities: “Empathy and Morality Should Not Be Conflated”

Empathy and Morality Should Not Be Conflated

Last Updated: 5/5/2023 3:08:21 PM

Kennedy Center Lectures on Development and Developmental Disabilities: "The Healthcare Transition for Youth with ASD"

The Healthcare Transition for Youth with ASD

Last Updated: 4/25/2023 4:35:05 PM

Mental Health through Expressive Imagery [Art Exhibit]

Mental Health through Expressive Imagery [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 4/11/2023 4:55:38 PM

VKC Special Lecture: "Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder"

Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Last Updated: 4/6/2023 3:55:17 PM

Autumn Kujawa, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, has won the 2023 Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychophysiology from the Society for Psychophysiological Research, an international scientific society.

Kujawa receives Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychophysiology

Last Updated: 4/6/2023 2:16:48 PM

VKC Conversation Series on Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: "Mental Health in Individuals with IDD"

Mental Health in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Last Updated: 3/31/2023 2:07:43 PM

One in 36 (2.8%) 8-year-old children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to an analysis published today in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Autism prevalence higher, according to data from 11 ADDM Communities

Last Updated: 3/24/2023 3:58:17 PM

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved DAYBUE™ (trofinetide) for the treatment of Rett syndrome in adult and pediatric patients two years of age and older. DAYBUE is the first and only drug approved for the treatment of Rett syndrome.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals announces U.S. FDA approval of trofinetide for treatment of Rett syndrome

Last Updated: 3/20/2023 9:20:24 AM

Researchers in the labs of Laurie Cutting, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor and professor of special education at the Peabody College of education and human development, and Bennett Landman, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the School of Engineering, recently published a study in Magnetic Resonance Imaging exploring a new tool for imaging the brains of neurofibromatosis type 1 patients and its significance in assessing their symptoms.

Automated tool can link brain scans to cognitive deficits in people with neurofibromatosis 1

Last Updated: 3/20/2023 9:19:26 AM

When a parent needs to cook dinner or take a shower, often they will place their baby in a bouncy seat, swing, exersaucer, or similar seating device intended to protect the baby and grant a degree of independence to both the parent and infant. For many parents, these devices represent a helpful extra set of hands; for babies, the freedom to safely explore their immediate surroundings. As useful as these devices are to both parents and infants, they may present trade-offs regarding their effect on infant’s exposure to adult language, which is critical for language development. That’s according to a new study by researchers at the Stress and Early Adversity Lab at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development.

Infant seating devices may reduce language exposure

Last Updated: 3/7/2023 12:23:52 PM

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently appointed Velma McBride Murry to the National Advisory Mental Health Council. The council advises the current U.S. secretary of health and human services and the director of the National Institute for Mental Health.

Velma McBride Murry appointed to national advisory board for mental health

Last Updated: 1/23/2023 1:42:15 PM

Physical health disparity conditions in autistic adults have not been the focus of any research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the last four decades, an analysis of a federal database found.

Federally funded studies into treatment for chronic conditions overlook efficacy in adults with autism, analysis finds

Last Updated: 1/23/2023 1:14:19 PM

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, the VKC Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the Division of Developmental Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center announce that Jeffrey Hine has been named DDM and TRIAD Director of Primary Care Outreach and Training.

Hine tapped as DDM,TRIAD Director of Primary Care Outreach and Training

Last Updated: 1/17/2023 10:26:27 AM

The early childhood years are critical as children are rapidly developing the social, emotional, cognitive and language skills necessary for social-emotional competence. Vanderbilt Peabody College Professor Mary Louise Hemmeter has received an $11.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) to expand the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social Emotional Competence in pre-kindergarten (PreK) and kindergarten (K) classrooms in diverse districts across the country.

