Vanderbilt Kennedy Center News Thursday, July 30, 2026

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) announced today the 2026 recipients of the Corinne Kirchner Research Award, which will be presented to Dr. Rachel Schles, assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, and the Llura Gund Leadership Award, which will be presented to Ms. Marissa Miara, director of student services at Marshall B. Ketchum University.

Schles awarded Corinne Kirchner Research Award by American Foundation for the Blind

Last Updated: 7/29/2026 1:09:15 PM

Kindred Stories: Housing Opportunities and Barriers in Tennessee Communities [Art Exhibit]

Kindred Stories: Housing Opportunities and Barriers in Tennessee Communities [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 7/17/2026 9:53:41 AM

Ege Kavalali, chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, wants to know how the billions of cells in our brains talk to each other all day.

Ege Kavalali: From Circuits to Synapses

Last Updated: 7/16/2026 10:07:02 AM

Multistate study led in part by Vanderbilt Kennedy Center shows cerebral palsy in children is being identified sooner, opening doors for earlier intervention. ?

Earlier diagnosis of cerebral palsy signals progress in early detection efforts

Last Updated: 7/1/2026 10:16:33 AM

Autism and Augmented Reality: Exploring New Ways to Connect

Autism and Augmented Reality: Exploring New Ways to Connect

Last Updated: 6/15/2026 1:04:58 PM

First-of-its-kind study maps the lifespan of 72 distinct white matter “functional highways” in the human brain, from birth to age 100.

Vanderbilt researchers develop comprehensive guide for how the brain’s wiring changes with age

Last Updated: 5/29/2026 3:09:38 PM

In Germany, a Festschrift—literally “festival writing”—is an academic tribute that honors a scholar through collected works and new research from peers. On April 16–17, Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development hosted a unique event based around this tradition.

“Festschrift” honors lifelong scholarship of Lynn Fuchs, renowned special education and psychological sciences scholar

Last Updated: 5/26/2026 12:55:11 PM

Meador has integrated ethics into the daily life of clinical departments at Vanderbilt Health. Under his direction, the center expanded its reach across specialties, establishing programs in surgical ethics, pediatric ethics and maternal-child health.

Keith Meador, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society, to retire July 1

Last Updated: 5/14/2026 3:42:50 PM

The Benefits and Risks of ADHD Medication: Evidence from Real-World Practice

The Benefits and Risks of ADHD Medication: Evidence from Real-World Practice

Last Updated: 4/23/2026 9:47:40 AM

What Do You See? [Art Exhibit]

What Do You See? [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 4/10/2026 12:41:20 PM

On March 24, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver honored scholars from across Vanderbilt at an endowed chair investiture ceremony. While the ceremony featured a traditional processional and placement of a medal over each recipient’s head, the tradition of endowing chairs goes back even further.

Vanderbilt awards endowed chairs to 19 faculty members

Last Updated: 4/1/2026 3:49:52 PM

Awards were presented during the annual Spring Faculty Assembly on May 29.

School of Medicine Spring Faculty Assembly honors 14 ‘outstanding’ teachers, clinicians and researchers

Last Updated: 4/1/2026 11:59:06 AM

The 2025 fellows have been invited to the annual AAAS Fellows Forum May 29 in Washington, D.C.

Six Vanderbilt faculty named honorary fellows of prestigious scientific society

Last Updated: 3/31/2026 11:40:43 AM

Developing Gene Targeted Therapies and Clinical Trial Readiness for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Developing Gene Targeted Therapies and Clinical Trial Readiness for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Last Updated: 3/30/2026 3:47:05 PM

Menstrual Cycle Hormone Sensitivity in Neurodevelopmental and Mood Disorders: Implications for ADHD, Autism, and Adolescent Suicide Risk

Menstrual Cycle Hormone Sensitivity in Neurodevelopmental and Mood Disorders: Implications for ADHD, Autism, and Adolescent Suicide Risk

Last Updated: 3/13/2026 2:50:16 PM

A new study finds that a culturally sustaining treatment can help nearly half of young Spanish-speaking children with early language delays improve their skills significantly—five times more than standard care alone.

Early language intervention shows promise for Spanish-speaking children with language delays

Last Updated: 3/4/2026 4:17:28 PM

When education researchers team up with engineering and computing experts, students benefit.

