Nearly 160 representatives of Richmond, Virginia’s Chamber of Commerce visited Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt last week to see firsthand what it takes to create a top freestanding pediatric hospital. (photo by Anne Rayner)

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt just received the highest compliment.

Nearly 160 people from Richmond, Virginia’s Chamber of Commerce spent the morning at Children’s Hospital on March 19 to learn the recipe for building a top freestanding pediatric hospital and how to replicate it. The group heard presentations from Children’s Hospital leadership and toured the hospital’s unique, child-friendly facilities.

“We are honored that chamber members selected Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as a world-class example of the type of freestanding children’s hospital that they would like to develop for the Richmond community,” said Luke Gregory, chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital.

The chamber chose Nashville for a three-day visit for its proximity as well as shared similarities, including size. Richmond’s metropolitan statistical area (MSA) has a population of about 1.3 million, while Nashville’s MSA is about 1.7 million people. But Children’s Hospital was the particular draw for the group.

Richmond is at a crossroad similar to where Nashville was probably about 20 years ago. The community there has multiple health care systems with fragmented pediatric services built within adult health care settings. The community wants and needs a freestanding children’s hospital and has the backing from a philanthropic family, but the logistics of what is needed to bring that to reality is still a work in progress.

Gregory gave the chamber a brief history of pediatric health service in Nashville, explaining that children’s health care has existed here in some form for nine decades, starting with the Junior League Home for Crippled Children. The key ingredients, he said, for a successful freestanding children’s hospital: community support/voice; a partnership and backing from community pediatricians; champions like Ann and Monroe Carell Jr.; an academic partner; and a strong partnership with obstetrics.

He noted that it took Nashville about 28 years of conversations to go from a children’s “hospital-within-a- hospital” to the facility that Children’s Hospital has evolved into today, with 1,400 children receiving care daily, 400 pediatric specialists, 2,200 employees and more than 300 community pediatrician partnerships. Now, Children’s Hospital has grown beyond its Children’s Way location and extends well into the region and across Tennessee.

Katherine Busser, president and CEO of Virginia Children’s Hospital Alliance, explained to her fellow chamber members why the visit to Vanderbilt was so important for their next steps.

“We have health care as an industry in our region, and we have good health care in our region as an industry from a business perspective. We have a lot of potential to build on what’s there,” said Busser, who is charged with providing executive leadership to help bring a freestanding children’s hospital to fruition.

“The next great addition to our region needs to be a freestanding children’s hospital built in partnership with the health systems that are there in our community. Hopefully, there will be lessons that we can all take back… (Children’s Hospital has) excelled, made the right investments and created the right relationships to have this be one of the top children’s hospitals in the country, and we have that potential as well.”

Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody introduced Jessica Meyer, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals ambassador and patient at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, during Tuesday night’s kickoff of the Opry’s 90th birthday celebration. Children’s Hospital is the Opry’s designated charity in the month of April. (Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry)

The Grand Ole Opry is marking its 90th anniversary this year, and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt will be the first of nine charities to benefit during a campaign called “Cause for Applause.”

April’s theme is “Thank God for Kids,” and Children’s Hospital will receive 10 percent of all ticket sales for April performances at the Opry when buyers use the code 4THEKIDS at checkout.
In addition, the Opry will be bringing artists to Children’s Hospital throughout the month.

The campaign kicked off at the Grand Ole Opry House Tuesday with country star Brad Paisley and a host of Vanderbilt representatives, including Steven Webber, MBChB, the James C. Overall Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Pediatrician-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital.

“Vanderbilt is very pleased to team up with the Opry, which has generously dedicated a month to our Children’s Hospital. Not only will the ticket proceeds help our patients, but the patients and their families will see be so excited to see the performers visit the hospital,” Webber said.

Country music artists such as Florida Georgia Line, Scotty McCreery, Casey James, Kellie Pickler and Charlie Daniels will be taking the Opry stage in April during the benefit shows.

