A research team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been approved for a $2.7 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS), a rare condition that inexplicably causes middle-aged women to struggle to breathe.

Professional artists, hobbyists and art enthusiasts from around the country will create sidewalk chalk art in Hillsboro Village this weekend during the premiere of Nashville Chalk Fest — the first celebration of what is hoped to become an annual tradition that benefits the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences.

Christmas Village, a three-day November shopping extravaganza run by a volunteer board made up of Pi Beta Phi alumnae, raised $388,000 for the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center from its most recent event.

Stephen Camarata, Ph.D., professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences, has been honored by Autism Speaks, a national autism advocacy and research organization, for dedicated service.

A Vanderbilt otolaryngology researcher has been elected a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), one of the highest honors the professional association bestows.

Christopher Wootten, M.D., has been named director of the Pediatric Otolaryngology Service, supervising the treatment of ear, nose and throat-related disorders in children at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Richard J. Smith, M.D., director of the Molecular Otolaryngology and Renal Research Laboratories (MORL) at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, will begin the 2014-2015 Flexner Discovery Lecture Series on Thursday, Sept. 11.