The 2022 Annual Dr. Aaron I. Grollman Visiting Professorship in Basic Sciences featuring Billy Hudson, PhD, Elliott V. Newman Professor of Medicine, Director, Center of Matrix Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dr. Hudson is a world-renowned scientist and co-founder of Aspirnaut, an organization providing opportunities in science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM) for talented youth from rural and diverse backgrounds.
The Aspirnaut Story
Tuesday, Oct. 11
4 p.m., HSF II Auditorium
Dr. Hudson will discuss his experiences in early childhood, the development of Aspirnaut, and how he ended up at Vanderbilt — all intertwined with the aftermath of childhood abuse and neglect.
Aspirnaut’s mission is to increase STEM achievement and the numbers and diversity of the STEM workforce. The program provides opportunities in STEM for talented youth from rural and diverse backgrounds, empowering them to effect positive change in themselves, their families, and communities for generations to come. Persistence in STEM courses of study, pursuit of advanced degrees, and entry into the STEM workforce exceed national norms. Highly acclaimed as one of the nation’s leading STEM diversity initiatives, Aspirnaut has over a decade of outstanding data and a track record of success.
A Glimpse Into the Dawn of Animal Multi-Cellularity
Wednesday, Oct. 12
4 p.m., Leadership Hall
Reception to follow in the MSTF Atrium
The role of the cellular microenvironment in enabling metazoan tissue genesis remains obscure. Ctenophora has recently emerged as one of the earliest-branching extant animal phyla, providing a unique opportunity to explore the evolutionary role of the cellular microenvironment in tissue genesis.