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Vanderbilt Lab for Immersive AI Translation (VALIANT)
@vandyvaliant.bsky.social
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VALIANT: Fostering an intellectual community applying AI in multidisciplinary fields to spark breakthrough innovations.


Also X: @VandyValiant

https://www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/
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Congratulations to Yunfei Hu on receiving the Graduate School Endowed Award – Edward Ferguson Jr. Graduate Award! 🎉 Our scientists continue to break new ground.
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2026...
February 20, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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VALIANT’s faculty-only Spring Discussion Series creates space for candid conversations about AI’s role in teaching, assessment, and learning in today’s engineering classrooms.
Check here for details: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/prog...
February 18, 2026 at 6:18 PM
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Join us for the next VALIANT Deeper Dive!
🧠 Harmonizing Brain MRI Across Sites Without Paired Data
🎤 Mengqi Wu (UNC–Chapel Hill)
📅 Tuesday, Feb 24 | ⏰ 1–2 PM | 💻 Virtual/Zoom
Register via the QR code.
February 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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One Calendar, Many Conversations 🗓️


We’re cutting through announcement overload by bringing AI-related seminars and visits across the school into one shared calendar (vandyaicalendar.eventcalendarapp.com).

Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2026...
February 13, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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🌍
Congratulations to Elyssa McMaster and Michael Kim, who have received travel grants to attend and present at the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference in Vancouver.

Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2026...
February 9, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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Before laptops and cloud storage, computing at Vanderbilt meant punch cards, printout windows, and a curtained-off mainframe in the Stevenson round building. Prof. Emeritus Doug Fisher reflects on that era in our Jan Newsletter.

Read more here: buff.ly/9RMyiBY
February 6, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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Join us for a VALIANT Deeper Dive!
Distribution-Guided Multi-Tracer Brain PET Synthesis from Structural MRI with Class-Conditioned Weighted Diffusion
🎤 Minhui Yu (UNC–Chapel Hill)
📅 Tuesday, Feb 3 | ⏰ 1–2 PM | 💻 Virtual/Zoom
Register via the QR code.
February 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
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Our community has been busy! Check out a selection of recent publications from VALIANT members indexed in Scopus since last month.
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
January 30, 2026 at 2:04 PM
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Join us for a VALIANT Deeper Dive!
Distribution-Guided Multi-Tracer Brain PET Synthesis from Structural MRI with Class-Conditioned Weighted Diffusion
🎤 Minhui Yu (UNC–Chapel Hill)
📅 Tuesday, Feb 3 | ⏰ 1–2 PM | 💻 Virtual/Zoom
Register via the QR code.
January 29, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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Congratulations to VALIANT AI Scholar Junlin Guo, an ECE PhD student, on receiving the Tarkington Family Scholarship! His work in AI-driven archaeology, mentored by Profs. Yuankai Huo and Steve Wernke, is breaking exciting new ground. 🎉
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
January 28, 2026 at 2:03 PM
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BrainHack Vanderbilt team is recruiting organizers! Help shape a hands-on event that unites researchers, students, clinicians, and coders to advance open neuroscience.
Sign up here: buff.ly/sxM8n1D
Read more in the newsletter: buff.ly/aMbQbCp
January 26, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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AI Scholars, check your email! We’re updating the 2026 resume book and exploring new ways to highlight your accomplishments for awards, fellowships, and beyond.
Questions or suggestions? Reach out at valiant@vanderbilt.edu.
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
January 23, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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Congratulations to AI Scholar Elyssa McMaster on receiving a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center travel award to attend the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference! 🎉
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
January 21, 2026 at 2:01 PM
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VALIANT AI Fellow Dr. Yuankai Huo's visit to the University of Liverpool aimed to enhance international collaboration in medical imaging AI. This visit also launched the Vanderbilt–Liverpool Joint Research Seed Grant. Read more here: buff.ly/biIx90H
January 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM
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VALIANT Reach exchange awardee Marilyn Lionts co-authored an international research paper accepted for SPIE Medical Imaging 2026. The work highlights how VALIANT Reach is building lasting global collaborations with real research impact.
Read more here: buff.ly/biIx90H
January 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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Please join us for a Dissertation Defense by Can Luo (Biomedical Engineering)!

🧬 Title: From Reads to Variant: Method Development in Genomic Variant Detection
📅 Date: January 21, 2026
⏰ Time: 1:30 PM
📍 Location: In person — Stevenson Building 4, Room 4326
January 14, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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VALIANT Reach returns in 2026 with a nomination-based model. AI Fellows can nominate trainees and partner institutions for short-term international research exchanges. Talk with your advisor before the January 30 nomination deadline!
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
January 12, 2026 at 2:01 PM
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Dr. Veronique Belzil, VALIANT AI Fellow & Director of the Vanderbilt ALS Research Center, is working to prevent ALS by using patient data, stem cell and organoid models, and AI to detect early disease signals.
Read more in our Dec. Newsletter: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
January 9, 2026 at 2:01 PM
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Happy Holidays! ❄️✨
December 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Alchemists’ Corner 🔬✨
Our community has been busy! Here’s a roundup of recent publications from our members indexed in Scopus since last month.
Read more here: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
December 22, 2025 at 2:03 PM
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The BrainHack Vanderbilt team is recruiting new organizers!
Interested in joining? Sign up here: buff.ly/Vxp3Fr1
Read more in the newsletter: buff.ly/EgaUlt9
December 19, 2025 at 2:04 PM
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Congratulations to AI Scholar Tianyuan Yao, who successfully defended his PhD in Computer Science!
Read more in our Nov Newsletter: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
December 17, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Prof. Maizie Zhou and her team have introduced MaskGraphene, a new framework that stitches together multiple spatial transcriptomics slices into a single, interpretable map.

Read more here: buff.ly/EgaUlt9
December 15, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Prof. Maizie Zhou’s Provost’s Faculty Grant is powering a new Immersion Vanderbilt cohort where students dive into integrative AI methods for cell-type transfer in spatial biology.
Read more in our Nov Newsletter: buff.ly/EgaUlt9
December 12, 2025 at 2:03 PM
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VALIANT Attempt is hosting a 2026 Calendar Competition! Share your drawings, photos, AI-generated art, or scientific visualizations for a chance to be featured at Gallery Night.
Submit your entry here: t.e2ma.net/click/c7z0om...
Read more in the newsletter: www.vanderbilt.edu/valiant/2025...
December 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM