Vanderbilt University School of Medicine continues to make impressive strides in research funding, rankings and faculty accomplishments, Dean Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, said Friday during the spring faculty meeting.
For the fiscal year that began last July, overall research funding has reached $976 million, continuing a trend of double-digit growth year over year. The medical school now ranks 10th in total National Institutes of Health funding when combining grants to Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that ranking goes up this year,” said Balser, who is also President and CEO of VUMC. “That is our signature as a research-intensive academic medical center — that we have a really large, robust, growing and vibrant research enterprise.”
Several departments rank in the top 10 nationally for NIH funding, with Medicine at No. 1. “Since Medicine comprises an enormous part of our faculty, where Medicine goes in terms of the grant portfolio, that’s where you tend to go as an institution,” Balser said. “So having Medicine at No. 1 is especially impactful.”
With the medical school continuing to be a magnet for top talent, Balser recognized several faculty who earned prestigious awards this year: Wenhan Zhu, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, was named a Pew Biomedical Scholar; Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, received one of eight 2023 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund; and Michael DeBaun, MD, MPH, professor and chair of Pediatrics, received the Paragon Award from the Doris Duke Foundation.
Perhaps the most prestigious recognition was the appointment of VUMC’s Kimryn Rathmell, MD, as director of the National Cancer Institute. “This is one of the most prestigious appointments that Vanderbilt has had in the biomedical sciences,” Balser said.
Medical student applications for fall 2024 are up 5%, bucking the national trend, down 1% this year. Some 75% of graduating students matched into top-25 residency programs. Thirty students, perhaps a record high, will stay at VUMC for residency.
To accommodate growth, the Medical Center is constructing a 15-level inpatient tower (completion estimated in 2026), the largest expansion to date for Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH). Balser noted that VUH capacity is currently strained, with long waits for patients in the emergency department.
Balser concluded with remarks on new VUMC policies and initiatives crafted in response to growing violence in the workplace across health care.
“There was always some of this, but the amount of it going on in hospitals is really increased — physical violence, verbal abuse, behaviors that we just don’t find acceptable. … Everyone is welcome here, but all behavior is not. We call it our mutual respect policy. … What we’re doing is arming our people with what to do and what to say.”
Faculty awards honor teaching, research, clinical excellence
The 2024 School of Medicine Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Outstanding Contributions to Research and Extraordinary Performance of Clinical Service were presented during the annual spring faculty meeting.
EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
Recipient of the ROBERT D. COLLINS AWARD
For Teaching Medical or Graduate Students or Practicing Physicians in the Lecture Setting
Manuel Morales-Paliza, PhD, associate professor of Radiation Oncology. Morales received his bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from National University of Engineering in Lima, Peru, and earned his master’s and PhD degrees in physics from Vanderbilt University. He completed his medical physics residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and joined the faculty in 2008. Morales has taught physics, engineering and medical physics courses to more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students as well as other professionals for over 30 years. He has directed research theses at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels in physics and engineering.
Recipient of the JACEK HAWIGER AWARD
For Teaching Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in the Classroom, Lecture or Small Group Setting
Maria Hadjifrangiskou, PhD, associate professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Urology and director of graduate studies for the Microbe-Host Interactions PhD program. Hadjifrangiskou received her bachelor’s degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and her PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics from the University of Texas – Health Science Center in Houston. In addition to leading a diverse research team, she has developed graduate courses tailored to Microbe-Host Interactions student needs and helped revive an academic retreat for graduate students.
Recipient of the R. MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ AWARD
For Teaching Medical Students, Residents and/or Fellows in the Clinical Setting
Maya Neeley, MD, associate professor of Pediatrics, clerkship director in Pediatrics, and mentor of Batson College at the School of Medicine. A graduate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Neeley completed her pediatrics residency and chief residency at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland before joining Vanderbilt in 2010 as a pediatric hospitalist. In her many roles, she focuses on creating safe learning spaces for students to engage in dialogue, learn through missteps, and develop clinical reasoning skills.
