Academy of Investigators
Academy of Investigators members are associate members who participate in a career development workshop series that is part of the Vanderbilt Digestive Disease Center enrichment program, directed by Dr. Lori Coburn. The goal of the series is to expand the member's knowledge base and comfort level in dealing with the "non-science" aspects of a career in academic medicine.
The group generally meets on the third Tuesday of every month during the academic year in a lunch-meeting format with invited speakers. Topics include: networking, managing lab finances, using the interview process to select the right people for your lab, dealing with different personalities in the lab, getting manuscripts written in a timely manner, CV preparation, etc.
This program is required for all N type Investigators and is also recommended for basic and clinical scientists. If you have any questions regarding the program please email Lori Coburn.
Academy of Investigators
Investigator | Primary Appointment |
| Meredith Achey, MD | Postdoctoral Fellow, Southard-Smith Lab |
| Katherine Ankenbauer, PhD | Postdoctoral Researcher, VUSM Department of Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Derek Armstrong, MD | Fellow, Department of Pediatrics |
| Rafael Arrojo e Drigo, PhD | Department of Pediatrics |
| Samuel Bailin, MD, MSCI | Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases |
| Craig Brooks, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension |
| Mariana Xavier Byndloss, DVM, PhD | Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology |
| Chin Chiang, MD, PhD | VUSM Department of Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Yash Choksi, MD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Kathy DelGiorno, PhD | VUSM Department of Cell and Developmental Biology |
| David Flaherty | Flow Cytometry Shared Resource |
| Curtis Gabriel, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Jeremy Goettel, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Clinton Hasenour, PhD | School of Engineering |
| Mirazul Islam, PhD | Program in Cancer Biology |
| Dawn Israel, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Izumi Kaji, PhD | Department of Surgery |
| Shannon Kordus, PhD | VUSM Department of Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Evan Krystofiak, PhD | VUSM Department of Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Ken Lau, PhD | VUSM Department of Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Ting-Fang Lee, PhD | Department of Surgery |
| Youngmin Lee, MD, PhD | Department of Surgery |
| Nick Markham, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Janet Markle, PhD | Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology |
| Mona Mashayekhi, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism |
| Leslie Meenderink, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases |
| Denis Mogilenko, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology and Immunology |
| Maribeth Nicholson, MD, MPH | Department of Pediatrics |
| Jennifer Noto, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Krutika Patel, MBBS, MD | Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology |
| Mary Philip, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology |
| Sarah Price, PhD | Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology |
| Joseph Roland, PhD | Department of Surgery |
| Carlan Romney, MS | Graduate Student, Cancer Biology Program |
| Jason Samuels, MD | VUSM Department of Surgery |
| Julia Shelton, MD | Department of Surgery |
| Jeffrey Singer, MD, PhD | Fellow, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Nadia Sneed, PhD, RN | VUSM School of Nursing |
| Ashley Spann, MD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Marcus Tan, MBBS | Department of Surgery |
| Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases |
| John Wilson, PhD | VU Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| Nathan Winn, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Lydia Wroblewski, PhD | Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition |
| Samuel Younan | Research Resident, Department of Surgery |
| Elma Zaganjor, PhD | VUSM Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics |
| Wenhan Zhu, PhD | Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology |
Digestive Diseases Research Center Academy of Investigators Workshops 2026-2027
This Career Development Workshop series is part of the Vanderbilt DDRC enrichment program. The goal of the series is to support trainees’ and junior faculty members’ knowledge base and comfort level in dealing with the "non-science" aspects of a career in academic medicine. Dates and location information below. All sessions are from noon to 1 pm.
Date | Topic | Speaker |
| Thursday, August 20, 2026 | Community Engagement | Jennifer Erves, PhD, MPH Partner with Edge for Scholars |
| Thursday, September 24, 2026 | Creating & Optimizing Your SciENcv Biosketch | Panel Partner with Edge for Scholars |
| Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | AI in Research | James M. Dewar, PhD MRB IV Rm 10455 |
| Tuesday, November 17, 2026 | Science Writing for the General Audience | William Snyder, Senior Science Writer |
| Tuesday, December 8, 2026 | Biostatistics | Christopher Slaughter, PhD MRB IV Rm 10455 |
| Thursday, February 4, 2027 | Responding to Reviewer Comments | Panel Partner with Edge for Scholars |