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

• Reid’s paper was accepted to Molecular Metabolism.
• Alyssa was honored as a Cornelius Vanderbilt endowed chair.
• Reid successfully defended his PhD and graduated.
• We were very excited to have Maggie (postdoc) and Matt (PhD student) join our lab.
• Reid’s abstract was selected for an oral presentation at the 2017 AAI Immunology meeting.
• Alyssa was appointed as Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Vanderbilt University Basic Sciences.
• Merla and Reid were each awarded an “Engineering Immunity and Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology” Travel Grant to attend the 2017 AAI Immunology meeting.

2016

• Alyssa was a co-organizer of the 2016 Immunological Aspects of Obesity FASEB meeting.
• Reid placed 2nd in the Management & Business Principles for Scientists’ Project Competition.
• Kristin was awarded funding through the Immunobiology of Blood & Vascular Systems (HL069765) NIH Training Grant.
• Reid placed 4th in the poster competition at the 2016 Immunological Aspects of Obesity FASEB meeting.

2015

• Alyssa was selected to participate in the ELAM academic medicine program for women. Read about it here.
• Reid’s image was chosen as the cover for the Journal of Leukocyte Biology October issue and the article was selected for an editorial highlight.
• Reid was awarded an IES Travel Grant and a Graduate Student Travel Grant to attend to the 2015 International Eosinophil Society Symposium.
• Alyssa was promoted to Full-Professor! We are SO proud of our boss!
• Merla passed her Qualifying Exams and is now a PhD candidate in the MPB Graduate program!
• Arion won 1st place and Reid won 3rd place for their poster presentations at the Boshell Research Day at Auburn University.
• Reid was awarded an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship.

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.