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Vanderbilt Microbiome
Innovation Center

Venture Fund

Microbiome Venture Fund

Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students each Fall can apply for Microbiome Venture Funding of a project that connects microbiome scholarship with diverse topics and investigators.

The Center solicits calls for funding by email every August and welcomes proposals that (i) stimulate new microbiome scholarship for the applicants, (ii) support the development of collaborations across disciplines or institutes, and (iii) may subsequently seed a larger project. Collaborations among faculty and undergraduate students are especially encouraged. The amount of funding is $3000 or less and must be used by March of the following year.

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Fall 2021 Recipients:

  1. Microbiome effects on enteroendocrine L-cell modulation of intra-epithelial lymphocytes in the ileum by Dr. Julio E. Ayala & Co.
  2. Diet-induced susceptibility to Salmonella Typhimurium via Gut Microbiota Perturbation by Nicolas G. Shealy & Co.

Fall 2020 Recipients:

  1. The role of IL-17R signaling in the protective mucosal response against Hp-induced dysbiosis by Dr. Holly Algood & Co.
  2. Investing the presence of the fecal coliform Bacteroides in stream water through a collaboration across multiple metro Nashville public high schools? by Nathaniel Freymer & Co
  3. The impact of the microbiome on oral cavity cancer surgical complications by Dr. Jean-Nicolas Gallant & Co.
  4. Characterizing the microbiota of children with monogenic inborn errors of immunity by Dr. Janet Markle & Co.
  5. Development of an intro system for bedside-to-bench translation of human microbiome function by Dr. Haley Overby & Co.
  6. Bile acid and the microbiome by Dr. James Poland & Co.
  7. Investigating fecal microbiome community structure and composition in liver transplant recipients: Pilot for rectal swab and stool sample analysis by Dr. Alexandra Shingina & Co.

Fall 2019 Recipients:

  1. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli interactions with gut, vaginal, and urinary microbiota by Dr. Maria Hadjifrangiskou, Dr. W. Stuart Reynolds, Dr. Jonathan Schmitz, Dr. John Brannon, Dr. Joseph Panza, Dr. Siobhan Hartigan, and Robert Markowitz
  2. Does a Dysregulated Microbiome Contribute to the Dioxin-Associated Increased Rick of NEC? by Dr. Kaylon Bruner-Tran, Jelonia Rumph, and Madison Dallas
  3. How gut microbiota perturbations affect host metabolism leading to non-communicable diseases by Dr. Mariana Byndloss, Catherine Shelton, and Julia Thomas
  4. Defining the airspace microbiome in mechanically ventilated patients by Dr. Julie Bastarache and Dr. Junhui Li.
  5. Spatially Targeted Proteomics of Bacterial Proteins in the Human Gut Microbiota by Dr. Richard Caprioli, Emma Guiberson, Dr. Jeffery Spraggins, Dr. Aaron Wexler, and Emilio Rivera
  6. Vanderbilt Undergraduate Microbiome Society (VUMS) by Asia Miller and undergraduate colleagues
  7. Estimating Wolbachia Infection Rates in Arthropods in the Nashville Area Through a Collaboration Across Multiple Metro Nashville Public High Schools by Joshua Swartz, Ann Ouyang, and Jennifer Ufnar

Fall 2018 Recipients:

  1. Gastrointestinal Microbiota Diversity and Clinical Outcomes in Infants with Congenital Heart Disease by Dr. Stephanie Waterhouse
  2. Leveraging Human Milk Oligosaccharides to Repair Dysbiotic Minimal Microbiomes by Dr. Stephen Townsend, Dr. Jennifer Gaddy and students
  3. Timekeeping Dimensions in the Relationship between Bacteria and Hosts by Dr. Carl Johnson 
  4. Defining the Gastric Microbiome in Autoimmune Gastritis: an International Collaboration by Dr. Shailja Shah and collaborators
  5. Microbiome-Epithelial Cell Crosstalk During Tuft Cell Hyperplasia by Dr. Ken Lau 
  6. Stress, Learning, and the Microbiome: Disentangling the Feedback Loop by Dr. Nicole Creanza 

Fall 2017 Recipients:

  1. Interactions Between Stress and the Microbiome by Dr. Nicole Creanza and Kara Boyer
  2. Immune Mechanisms Associated with Sodium-Induced Cardiovascular Disease: Effect of Excess Dietary Salt on the Gut Microbiome by Dr. Annet Kirabo
  3. Pathogenetic Interactions between Uropathogenic E. coli and the “Background” Urinary Microbiome by Dr. Gerald Van Horn and Dr. Jonathan Schmitz
  4. Intestinal Epithelial Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) Promote Growth and Functions of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) by Dr. Fang Yan
  5. Resident Gut Protozoa as Modulators of Gut Immunity and Susceptibility of Bacterial Infection by Dr. Ann Tate and Abby Perry