“We’re excited to celebrate the Opry’s landmark 90th birthday by supporting nine causes which have been especially meaningful to the Opry and our country music community,” said Pete Fisher, Grand Ole Opry vice president and general manager. “We’re pleased to begin our Cause for Applause initiative with “Thank God for Kids” and our friends at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

“We’ve been honored to see their work firsthand, and some of the Opry’s most popular artists are already strong champions of the good things happening there every day. We look forward to playing a part in their great work throughout April as we kick off the 90th party at the Opry,” Fisher said.

Other charities that will benefit from “Cause for Applause” will be announced in the coming months.

At Monday’s ICD-10 Provider Fair, Shubhada Jagasia, M.D., left, Kevin Johnson, M.D., M.S., and Deidre Wright, VMG Operations System Engineer, review some of the changes scheduled to occur later this year as Vanderbilt University Medical Center shifts to ICD-10, a new medical coding and reporting system that will add more specificity to tracking medical diagnoses. (photo by Steve Green)

At Monday’s ICD-10 Provider Fair, Shubhada Jagasia, M.D., left, Kevin Johnson, M.D., M.S., and Deidre Wright, VMG Operations System Engineer, review some of the changes scheduled to occur later this year as Vanderbilt University Medical Center shifts to ICD-10, a new medical coding and reporting system that will add more specificity to tracking medical diagnoses.

Nominations for this year’s Vanderbilt Prize Scholar are now being accepted. The deadline is April 24.

Vanderbilt Prize Scholars are female graduate students in the biomedical sciences who are mentored by the winners of the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science.

This year’s scholar will be mentored by the 2014 Vanderbilt Prize recipient, Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a 2009 National Medical of Science winner.

The Vanderbilt Prize Scholar will be recognized during Lindquist’s Flexner Discovery Lecture on Nov. 19.

Vanderbilt Prize Scholars are women on the Ph.D. track, including Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. trainees, who are conducting biomedical research, who have completed the qualifying exam and who have at least one more year to complete their Ph.D. degree.

Nominations will be accepted from department chairs or program directors in the biomedical sciences, as well as directors of graduate studies and faculty mentors.

Winning nominees are those who demonstrate excellent leadership qualities through their research and service to the scientific community as well as characteristics that demonstrate outstanding potential to impact medicine through research during their careers.

Nominations should include a CV, statement from the faculty mentor/adviser, copy of thesis proposal and committee report from the qualifying examination.

Nomination materials may be submitted online to Danielle Certa in the office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Lawrence Marnett, Ph.D., until April 24. For more information, contact Certa at danielle.certa@vanderbilt.edu or 936-6228.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s project with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to record and preserve voices of local community members will be on campus Wednes-day, April 22 – Friday, 24.

StoryCorps is a national oral history project that gives patients, their loved ones, researchers, staff and others in the community an opportunity to share their stories.

A StoryCorps interview is 40 minutes of uninterrupted time for meaningful conversation between two people.

The goal is to recognize the people who enable health care work: patients, families, researchers, doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers and many other partners.

Some of these stories are edited into shorter segments, which may be shared with millions of Americans in a weekly, award-winning broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition and through the StoryCorps website and podcast. Participants will receive a copy of their recordings, which will also be archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Additionally, selected recordings will be featured on the Medical Center’s website and shared on social media.

To request to participate, visit http://www.nih.gov/about/voicesofNIH/. For more information contact Craig Boerner at craig.boerner@vanderbilt.edu.

You can also hear some of the StoryCorps recordings at www.storycorps.org.

(photo by Steve Green)

Louis Staudt, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Genomics and co-chief of the NCI’s Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, spoke about new lymphoma therapies at his recent Flexner Discovery Lecture.

Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, M.D., an expert in metabolic and endocrine diseases, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, April 2.

His lecture, entitled “Human Obesity and Insulin Resistance: Lessons from the Extremes,” will begin at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall. It is the Irwin Eskind Lecture in Biomedical Science.

Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, M.D.

O’Rahilly is professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, England, where he helped establish and now co-directs the Institute of Metabolic Science.

His team has focused on extreme syndromes of obesity and insulin resistance, including lipodystrophy, to gain insights into the physiology and pathophysiology of energy balance and metabolism. O’Rahilly and colleagues have identified genetic variants that cause extreme syndromes. They are using animal and cellular models to understand the biological mechanisms, with the goal of improving diagnosis, therapy and prevention.

