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Honors and Awards

2024

  • Alyssa has accepted a Vice Provost position at UT Southwestern!
  • Katie defended her dissertation and completed her PhD!

2023

  • Alec Rodriguez was awarded a Chancellor’s Research Award at the Fall Staff Assembly!
  • Alyssa was promoted to Senior Associate Dean for Faculty in the Basic Sciences
  • Dr. Nathan Winn’s K01 was selected for funding!
  • Heather started her new faculty position at the University of Houston in their Health and Human Performance Department. We are so proud!

2022

  • Matthew Cottam defended his dissertation – congratulations Dr. Cottam!
  • Katie Volk’s individual F31 was funded!

2021

  • We are thrilled to have Jamie Garcia join our lab! And she was also awarded a spot on the METP training grant!
  • Maggie was selected as a 2021 Intersections Science Fellows Symposium Associate-what an honor!
  • Nathan received the AHA Fellowship grant!

2020

  • Monica received a spot on the GI Training Grant!
  • Elysa has received a spot on the Immunometablolism training grant!
  • We are excited to welcome our new grad student, Elysa in our lab!
  • Nathan and Katie’s review was published in JCI Insight!

2019

  • Matt was awarded an NIH F31 on the Weight Cycling project!
  • Heather and Maggie both received AHA Fellowships!
  • We are excited to have Monica, an Endocrinology Fellow as a part of our lab!
  • Maggie received a poster award at the 2019 Vanderbilt Diabetes Day!
  • Nathan was awarded an Early Career Research Grant by The Obesity Society!
  • Matt received the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies!
  • We are excited to have Alec in our group as a new Research Assistant!
  • Kristin and Nathan’s paper on Impaired Insulin Signaling in C5 deficient models was published in AJP – Endocrinology and Metabolism.
  • We are so excited to have two new graduate students, Katie and Julia in the lab!
  • Heather’s review was published in Current Obesity Reports!
  • Kristin successfully defended her PhD and graduated – congratulations!
  • Merla‘s paper was selected for the AJP-Cell Physiology 2018 Paper of the Year award.
  • Reid‘s publication was featured in the VUMC reporter.

2018

  • Our work was featured in the Vanderbilt Basically Speaking newsletter.
  • We were thrilled to have Nathan join our lab.
  • Maggie was awarded the Advancing Science Award from the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCCHe).
  • Arion’s work on CD8+ T Cells in adipose tissue was highlighted in a Vanderbilt Reporter article.
  • Reid was awarded a mini-sabbatical grant by the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology & Inflammation (VI4) to pursue cross-disciplinary training.
  • We were extremely excited to have Heather join our lab.
  • Merla successfully defended her PhD! What a great presentation summarizing years worth of work on the role of iron-handling macrophages in adipose tissue.
  • Merla earned her Certificate in College Teaching at Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

2017

 

2016

 

2015

 

2014

  • Kristin received funding from the Pharmacological Sciences training grant.
  • Merla‘s NRSA application was funded on its first submission!
  • We were thrilled to have Kristin join our lab.
  • Alyssa had her VA Merit grant successfully funded.
  • Takuya, a visiting student from Japan, joined our group.
  • Arion was awarded an K01 from NHLBI and promoted to Research Instructor – awesome job Arion!

 

2013

  • Arion was selected the Daryl Granner Vanderbilt Diabetes Scholar! The Reporter article can be found here.
  • Emily successfully defended her dissertation – congratulations Emily!
  • Arion was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from Merck.
  • Reid passed his Qualifying Exam with flying colors!
  • Andrea received a perfect 10 on her NRSA – awesome job!

 

2012

  • Congratulations to Andrea for passing her Candidacy Exam with flying colors!!
  • Emily was awarded an American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellowship award.
  • Reid joined our lab and received funding from the METP training grant.
  • Corey successfully defended his thesis and now has his Master’s Degree.
  • Dario successfully defended his dissertation and is now Dr. Gutierrez!  Congratulations Dario – we’re so proud of you!!
  • Emily and Arion each won 1st place for their poster presentations at Boshell Research Day at Auburn University (March 1st).

