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Vanderbilt is the academic home to more than 1,800 faculty members who lead impactful interdisciplinary , and mentoring across 11 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, and .

These faculty also lead meaningful and interesting lives outside of their work! Get to know some of Vanderbilt’s newest faculty beyond their resumes.

, faculty director, MS Finance program, associate professor of the practice of finance
Owen Graduate School of Management
Academic focus: Financial modeling, corporate finance and fixed income analysis

Beyond the resume: “Before academia, I spent time as an assistant golf professional and even passed the PGA’s Playing Ability Test. That experience taught me discipline, resilience and the importance of staying composed under pressure. I strive to incorporate these skills in the classroom and in leadership roles,” Fairbanks said.

, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology
School of Medicine Basic Sciences
Academic focus: Cell receptor activation kinetics and downstream signaling kinetics

Beyond the resume: “I am an avid lover of board games and music. You can often either find me playing board games with friends and family or tinkering around with my guitar,” Mudumbi said.

, senior lecturer in mathematics
College of Arts and Science
Academic focus: Set-theoretic topology and math education

Beyond the resume: “I have two kids. One is an NSF Fellow and a Ph.D. student, and the other is a sophomore in college. They are both studying engineering,” Niknejad said.

, assistant professor of English
College of Arts and Science
Academic focus: Poetry and essay writing focused on immigration, language and lore

Beyond the resume: “I played a lot of volleyball growing up and played club in college. Now, I mostly try to kayak,” she said.

, assistant professor of law

Academic focus: Tax law, federal budget law, energy law, law, industrial policy

Beyond the resume: “I’m an avid tennis and squash player, and newly getting into padel … and looking for people to play any of these sports with in Nashville,” Gordon said.

, senior lecturer in philosophy
College of Arts and Science
Academic focus: Continental philosophy, aesthetics and critical phenomenology

Beyond the resume: “My encounters with phenomenology as an undergraduate transformed my understanding of what philosophy could be; it showed me that philosophical inquiry could engage with the aesthetic and bodily dimensions of lived experience rather than just abstract concepts. This insight shapes how I approach teaching,” Hayes said.

, assistant professor of chemistry
College of Arts and Science
Academic focus: Bioinorganic and physical inorganic chemistry

Beyond the resume: “A good chemist is also a big fan of Lego,” Ye said.

, professor of law
Vanderbilt Law School
Academic focus: Criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, law and technology

Beyond the resume: “I’m basically addicted to boba tea,” Bellin said.

• Learn more about faculty support and opportunities through the
• Get to know some of the faculty hired in the 2024–25 academic year