O’Rahilly has received national and international awards including the Heinrich Wieland Prize, the Inbev Baillet Latour Prize and the Zülch Prize. He was elected to the Royal Society in 2003 and as a Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2011, and he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 2013.

O’Rahilly’s lecture is sponsored by the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center. For a complete schedule of the Flexner Discovery Lecture series and archived video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.

Patients seeking to participate in clinical trials have a new option in online tools for finding studies that might offer hope for their problem or condition.

ResearchMatch.org, a nationwide online research volunteer recruitment and engagement service funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and hosted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has launched a new search feature to give prospective research volunteers a patient-centered and user-friendly way to find clinical trials of interest.

“We have long sought to help match patients with research conducted across the ResearchMatch network, and this new functionality will further empower research volunteers and families seeking to participate in studies and trials anywhere in the country,” said Paul Harris, Ph.D., professor of Biomedical Informatics, research associate professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Office of Research Informatics.

The new tool is powered by the same extensive database behind ClinicalTrials.gov.

Users of the tool don’t need to know, for example, what a phase IV clinical trial is, or what terms such as “observational” or “interventional” connote in a clinical trials context. Users can start a search by answering a few simple questions about themselves. The website uses the responses to find relevant trials from ClinicalTrials.gov. Trials that have closed or are not yet open are filtered out.

In the next stage of the project, a dictionary package will be added to help users interpret medical and scientific terms that appear in clinical trial descriptions. There are also plans to expand the tool to disseminate trial results to volunteers, to help extend the volunteer connection beyond the last study visit.

“We are grateful that the National Library of Medicine makes this information public, as it allows us to better meet the needs of our volunteer community,” said Jill Pulley, director of Research Support Services. “Now we can make it easy for volunteers to take action by providing them an organized list of results that they can review with their doctors and families.”

“We think everyone will benefit from being better connected, but we believe it will be especially beneficial to those volunteers living with a rare or debilitating disease, as they are often the ones most desperate for information, access and hope,” she said.

More than 74,000 volunteers spread among all 50 states have registered with ResearchMatch.org. Some 2,520 researchers from 104 participating institutions are currently using ResearchMatch to recruit volunteers for more than 408 studies. For more information, visit www.ResearchMatch.org.

Ellie Moore, right, a former patient at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, will take part in her third Friends & Fashion show in April. (photo by Susan Urmy)

For more than 40 years, a group of dedicated volunteers known as the Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has worked to turn scary hospital visits into happier memories.

With a roster of more than 3,000 members, Friends, as the group is more casually known, has committed to fundraising, community awareness and supporting the patients and families of Children’s Hospital through a variety of activities and programs.

They organize more than 12,000 meals that are served each year through its monthly Family Dinner Night and weekly Lunch Bunch, a lunch for families of patients in the hospital. Pizza and Bingo Night are always popular, and closed-circuit television was added recently so patients who can’t leave their rooms can still play. Friends help with the Children’s Miracle Network Radiothon and Telethon each year, host staff appreciation events, hold an annual Fourth of July party and help organize and fund the “Time for Remembering” memorial service for families to honor loved ones who have died.

Friends of Children’s Hospital president Rachel Hornsby, left, with Friends & Fashion co-chair Angela Bostelman.

“As a mom with three kids who has made lots of trips to the hospital, it’s in my heart to make sure that other parents who have to bring their children here are comfortable,” said Friends president Rachel Hornsby, who has been a member for almost 15 years. “It’s comforting to have a group of volunteers who are dedicated to providing meals, basic comfort items and distractions or entertainment for the entire family during their hospital stay. I am proud to be part of an organization that thinks of the needs of the whole family during their time of crisis.”

Friends celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012 by making a $1 million commitment to support prematurity research. They also have committed to support the Growing to New Heights Campaign, a $30 million effort to expand the size and the reach of Children’s Hospital to patients.

“We are extremely grateful for everything Friends continues to do for the children and families who turn to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt for care,” said Kathryn Carell Brown, campaign chair. “Their generosity and dedication will bring comfort and hope to so many.”

