By: Jan Rosemergy
Three Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Grants and two Director’s Strategic Priorities Grants have been awarded for 2018-19, announced Jeffrey L. Neul, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt Kennedy Center director, Annette Schaffer Eskind Chair, and professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology.
“We are privileged to support all these creative, interdisciplinary research endeavors,” Neul said. “We expect that this exploratory research will attract further attention and research funding from the federal agencies.”
The annual Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Grants 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 VKC Leadership Council members and other friends of the VKC. For 2018-19, the maximum for individual VKC Discovery awards is $30,000.
New in 2018 are the Director’s Strategic Priorities Pilot Grants, at a maximum $50,000 award for research to be completed by the end of the current Fiscal Year. These projects are directed to original, empirical research that will contribute to an understanding of neurodiversity or that will advance neuroengineering methods related to the knowledge and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Topics, principal investigators, and co-investigators or collaborators for 2018-19 Hobbs Discovery Grants are:
- Neurophysiology correlates of emotional reactivity in traumatic brain injury—Melissa Duff, Ph.D., PI (Hearing & Speech Sciences); Alexandra Key (Hearing & Speech Sciences); Arianna Rigon, Ph.D. (Hearing & Speech Sciences)
- Therapeutic potential of M4 receptors in regulating repetitive behaviors—Daniel Foster, Ph.D., PI (Pharmacology); Jeffrey Conn, Ph.D. (Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery)
- Uncovering the genetic etiology of developmental language disorder—Reyna Gordon, Ph.D., PI (Otolaryngology); Jennifer Below, Ph.D. (Medicine); Stephen Camarata, Ph.D. (Hearing & Speech Sciences)
Topics, principal investigators, and co-investigators for Director’s Strategic Priorities Grants are:
- Implementation of a 3-D body mapping tool for emotion identification and communication— Sohee Park, Ph.D., PI (Psychology); Robert Bodenheimer, Ph.D. (Computer Science)
- MADCAP: Multisensory Stimulation And Data Capture Tool— Zachary Warren, Ph.D., PI (Pediatrics); Nilanjan Sarkar, Ph.D., (Mechanical Engineering); Carissa Cascio, Ph.D. (Psychiatry); Amy Weitlauf, Ph.D. (Pediatrics); Neill Broderick, Ph.D. (Pediatrics)
Last Updated: 1/10/2018 1:16:12 PM
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