Hemmeter receives $11.9 million grant to expand Pyramid Model in pre-K and kindergarten classrooms nationally

Last Updated: 1/12/2023 12:02:05 PM

Healing Begins With Hope [Art Exhibit]

Healing Begins With Hope [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 1/11/2023 11:28:39 AM

Kathryn Edwards, MD, an internationally recognized Vanderbilt University Medical Center physician who has made countless contributions to vaccine evaluation and implementation, public health advocacy, and the mentorship and training of new generations of experts in infectious disease over the past four decades, retired on Dec. 31, 2022.

Infectious disease expert Edwards ends storied career

Last Updated: 1/10/2023 9:39:57 AM

Armed with a two-year, $141,444 grant from the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research, Elisabeth Dykens, professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, is developing the first psychometrically sound self-report survey of hyperphagia for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Notably, this project is the first to include people with PWS as collaborators in the research process, using the method, Participatory Action Research.

Dykens receives Foundation for Prader-Willi Research grant to engage people with Prader-Willi Syndrome in developing new self-report survey

Last Updated: 1/4/2023 3:47:41 PM

New News Item

VKC celebrates Special Education professor Erik Carter's student mentorship, community impact ahead of departure

Last Updated: 12/19/2022 8:58:51 AM

Research Ethics Grand Rounds Panel Discussion: "Benefits and Challenges of Pragmatic Trials for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities"

Benefits and Challenges of Pragmatic Trials for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Last Updated: 12/16/2022 10:54:01 AM

Experts from the Institute for Scientific Information identified 13 faculty at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center as among the top one percent of cited researchers worldwide.

Vanderbilt University, VUMC faculty named Highly Cited Researchers, rank in top 1 percent by citations

Last Updated: 12/15/2022 2:40:04 PM

Virtual reality may help smooth out disconnects between vision and hearing.

Brain's Sensory Processing Often Struggles in Autism

Last Updated: 12/15/2022 2:37:21 PM

Engaging infants with a song provides a readymade means for supporting social development and interaction, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Study finds sensitivity to musical rhythm supports social development in infants

Last Updated: 11/11/2022 8:49:03 AM

Centering Autistic Perspectives in Applied Behavior Analysis

Centering Autistic Perspectives in Applied Behavior Analysis

Last Updated: 11/4/2022 2:01:25 PM

A little over 10 years ago, a group of motivated and caring people formed what they chose to call TennesseeWorks, and this group had one goal in mind: to increase the number of young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are employed in Tennessee.

A Lot Has Happened in 10 Years of TennesseeWorks

Last Updated: 11/3/2022 8:35:59 AM

President Joe Biden has appointed Vanderbilt Peabody College research professor Douglas Fuchs to serve on the 15-member National Board for Education Sciences. The appointment was announced Oct. 27.

Vanderbilt special education researcher receives White House appointment

Last Updated: 11/3/2022 8:34:56 AM

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center held its 13th annual VKC Science Day on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center. It was the first time since January 2019 that Science Day participants were able to meet in-person to celebrate collaboration and innovation among VKC-affiliated research labs.

2022 VKC Science Day Poster Competition winners announced

Last Updated: 11/2/2022 11:16:06 AM

TRIAD’s Response to Association for Behavior Analysis International Draft Report and Recommendations on Contingent Electric Skin Shock

TRIAD’s response to ABAI’s Draft Report/Recommendations on CESS

Last Updated: 10/19/2022 7:44:41 AM

The first large-scale genomic study of musicality — recently featured on the cover of Nature Human Behaviour — identified 69 genetic variants associated with beat synchronization, meaning the ability to move in synchrony with the beat of music.

Research shows genetic link to moving to the beat of music

Last Updated: 10/18/2022 9:31:31 AM

Three Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected this year to membership in the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), a prestigious, non-governmental organization that advises the nation and the world on important aspects of medical science, health care and public health.

Vanderbilt’s Carpenter, Monteggia and Rathmell elected to National Academy of Medicine

Last Updated: 10/18/2022 9:29:35 AM

down the road [Art Exhibit]

down the road [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 10/13/2022 2:09:07 PM