Among the organization’s signature annual fundraisers is Friends & Fashion, which began 25 years ago as a luncheon for women in Williamson County. One of the original organizers of this event was U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn).

“I was a young mom in a group of young moms, and we chose to do something for Children’s Hospital. We all had children who had used or could use those services, and we wanted to make certain that the hospital had the resources it needed to meet the needs of families in Williamson County,” Blackburn said.

“We met to discuss what we could do that would be a fundraiser, and we decided a fashion show would be a great start. So Angela Chapman and I took the lead that first year, doing the show. There is a photo of Angela and me presenting that first check. I think it was for about $2,500 that first year. We are many years down the road and still celebrating a very successful event.”

To date, the show has raised close to $1 million for Children’s Hospital.

“We’re amazed that it’s been around this long. I’ve been able to attend it on and off through the 25 years and now my daughter is involved in the process. How fun that people still come together for this event that continues to benefit an institution we all care deeply about,” Blackburn said.

The Friends & Fashion show, put on by Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital and sponsored by Belk, has raised nearly $1 million for Children’s Hospital since it began 25 years ago.

This year, Friends & Fashion, sponsored by Belk, will be held on Monday, April 13, at the Embassy Suites in Cool Springs. Belk has partnered with the Friends organization since their arrival in the greater Nashville area in 2006. The family-owned department store will transform the Embassy Suites ballroom for the show. Joining the professional models who will be showing off spring fashion will be current and past patients of the hospital modeling the latest children’s and junior fashions. Former Children’s Hospital patient Ellie Moore will be participating for the third year.

“I do, of course, enjoy getting all dolled up in a pretty dress and having my hair done, but the highlight of the whole experience for me is getting to hear the other kids’ stories about how Children’s Hospital saved them,” said Moore, who is in the ninth grade at Harpeth Hall. “I enjoy seeing every year all the children hold up their sign with their sickness and how Vanderbilt saved them and see the faces in the audience turn from concern into a smile when the children flip their signs around to what they want to be when they grow up.”

Moore was born with transposition in the great arteries, also known as a blue baby. She had open heart surgery twice as a newborn and was given a 5 percent chance of surviving. She returns to Children’s Hospital yearly for a checkup.

“I want to major in education and minor in service learning. My experiences at Vanderbilt have influenced me to choose these particular things to study. They made me look at the world differently. The people at Vanderbilt spend all day every day helping people and saving lives. They have inspired me to help others,” Moore said.

Award-winning songwriter Brett James will serve as this year’s performer for the event. He and his wife, Sandy, have a son, Preston, who is a former Children’s Hospital patient and will be a model.

Friends & Fashion opens at 10 a.m. with a silent auction and shopping, followed at 11:30 a.m. with the luncheon and fashion show. Tickets are $125 per person ($90 tax deductible) or $1,500 for a table of 12 ($1,080 tax deductible).

“Without the drive, dedication and talent of the many volunteers who pull Friends & Fashion together year after year the event would not be what it is today. I am honored to be part of such a tremendous group, raising money for such a worthy cause,” said Friends & Fashion co-chair Angela Bostelman, acknowledging the 60 or so volunteers who are working behind the scenes. The event is also co-chaired by Vera Lee.

Several auxiliary events lead up to the fashion show including Sundae with Friends, a special mother-and-daughter event where young girls are invited to bring their favorite doll to share in the fun. Activities include hair and makeup styling for girls and dolls, a photo booth, a runway walk, a sundae bar and much more. This event takes place on April 12.

“All good ideas start with that question of ‘I wonder if this is something that would work? I wonder if this is a good idea?’ When you have that idea, give it the opportunity to grow. All ideas are going to start small — every idea has a beginning. It is the commitment to help it grow that is going to yield something that becomes a marquee event. Friends & Fashion started small, and it is now a major part of the focus of the Friends organization,” Blackburn said.

Vanessa Beasley has been appointed dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, effective July 1. (Anne Rayner / Vanderbilt)

Vanessa Beasley, an expert in race, gender and diversity in U.S. political rhetoric, has been named the next dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt University, effective July 1.

