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Eleven of Vanderbilt University鈥檚 most promising recently tenured faculty have been awarded spots in the 2026 . This year鈥檚 recipients demonstrate exceptional and innovative scholarly achievement.

鈥淭hese scholars represent the next generation of academic leaders, advancing the bold ideas and transformative research that are strengthening Vanderbilt鈥檚 position among the world鈥檚 leading research universities,鈥� said. 鈥淭heir success is essential to our continued momentum as we build the great research university of the 21st century.”

To fuel their ongoing work, each fellow receives $80,000 over a multi-year period. Beyond the financial support, the program serves as an incubator for academic leadership development and creativity.

Fellows meet as a cohort regularly to exchange ideas and cultivate a vibrant intellectual community, while building the skills necessary to lead the university into the future.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 fellows exemplify the creativity, rigor and collaborative spirit that drive discovery and innovation at Vanderbilt,鈥� said. 鈥淭heir work addresses critical challenges across disciplines, and I look forward to seeing the impact they will have on their fields and our academic community.鈥�

The 2026 Chancellor Faculty Fellows are:

, associate professor of human and organizational development
Peabody College of education and human development

Carse is a cultural anthropologist focused on the intersection of culture, technology and ecology. His research bridges anthropology, geography, environmental studies and technology studies by examining infrastructure, global supply chains, climate change and the unequal burdens these systems place on communities.

, assistant professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering
School of Engineering and College of Connected Computing

Chang鈥檚 research focuses on the development of computational and engineering methods to better understand brain function and its interaction with physiological systems. Her work contributes to fundamental neuroscience and translational applications in areas such as epilepsy, aging and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.

, associate professor of biological sciences
College of Arts and Science

Creanza studies the evolution of learned behaviors through her study of the evolution of birdsong and human language. Multiple members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences have described her research as groundbreaking, and she was named a 2023 Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences.

, associate professor of political science
College of Arts and Science

Kenkel is a leading scholar in the political economy of conflict and communication and bargaining. He focuses his research on the interplay of conflict and power, specifically analyzing resources that constitute state power in violent conflict and what shapes and constrains state power.

, associate professor of sociology
College of Arts and Science

Manago specializes in the study of stigma and status consequences of mental illness labels, deviant behavior and fear. Her recent work emphasizes the study of methodology and methodological improvements in data preparation and transparency in analysis.

, associate professor of nursing
School of Nursing

Neal researches the physiological factors that influence a woman鈥檚 progress through labor. His research focuses on increasing safe and equitable perinatal care and birth outcomes. Neal鈥檚 research has been instrumental in the development of an updated partograph, a low-cost tool used to create a graphic, real-time record of labor progress around the world.

, associate professor of pharmacology
School of Medicine Basic Sciences

Niswender is a national leader in the fields of molecular pharmacology and academic drug discovery. She focuses on fundamental receptor biology, RNA editing, heterodimerization and the development of positive allosteric modulators with therapeutic relevance. This work has contributed to developing patented and licensed therapeutics.

, assistant professor of computer science, and of electrical and computer engineering, and of pathology, microbiology and immunology
College of Connected Computing and School of Medicine

Huo鈥檚 work lies at the forefront of artificial intelligence, computer vision and biomedical imaging. He developed a highly influential research program that addresses one of the central challenges of modern science: extracting meaningful insight from massive, high-dimensional biomedical data.

, assistant professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology
School of Medicine

Byndloss leads a robust research program studying the links between the gut microbiota (microorganisms that reside in the intestines), host metabolism and disease. She鈥檚 explores how the host and microbiota work together to promote health, and what happens when environmental factors like diet, antibiotics and inflammation disrupt the microbiota and increase risk for colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, childhood obesity and other disorders.

, associate professor of pediatrics and of developmental biology
School of Medicine

Sucre founded the , which studies lung development and neonatal lung injury, with a specific focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms that lead to bronchopulmonary dysplasia. She has produced foundational data toward new disease and injury-modifying therapies to prevent chronic lung disease in neonatal babies.

, associate professor of biostatistics
School of Medicine

Vandekar has developed innovative methods to raise the quality of statistical design and analysis in neuroimaging research by integrating multiple types of data into neuroimaging studies. His methodological innovations have the potential to revolutionize and strengthen statistical and computational practices in medical imaging and neuroscience.

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• Meet the 2025 Chancellor Faculty Fellows