Recipient of the ELAINE SANDERS-BUSH AWARD
For Mentoring Graduate and/or Medical Students in the Research Setting
Angela Jefferson, PhD, professor of Neurology, holder of the Herbert O. and Vineta Christopher Directorship, director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, and vice chair of Scientific Strategy and Innovation in Neurology. Jefferson received her PhD in neuropsychology from Drexel University and completed fellowships at Brown University and Boston University. She has established a well-funded research program in Alzheimer’s disease and is recognized for mentoring early career trainees and building programs to address the shortage of Alzheimer’s scientists and clinicians.
EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE OF CLINICAL SERVICE
Recipient of the W. ANDERSON SPICKARD JR. AWARD
For Clinical Excellence in a Cognitive Discipline
Lindsay Bischoff, MD, associate professor of Medicine, director of the Endocrinology Clinical Fellowship Program and medical director of the Vanderbilt Thyroid and Adrenal Center. Bischoff received her medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia and completed her residency and fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Bischoff is a national and international leader in thyroid cancer, serving on multiple guideline committees.
Recipient of the MILDRED T. STAHLMAN AWARD
For Innovation in Clinical Care
L. Dupree Hatch III, MD, MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics, medical director of neonatal intensive care units at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and director of quality improvement and implementation research for the NICUs. Hatch completed his pediatric residency and a neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at Vanderbilt and earned an MPH from Vanderbilt. His research focuses on improving the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of mechanical ventilation in critically ill neonates.
Recipient of the JOHN L. TARPLEY AWARD
For Commitment to Care of Underserved Communities
C. William Wester, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, and associate director for faculty development in Global Health. Wester received his medical degree from Dartmouth, an MPH from Harvard, and for more than 20 years has devoted his career to scaling up comprehensive HIV services in sub-Saharan Africa. He leads HIV initiatives in Mozambique and Nigeria and mentors the next generation of global health clinician scientists and researchers.
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO RESEARCH
Recipient of the KATHRYN M. EDWARDS AWARD
For Clinical and Translational Research Impacting Disease Prevention
Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, MPH, professor of Medicine and holder of the Anne Potter Wilson Chair in Medicine, director of the Division of Epidemiology and the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, and associate director for Population Sciences Research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Zheng received his medical degree from Shanghai Medical University and PhD in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University. His major research focuses on evaluating environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, genetics and biomarkers for risk of cancer and other chronic diseases in diverse populations.
Recipient of the JOHN H. EXTON AWARD
For Research Leading to Innovative Biological Concepts
Ian Macara, PhD, professor and chair of Cell and Developmental Biology and holder of the Louise B. McGavock Chair. Macara received his PhD from Sheffield University in the U.K. His research has made impressive contributions to the understanding of GTP-binding proteins, elucidating their critical roles in nuclear trafficking, cell polarity and stem cell organization. He has published over 200 research papers and is committed to training the next generation of scientists.
Recipient of the KEVIN B. JOHNSON AWARD
For Innovative Approaches Advancing Clinical Practice and/or Biomedical Research
Colin Walsh, MD, MA, associate professor of Biomedical Informatics, Medicine, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Walsh received his medical degree from the University of Chicago and a master’s in biomedical informatics from Columbia University. His research focuses on machine learning for clinical decision support, scalable phenotyping with clinical data, and public health informatics for preventive health care artificial intelligence. He has over 80 peer-reviewed publications and has mentored many trainees who have gone on to impactful careers.
Recipient of the GRANT W. LIDDLE AWARD
For Outstanding Contributions in Clinical Research
Debra Friedman, MD, MS, E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Pediatric Oncology, professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, division director of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, and deputy director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Friedman received her medical degree from Rutgers and a master’s in epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research has led to novel models of cancer survivorship care and clinical trials resulting in paradigm-changing therapies for Hodgkin’s lymphoma and retinoblastoma.
Recipient of the CHARLES R. PARK AWARD
For Basic Research Revealing Insights into Physiology and Pathophysiology
Richard Peek Jr., MD, professor of Medicine and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, holder of the Mina Cobb Wallace Chair in Immunology, and division director of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. Peek received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina, completed residency and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and clinical and research fellowships at Vanderbilt. His groundbreaking research focuses on defining mechanisms of Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis in the context of gastric cancer, with over 200 publications spanning basic to clinical sciences.