Beasley is an associate professor of communication studies and was named director of the Program in American Studies in 2013. She was appointed chair of the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault in 2014.

Provost Susan Wente (Vanderbilt University)

“Vanessa’s deep understanding of the value that diverse perspectives bring to our university community, as well as her proven track record of mentorship, will allow her to have an exciting impact on the residential living-learning experience for our first-year students as they forge their paths at Vanderbilt,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente said. “Through her various leadership roles with students and with her colleagues, she has demonstrated a commitment to exceptional undergraduate education and a keen ability to spur each individual to find their own strengths and passions. I am confident she will be an outstanding leader of The Ingram Commons.”

As dean of The Ingram Commons, Beasley will serve as the academic leader, mentor and senior administrator of the first-year experience at Vanderbilt. According to Wente, during Beasley’s tenure, the position will embrace the strong foundation laid since the inception of The Ingram Commons and new initiatives emerging from the undergraduate immersion experience envisaged in the university’s Academic Strategic Plan. Beasley, along with the 10 faculty heads of house, will reside at The Ingram Commons with her family.

“It will be my great honor to serve as dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. I want to help every incoming student realize that the outstanding qualifications, expertise, experiences and passions that brought her or him to Vanderbilt are just the beginning,” Beasley said. “Here we will help you find, ask and work on the questions that matter to you.  We will help you view these questions in new and different ways.  We know that the questions that matter to our students are the questions we all need answered.  Along with the exceptionally talented faculty and staff throughout the university, it will be my privilege to welcome, challenge and equip the next generation of Vanderbilt students.”

Beasley was appointed dean by Wente following a search process that began in October 2014 and was conducted by a search committee chaired by Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, the Orrin H. Ingram Professor of Biomedical Engineering. The committee included faculty, student and staff representatives.  Beasley will serve a five-year term beginning July 1.

The Ingram Commons (John Russell / Vanderbilt)

The Ingram Commons opened in 2008 as a new campus-within-a-campus for first-year Vanderbilt students with the goals of integrating living and learning, building community among students and professors from highly diverse backgrounds, and increasing student retention and post-graduation success. All 1,600 first-year students live together in The Ingram Commons’ 10 houses, each of which is led by a faculty head of house who serves as the house’s mentor and helps residents create their own community norms, identity and activities. It laid the foundation for the expansion of living-learning opportunities at the university, including Warren and Moore Colleges, which opened in the fall of 2014. Francis Wcislo, the first dean of The Ingram Commons, announced in September 2014 that he planned to step down as dean when his contract expired June 30.

The dean of The Ingram Commons reports to Vice Provost for Learning and Residential Affairs Cynthia Cyrus.

Cynthia Cyrus (Vanderbilt University)

“Vanessa brings a particularly collaborative style of leadership to The Ingram Commons,” Cyrus said.  “She tackles difficult issues by listening first, but develops a plan for action that integrates ideas from across a variety of perspectives.  She’s also actively engaged in her scholarship and looks forward to celebrating the completion of her next book this next year.”

Beasley is a Vanderbilt alumna, having earned her B.A. in speech communication and theatre arts in 1988. She earned her Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996. She held positions at Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Georgia before joining the Department of Communication Studies at Vanderbilt in 2007. She served as director of the Program for Career Development for faculty in the College of Arts and Science from 2008 to 2012.

As chair of the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault, Beasley has coordinated efforts to keep faculty leaders from every part of campus informed about the university’s efforts to eliminate sexual assault and other forms of power-based personal violence.  She was also one of the members of the Vanderbilt delegation in attendance at the Tennessee Summit on Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence in January at Tennessee State University, where faculty and staff from across the state met to discuss best practices.

Beasley was a Jacque Voegeli Fellow of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities from 2013 to 2014 and was the recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award for Distinguished Service to Vanderbilt University in 2012. This May, she will lead a new Maymester course that she created in partnership with Queen’s University, Belfast, which will explore the comparative, transnational understanding of the civil rights movements in the southern United States and in Belfast in the 1950s and 1960s.

