By: Jan Rosemergy
Three Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Grants have been awarded for 2016-17, announced Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., Vanderbilt Kennedy Center director and Annette Schaffer Eskind Chair.
These annual awards are a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) grant program open to VKC investigators or members. Their purpose is to support multidisciplinary, innovative preclinical or clinical pilot studies in preparation for submitting competitive grant applications to federal agencies or private foundations. The program is made possible by the generous gifts of members of the Nicholas Hobbs Society, the VKC donor society.
For 2016-17, individual grant awards range from $25,000 to $30,000.
“The Walther Family Discovery Grant in the area of autism spectrum disorder was awarded to Pablo Juarez, TRIAD director, and an exceptional team of TRIAD researchers,” Dykens said. “Their project addresses the crucial need for early intervention for children with ASD in rural areas.”
The Walther Family Discovery Grant is:
- Assessing feasibility and impact of telemedicine-based early intervention services¬— Pablo Juárez, M.Ed., BCBA, PI (Pediatrics, Psychiatry, VKC TRIAD); Kevin B. Sanders, M.D., Co-Inv. (Clinical Psychiatry, VKC TRIAD); Zachary Warren, Ph.D., Co-Inv. (Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Special Education, VKC TRIAD); Alacia Stainbrook, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Co-Inv. (Pediatrics, VKC TRIAD).
The two other Discovery Grants awarded are:
- CaMKII in autism spectrum disorder—Roger Colbran, Ph.D., PI (Molecular Physiology & Biophysics); James Bodfish, Ph.D. (Hearing & Speech Sciences); James Sutcliffe, Ph.D. (Molecular Physiology & Biophysics); Jason Stephenson, Ph.D. (Molecular Physiology & Biophysics)
- Rescue of behavioral circadian phenotypes in Angelman syndrome model mice—Carl Johnson, Ph.D.,
PI (Biological Sciences); Rebecca Ihrie, Co-PI (Cancer Biology)
“We are privileged to support all these endeavors,” said Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., VKC associate director, James G. Blakemore Chair and Vice Chair for Research in Psychiatry. “We expect that this exploratory research will attract further attention and research funding from the federal agencies.”
“We are enormously grateful to the Mike Walther Family and to all our Nicholas Hobbs Society members for their generosity, which makes these innovative pilot grants possible,” Dykens said.
Last Updated: 1/21/2016 9:05:06 AM
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