Six junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows have been appointed this year to the Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholars (VFRS) program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
VFRS helps young investigators launch careers in biomedical research. It provides internal career development awards through the Edge for Scholars trainee and faculty research career development program that serves both Vanderbilt University and VUMC.
The 2024-2025 Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholars and their projects are:
Corey Bolton, PsyD, clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics — “Examining the Influence of Sociodemographic and Medical Factors on Plasma ptau217 Performance in Diverse Communities.”
Christian Egly, PharmD, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology — “Improving mutant KV11.1 trafficking to treat Long QT Syndrome.”
Scott McCall, MD, PhD, postdoctoral clinical fellow in the Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine — “Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-driven Modulation of Alveolar Regeneration.”
Emily Morrow, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Medicine, Divisions of General Internal Medicine & Public Health — “Characterizing the Needs of People with Type 2 Diabetes and Cognitive Dysfunction: A Mixed-Methods Approach.”
Eric Mukherjee, MD, PhD, instructor and postdoctoral fellow, Department of Dermatology — “Characterizing the Risk Factors and Immunopathogenesis of Cutaneous Adverse Reactions to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.”
Nadia Markie Sneed, PhD, MSN, postdoctoral research fellow, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing — “Whole Food for Families: A Pilot RCT of a Dietary Guidelines-Based Intervention to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes.”
Established in 1999, VFRS has enabled 171 funded scholars from VUMC, Vanderbilt University, and Meharry Medical College to pursue projects ranging from epidemiology and translational research to biomedical engineering. Eighty-three percent have gone on to obtain extramural funding, including K or R01 awards from the National Institutes of Health.
Up to 20 Scholars are supported through the Edge for Scholars program at any given time, with six funded by the NIH through VUMC’s KL2 grant, part of the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR).
“The VFRS program has helped to launch the careers of dozens of scientists doing impactful work across the basic, clinical, and translational research spectrum, and was fundamental to my own career success,” said Julie Bastarache, MD, VUMC Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development.
Bastarache directs the Edge for Scholars program with co-director Todd Edwards, PhD. Both are associate professors of Medicine.
“Edge for Scholars is one of the most successful training programs for clinical and translational researchers in the country,” said VICTR director Wesley Self, MD, MPH, VUMC Senior Vice President for Clinical Research, and professor of Emergency Medicine. “It is one of the key programs at VUMC that helps train the next generation of leaders in biomedical research.”