Beasley’s areas of expertise include the rhetoric of American presidents, political rhetoric on immigration, and media and politics. She studies presidential speeches as well as how political campaign strategists take into consideration the expanding forms of media covering the candidates, including blogs and participatory/collaborative websites. In addition, she has a strong interest in race, gender and ethnic diversity in contemporary U.S. politics, including the rhetoric surrounding candidates’ campaigns and leadership styles.

Beasley is the author of numerous scholarly articles, book chapters and other publications and is the author of two books, Who Belongs in America? Presidents, Rhetoric, and Immigration and You, the People: American National Identity in Presidential Rhetoric, 1885-2000.

Beasley’s husband, Trey, is assistant vice chancellor for treasury and university treasurer at Vanderbilt. They have two sons, Adam, 16, and Charlie, 12.

For more information about The Ingram Commons visit commons.vanderbilt.edu.

Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered a cleft in a chromosome-binding protein that may hold the key to stopping most cancers in their tracks.

The protein, WDR5, is a “docking station” for a family of transcription factors called MYC that is overexpressed in the majority of malignancies and which contributes to an estimated 100,000 cancer-related deaths each year in the United States.

Once an MYC protein slips a “loop” of itself into the crevice in WDR5, it is able to turn on genes involved in growth and development. In the case of cancer, it turns on runaway growth.

“MYC regulates thousands of genes involved in growth and duplication,” said lead author William Tansey, Ph.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. “It’s sort of the Holy Grail of the targeted cancer therapy world.”

William Tansey, Ph.D.

Researchers have tried unsuccessfully to develop small molecules that can bind directly to MYC and block its ignition of cancerous growth. But the discovery of the crevice, reported in this week’s Molecular Cell, opens up a whole new vista of cancer-fighting possibility.

In collaboration with Tansey’s group, a team led by Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., solved the crystal structure of the MYC-WDR5 interaction. Now they’re now testing small molecules for their ability to block the crevice and prevent MYC from binding to the DNA.

Previously it was thought that MYC only needed to attach to another protein called MAX in order to create a DNA-binding “domain” capable of latching onto the DNA. MAX is still in the picture, but it is MYC’s interaction with WDR5 that may be the key to stopping it, Tansey said.

“This (cleft) is a surface you can develop a drug against,” he said. “If someone can make a small molecule that sits in here, then MYC won’t see WDR5 and it won’t get to its chromosomal locations.”

The potential is exciting.

“It’s very clear from preclinical models that inhibiting MYC in just about any cancer will offer some therapeutic opportunity,” Tansey said. If a small molecule is discovered, and is effective in pre-clinical and clinical trials, “you could imagine the impact of this could be quite significant.”
WDR5 has been known to bind chromatin, the DNA-bearing material that makes up chromosomes, for many years.

But its connections to MYC were unknown until Tansey and Lance Thomas, first author of the study, found that a central portion of the MYC protein conserved in nearly every species in the animal kingdom binds to it.

“That’s when we realized this must be important,” he said.

Fesik, the Orrin H. Ingram II Professor of Cancer Research, solved the crystalline structure of the MYC-WDR5 interaction, and disrupted the interaction by changing a single amino acid in the MYC protein.

At that point, three other labs at Vanderbilt joined the effort to determine the functional significance of the interaction:

• Zhongming Zhao, Ph.D., and colleagues in Biomedical Informatics performed the genomics analyses;

• Christine Eischen, Ph.D., and colleagues in Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology developed mouse models to test the tumorigenicity of altered MYC proteins; and

• Kevin Ess, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues in Pediatric Neurology conducted stem cell experiments to get at the basic biology of the interaction.

“I’ve never been on a paper with this many authors (18 all told),” Tansey said. “I think it really does testify to the fact that (Vanderbilt is) a very collaborative environment.”

The research was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants AG039164, NS078289, LM011177, CA148950 and OD006933.

Organizers for Vanderbilt University’s annual Rites of Spring music festival say a new policy regarding alcohol use will go into effect for this year’s event featuring headliners Chance the Rapper and Young the Giant.