 

2011

  • Emily and Arion each won 2nd place for their poster presentations at the Southeast Lipid Research Conference – congratulations!
  • Dario’s paper was accepted to Diabetes.
  • Jeb was awarded a postdoctoral NRSA.
  • Andrea won first place for her poster presentation at Boshel Diabetes Research Day!
  • Arion was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Diabetes Association.

2010

  • Emily passed her Qualifying Exam – congratulations Emily!
  • Dario’s abstract was accepted for an oral presentation at the European Macrophage and Dendritic Cell Society meeting.
  • Mike was awarded an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship!
  • Corey was accepted to complete a summer intership at the NIH.
  • Alyssa was featured in the American Diabetes Assocation Forefront magazine.

 

2009

  • Bonnie Surmi graduated!  Congratulations Dr. Surmi.
  • Dario was selected as a Travel Award recipient for a Keystone conference.
  • Bonnie Surmi won the 2009 Vanderbilt Diabetes Scholar Award in the graduate student category!  www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/diabetes/drtc/ScholarsAwards2009.php  www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html
  • Arion and Corey were accepted to attend the Metabolic Syndrome Course at Vanderbilt this summer.
  • Mike’s abstract was chosen for an oral presentation at the Obesity Society meeting this fall.
  • Dario passed his Qualifying exam!
  • Mike Puglisi won the Postdoc Oral Presentation at the MPB retreat.
  • Bonnie Surmi won the Graduate Student Poster Presentation at the MPB retreat.
  • Arion Kennedy was selected for a postdoc position on the METP grant.
  • Emily was selected for a graduate student position on the Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Sciences (CBMS) Training Program.
  • Corey Webb was accepted into the Master’s of Laboratory Science Program!
  • Alyssa was promoted to Associate Professor!
  • Bonnie Surmi’s abstract was selected for an oral presentation at the ATVB conference in DC, and she received a travel award from the graduate school to attend the meeting.
  • Mike Puglisi received a third place award for his poster presentation at the Boshell Diabetes Research Day at Auburn University.

 

2008

  • Saraswathi Viswanathan was awarded an American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant.  Congratulations Saras!!
  • The Hasty Laboratory was selected by a donor to the American Diabetes Association to be the recipient of their generous gift.
  • Alyssa was selected to be highlighted as the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center Featured Investigator for November 2008                                                    www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/diabetes/drtc/
  • Marnie Gruen, Dario Gutierrez, and Alyssa Hasty submitted an abstract to the Obesity Society meeting that was selected to be presented in their Plenary Oral Abstract Presentation session (only 7 of 1000 submitted abstracts were chosen for this honor).
  • Alyssa Hasty was selected to receive a travel award for the NIH Workshop on the Establishment, Maintenance, and Turnover of Fat Depots.
  • Dario was selected for a graduate student position on the Molecular Endocrinology Training Program (METP) grant.
  • MIke was selected for a postdoctoral position on the METP grant.
  • Kimberly Coenen was chosen as only graduate student to receive the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center Scholar Award.
  • Bonnie Surmi was awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association
  • Kimberly Coenen successfully defended her dissertation on February 8th, and has gone on to begin her post-doctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Mac Buchowski.
  • www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/diabetes/drtc/drtc_news2008.php

2007

  • Kimberly Coenen was awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association.
  • Alyssa Hasty was awarded a Career Development Award from the American Diabetes Association.
  • Alli Antar successfully defended her dissertation in April and is now doing well in her post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Larry Chan at Baylor.
  • Marnie Gruen successfully defended her Master’s thesis.
  • Michelle Plummer successfully defended her Master’s thesis.
  • Alyssa Hasty was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Vanderbilt Digestive Diseases Research Center.
  • Dario Gutierrez was awarded a Director’s Award Scholarship to the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt.

2006

  • Alyssa Hasty was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Vanderbilt Digestive Diseases Research Center.
  • Robin Atkinson was accepted into medical school.