Research Awards
September 2025
Dr. Debra Burns, Dean in the College of Communication and Fine Arts, was awarded $473,385 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her project “Music mechanisms and technologies network: Integrative models to address pain through music
Dr. Cody Behles, Executive Director for Research Development and Innovation, was awarded $98,941 from Vanderbilt University for his project “MID-SOUTH INNOVATION HUB.”
Dr. Philip Kohlmeier, Assistant Professor for the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $43,750 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “NSF GRFP Mitchell.”
Dr. Fawaz Mzayek, Associate Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health for the School of Public Health, was awarded $29,115 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) for his project “A prospective qualitative exploration of multilevel factors affecting outcome disparities among Black women with breast cancer in Shelby County, TN.”
Dr. Yu Jiang, Associate Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health for the School of Public Health, was awarded $25,772 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) for her project “Data management and data analyses.”
Dr. Jamie Brunsdon, Assistant Professor in the College of Health Sciences, was awarded $25,000 from the Spectrum Institute for Teaching and Learning for his project “Spectrum Futures: Developing Teaching and Learning from an Intercontinental Perspective.”
Dr. Wendy Torres, Associate Professor of Teaching and Director of Executive Education Programs in Fogelman College of Business & Economics Department of Management, was awarded $12,071 from Fors Marsh Group, LLC for her project “Mitigating the Impacts of Personnel Turnover for Teams in the FOE.”
Dr. Mary Tucker, Chief Policy & Compliance Officer in University Schools, was awarded $2,230 from the Tennessee Department of Education (TDoEd) for her project “FY25 IDEA Preschool.”
Dr. Robert Kelz, Professor of German and Department Chair in World Languages and Literatures, was awarded $1,283 from Vanderbilt University for his project “Other Activities A Scripted Silence: The Diary of Anne Frank in post-Peron Polyglot Buenos Aires, 1957-1959.”