Pilot Funding Awards Announced by the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center
Danxia Yu, PhD
Danxia Yu, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Epidemiology within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt Health. Her research interests include:
- epidemiology and prevention of chronic diseases through healthy diets and lifestyles,
- novel biomarkers and multi-omics studies of cardiometabolic diseases, and
- diet-gut microbiota interactions and host cardiometabolic health.
Leveraging large prospective cohort studies, Dr. Yu has identified novel dietary factors and biomarkers (e.g., circulating metabolites) predictive of the risk or mortality of major chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, lung cancer and dementia among populations from varied backgrounds and geographic regions. Her recent projects apply metabolomics and metagenomics to examine the role of diet, gut microbiota and their interactions in cardiometabolic health among multi-ethnic populations.
Dr. Yu is also dedicated to teaching and mentoring and actively contributes to international research collaborations, including the NCI Cohort Consortium, Asia Cohort Consortium and Consortium of Metabolomics Studies.
Vanderbilt Neurology Research Wins Stroke Progress and Innovation Award
Kimberly M. Albert, PhD
Dr. Kimberly M. Albert is a behavioral neuroscientist and an Instructor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Albert's research interests focus on the interface of cognition and emotion. In particular, she examines cognitive processes that contribute to mood disorders risk and pathological cognitive aging.
Dr. Albert completed her doctoral degree in neuroscience at University of Vermont and a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2019.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Post-doctoral T32 appointment
Mayur B. Patel, MD, MPH
Dr. Mayur B. Patel is a board-certified trauma surgeon and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Patel has clinical expertise in brain neurotrauma and cares for patients in the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Patel’s research interests focus on brain dysfunction and critical illness, including the impact of delirium on long-term cognition and the relationship between delirium and dementia among intensive care unit survivors.
Dr. Patel completed medical school at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, a general surgery residency at Duke University Medical Center, a trauma surgery research fellowship at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Florida, and a trauma and surgical critical care clinical fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He also completed a master in public health degree at Vanderbilt University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2010.
Christopher G. Hughes, MD, MS
Dr. Christopher G. Hughes is a critical care anesthesiologist and a Professor of Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Hughes has clinical expertise in prevention strategies and therapies of delirium and long-term cognitive impairment after surgery and critical illness. He cares for patients in the Division of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Hughes completed medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine and an anesthesiology residency and a critical care anesthesia fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He also completed a master’s degree in clinical research at Drexel University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2010.
Jin H. Han, MD, MSC
Dr. Jin H. Han is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Han sees patients in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and his research interests focus on delirium and investigating how acute illness affects cognitive aging.
Dr. Han completed medical school at State University of New York and an emergency medicine residency at University of Cincinnati. He also completed a research fellowship and a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology at University of Cincinnati. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2005.