Chance the Rapper

Festival goers will no longer be allowed to bring their own alcoholic beverages. Instead, beer only will be available for purchase from designated vendors at the event scheduled for Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, on Vanderbilt’s Alumni Lawn.

Security will check identification for all festival attendees prior to the purchase of beer and attendees will be limited to three beers per day.

Young the Giant

Non-alcoholic drinks and food will also be available for purchase at the event and the university’s Office of Wellness Programs and Alcohol Education will be providing free bottles of water throughout the duration of the festival.

Other policies attendees should be aware of include the following:

• Coolers will not be allowed to be checked in at the gates in order to reduce bottlenecks and speed entry to the event.
• Backpacks (including hydration packs), large purses and bags will not be allowed on festival grounds.
• Small clutch bags, approximately the size of a hand either with or without a handle or strap, and fanny packs are permissible.
• Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for medically required items after proper inspection.

“Our goals with the new policies for this year’s festival are to enhance access and safety. Similar to other music festivals, limiting what attendees can bring in will reduce gate checks and streamline entry. We also think having trained vendors who know the applicable laws regarding beer sales, methods for handling potential underage customers and procedures for dealing with intoxicated customers will reduce the risk of overconsumption at the festival,” said Kern Vohra, chair of The Music Group, the student concert committee that plans, publicizes and produces several concerts a year for Vanderbilt students and the Nashville community.

The committee provides an opportunity for students to work on the various aspects of concert production including contract negotiations, security, hospitality, marketing and technical arrangements. The Music Group also hosts the annual Commodore Quake concert held in the fall.

Tickets for Rites of Spring may be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information about the festival, visit the Rites of Spring website.

Representatives of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt‘s trauma injury prevention program will participate this year at the Southern Women’s Show April 30–May 3 at the Music City Center in Nashville.

Find them at the Kohl’s Safe Home & Safe Play Program booth. There will be drawings for car seats, Pack ‘n’ Plays and home safety kits.

Vanderbilt employees may purchase event tickets online at a 50 percent discount by using the Code VBLTWNA15. (door price $12, $6 using discount code).

CONTACT: Gigi Rose, gigi.rose@vanderbilt.edu

Paige Marta Skiba (Vanderbilt Law School)

Payday loans are used by people with a long history of financial stress and cause bankruptcy, says Paige Marta Skiba, professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School.

President Obama is scheduled to speak about payday loans March 26, the same day the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was to unveil new federal rules aimed at protecting low-income borrowers from predatory lending. Skiba has research showing that first-time applicants who receive a payday loan are nearly twice as likely to file for bankruptcy within two years as those denied the loan.

“Our research finds that payday loans and their interest payments may be sufficient to tip the balance into bankruptcy for a population that is already severely financially distressed,” Skiba says.

The law career of Judge Martha Daughtrey, BA’64, JD’68, is highlighted by a number of firsts. The first woman to serve as assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee in 1968. The first woman to teach on the Vanderbilt Law School faculty in 1972. The first woman to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1990. The Tennessean shares her inspiring story in the article “Tennessee judge’s epic firsts are historic, unparalleled.”

Kirkland Hall (Vanderbilt)

Vanderbilt is one of 220 institutions whose scholars are invited to apply to a new competition held by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Simons Foundation.

The national competition will award grants to outstanding early career scientists as Faculty Scholars. This competition will strengthen the community of basic researchers and physician scientists who bring innovative approaches to the study of biological problems. Scholars will apply molecular, genetic, computational and theoretical approaches to fundamental problems in diverse areas of biology.

Those conducting research at the interface of the biological and physical sciences are especially encouraged to apply as are physician scientists and others studying biological questions emerging from and applicable to global human health problems, including malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and other diseases that disproportionately affect individuals living in low resource settings.

Awardees receive a five-year, non-renewable grant between $100k and $400k per year, with up to 70 faculty scholars being appointed. Applications from outstanding women and minorities under-represented in the biomedical and biological sciences are strongly encouraged.