Kids learn science by embodying it, with Vanderbilt AI-driven educational tool

Last Updated: 3/2/2026 1:43:29 PM

Velma McBride Murry recognized for career of impactful psychology research

Velma McBride Murry recognized for career of impactful psychology research

Last Updated: 2/6/2026 2:40:31 PM

Camilla Benbow and David Lubinski have won the Dunnette Prize from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), for their scholarship on talent identification and talent development in intellectually precocious youth. Benbow is Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University Peabody College. Lubinski is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology and Human Development.

Vanderbilt Peabody scholars awarded prestigious Dunnette Prize from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Last Updated: 1/27/2026 11:14:47 AM

Next Steps at Vanderbilt is a four-year, post-secondary program for neurodiverse learners that prepares students for post-collegiate success and independence.

More than a class: Vanderbilt Peabody College students find purpose, friendship in a unique service-learning partnership

Last Updated: 1/9/2026 1:02:32 PM

Emeson has been on the Vanderbilt University faculty for nearly 35 years and has led the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee since 2008.

IACUC Chair Ron Emeson retires from decades-long career devoted to science, students and service

Last Updated: 12/19/2025 4:30:09 PM

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) is thrilled to share that Pablo Juárez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, co-director of the VKC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) and TRIAD—the Autism Institute at the VKC, has been confirmed as President-Elect of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD).

Pablo Juárez named president-elect of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities

Last Updated: 12/11/2025 1:01:24 PM

Heckers is currently VUMC’s longest serving clinical department chair. He credits his longevity to the department’s culture and tradition of steady leadership, with each of the three previous chairs serving for periods of similar length.

Stephan Heckers to step down after two decades as Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences chair

Last Updated: 12/9/2025 1:18:27 PM

In daily conversations, most people are not aware of the complex brain processes taking place that make their conversations possible. However, understanding these processes could improve how AI communicates with people and how students learn at school.

Vanderbilt Peabody faculty receive NSF grant to study how conversation shapes memory, with applications for AI and education

Last Updated: 11/11/2025 9:17:24 AM

Improving Early Language Intervention for Preschoolers with Emergent Developmental Language Disorder

Improving Early Language Intervention for Preschoolers with Emergent Developmental Language Disorder

Last Updated: 11/4/2025 1:05:13 PM

The Order of Things [Art Exhibit]

The Order of Things [Art Exhibit]

Last Updated: 10/9/2025 1:53:50 PM

More than 120 poster presenters showcased their work among fellow colleagues across Vanderbilt and VUMC on Oct. 6.

2025 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day winners announced

Last Updated: 10/8/2025 10:14:10 AM

Evidence showed that deficiency in musical rhythm perception is a “modest but consistent risk factor for developmental speech, language and reading disorders.”

Studies find connection between impaired musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language disorders

Last Updated: 10/8/2025 9:09:30 AM

VUMC has published information and resources for providers, patients, and families.

FAQs on ASD, acetaminophen, and leucovorin

Last Updated: 10/1/2025 12:49:29 PM

If you are an educator—or work with educators—then it’s likely you have encountered Section 504 plans. These plans support more than 1.3 million students with disabilities across the country, but they differ from Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs.

An educator’s guide to Section 504 plans: Q&A with Vanderbilt special education researcher Meghan Burke

Last Updated: 9/12/2025 1:33:39 PM

VKC 60th Anniversary Virtual Celebration: Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Future

VKC 60th Anniversary Virtual Celebration: Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Future

Last Updated: 9/11/2025 12:49:24 PM

After a hard day of work, a parent reading a bedtime story to their child might feel too tired and stressed to think of questions that could spark insightful conversations about the story with their child. But these conversations—which scholars call dialogic reading—are critical to literacy development. They strengthen children’s reading comprehension and vocabulary, as well as their love of reading. What if there was a mobile app that could help these families?

Vanderbilt researchers develop AI-based app to strengthen children’s literacy skills

Last Updated: 9/5/2025 4:10:00 PM

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are on their way to finding out what science has to say about why music is important for health.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab is a space for learning for everyone involved

Last Updated: 8/5/2025 3:09:23 PM