Dear Vanderbilt students,

I am writing to notify you of the tragic death of Vanderbilt doctoral student Jorge Bahena. The loss of any member of our university community is felt deeply, and we wish to express our profound sympathy to Jorge’s family, friends, colleagues and all who knew this remarkable young man.

A Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics, Jorge conducted research under the mentorship of Professor Timothy J. Hohman as part of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center’s Computational Neurogenomics Team. He earned bachelor’s degrees in engineering sciences modified with chemistry and biotechnology from Dartmouth College, and a master’s degree in biostatistics from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Jorge’s research interests focused on the application of machine learning and traditional statistical approaches to the discovery of novel genetic and proteomic factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

We have numerous support services available to help you during this difficult time. We encourage grieving students who seek assistance to reach out to the following campus support services:

• Call the University Counseling Center at 615-322-2571 to speak with an on-call mental health provider.
• Call or schedule an appointment online with Student Care Coordination at 615-343-WELL (9355).
• Call the Center for Student Wellbeing at 615-322-0480 to schedule an appointment.
• Call the Office of the University Chaplain and Religious Life at 615-322-2457 for support or for the university’s GriefNet.

Please know that we are here to assist you in any way possible.

Sincerely,

G.L. Black
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students