In brief, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria at the time of the application deadline:

• Ph.D. and/or M.D. (or the equivalent).
• Tenured or tenure-track position as an assistant professor or higher academic rank at an eligible U.S. institution, or, if at an eligible institution that has no tenure track, an appointment that reflects a significant institutional commitment. Federal government employees are not eligible.
• More than four, but no more than 10, years of post-training, professional experience. To meet this requirement, the applicant’s post-training, professional experience must have begun no earlier than June 1, 2005, and no later than July 1, 2011.
• Principal investigator or co-principal Investigator on at least one active, nationally competitive grant in the past two years with an initial term of two or more years. Career development grants qualify. Multi-investigator grants may qualify.
• Faculty scholars are required to devote at least 50 percent of their total effort to the direct conduct of research.

It is important to check with your department and school before applying for this competition.  Please establish eligibility and apply for the competition.

The deadline for applications is July 28, 2015, at 3 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). Reference letters must be received by Aug. 4, 2015. All applications must be submitted electronically following instructions on the competition web site.

The application includes the following documents:

• A curriculum vitae, including a bibliography and a list of current research support.
• An overview of the applicant’s most significant research achievements (not more than 250 words).
• A summary of the applicant’s ongoing and planned research program (not more than 1,500 words; references and up to one page of figures are not counted toward the 1,500-word limit).
• A statement of the contribution that the applicant is uniquely poised to make to his/her research field, and, where appropriate, potential to result in new approaches to human health problems that disproportionately affect individuals living in low resource settings (not more than 250 words).
• Statements distinguishing the applicant’s current work from her/his mentors and another summarizing the applicant’s current collaborative efforts (each not to exceed 100 words).
• PDF files of three selected publications that report the applicant’s most important scientific contributions with a focus on the most recent five years, as well as a paragraph describing the significance of each publication.
• Two reference letters will be required for each applicant.

If you have any questions about the foundation or its interests and priorities, contact Vivian Carmichael (vivian.carmichael@vanderbilt.edu), executive director, foundation relations, at (615) 875-4915. For additional information regarding the 2016 Faculty Scholars Competition please visit the website.

(iStockphoto)

Due to a change in the construction schedule, the closure of Highland Avenue scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, has been changed to Monday, March 30.

Highland Avenue will be closed to traffic from midnight to 6 a.m. on March 30.

The street will be blocked off from 25th Avenue to the entrance of the Highland Avenue Garage for a concrete pour. The garage will be accessible from 24th Avenue South.

Contact: Joe Fetherling, (615) 330-5384

Karen Ng (Vanderbilt)

An assistant professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University will discuss “Natural or Artificial? The Uses and Abuses of Appealing to Nature” at the Nashville Public Library on April 1.

Karen Ng will be featured at the latest in the series Thinking Out of the (Lunch) Box: Conversations with a Philosophical Flair with David Wood.

“We tend to think positively about things that are ‘natural,’ certainly as better than their artificial counterparts,” Ng said. “Examples would be food labeled ‘all natural’ or organic with ‘no artificial flavors.’ Also, individuals who are ‘naturals’ evoke ideas of inborn gifts and talents; whereas we avoid individuals we take to be artificial. There is further the appeal of untouched, pristine natural spaces, which help us de-stress and relax by getting back to nature. Why do we strive for things that are natural? And is natural always better?”

Ng looks at two potential problems with appeals to nature. “The first is the artificial nature of human societies,” she said. “The second is what philosophers have called ‘the naturalistic fallacy.’ Given these problems, how can we understand the ongoing appeal of all things natural?”

Ng, who received her doctorate in 2013 from The New School for Social Research, teaches and writes about German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and the philosophical movement called German Idealism.

Box lunches will be available, starting at 11:30 a.m., for the first 200 people to arrive. A voluntary donation of $5 is requested per lunch to help defray expenses. The lunch and program will take place in the library’s Conference Center.

A few changes have been implemented since the Vanderbilt Philosophy Department took over as co-host with the Friends of the Nashville Public Library. Reservations are no longer necessary. Interested individuals just show up at the downtown library.

For more information, call the library at (615) 862-5800 or contact David Wood.

As technological advances ‘evolutionize’ higher education, award-winning author and speaker Jeffrey Selingo imagines what the college of the future will look like.