Bill Snyder

September 8, 2021

VUMC antibodies help neutralize two deadly viruses: study

Vanderbilt researchers have isolated monoclonal antibodies that prevent severe illness and death caused by two emerging and deadly viruses called Nipah and Hendra.

By Bill Snyder
The team studying tumor suppressor protein p53 includes, from left, Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, and Lindsay Redman-Rivera.
September 2, 2021

Discovery offers insight for development of cancer therapies targeting mutant p53

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes) drives malignant phenotypes in cells expressing mutant p53, a tumor suppressor protein that is mutated in more than half of all human cancers.

By Bill Snyder
September 2, 2021

A leading authority in ICU-related depression and PTSD, Jim Jackson’s skills have proven especially critical to helping patients during the pandemic

“The last year has been so traumatizing and hard, but to use the skills and knowledge that we have been developing to good effect in the service of others during this difficult season has been meaningful.”

By Bill Snyder
August 20, 2021

COVID-19 antibody ‘cocktail’ discovered at VUMC protects chronically ill: study

A monoclonal antibody cocktail against the COVID-19 virus discovered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and developed by AstraZeneca reduced the risk of symptoms in a study of immunocompromised and chronically ill adults later exposed to the virus by 77%, the company announced today.

By Bill Snyder
August 19, 2021

Potential protection from atherosclerosis

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a potential way to reduce atherosclerosis: blocking the modification of an HDL-associated enzyme by reactive molecules called isolevuglandins.

By Bill Snyder
August 19, 2021

Team isolates antibodies that target alphaviruses

A multi-institutional team led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has isolated monoclonal antibodies that in laboratory and animal studies prevented infection by alphaviruses, including the often-lethal Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV).

By Bill Snyder
August 18, 2021

Collaborative helping Midstate nursing homes control COVID-19

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has received a two-year, $1.2 million award from the Tennessee Department of Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide tailored education and coaching to 75 Middle Tennessee nursing homes focused on infection control, quality improvement and other pandemic-related challenges.
By Bill Snyder
August 11, 2021

Vega selected as 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar

Paige Vega, a PhD student in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University, has been selected as the 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar.
By Bill Snyder
August 10, 2021

Shared antibodies may push COVID-19 variants: VUMC study

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that people recovering from COVID-19 and those vaccinated against the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, produce identical clones, or groups, of antibody-producing white blood cells.
By Bill Snyder
August 4, 2021

Study finds genetic factor undermines H. pylori treatment

Helicobacter pylori, a stomach-dwelling bacterium, is a strong risk factor for gastric cancer, peptic ulcers and other debilitating gastrointestinal disorders. Yet efforts to eradicate it using a combination of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which suppress gastric acid production, often fail.
By Bill Snyder
July 29, 2021

Automation brings in new era for Clinical Chemistry Lab

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Core Clinical Chemistry Laboratory recently celebrated the launch of its faster, higher-volume automated chemistry line.
By Bill Snyder
July 29, 2021

Vanderbilt Prize winner Doudna advocates caution in human germline editing

It is now possible to “edit” the human germline — the genetic cargo carried in sperm and eggs and which is passed to the next generation — in a way that snips out the mutations which cause inherited disease.
By Bill Snyder