Skin is a marvelous organ that protects the body, senses the external world and even expresses emotion. In the hands of Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., recipient of the 2016 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, skin also lies squarely in the intersection of normal growth, wound repair and cancer.

The 2017 Vanderbilt Symposium on Modeling Immunity will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, in room 1220 MRB III.

A novel fluorescent nanobeacon can distinguish normal from diseased colon tissue, potentially offering advantages for colorectal cancer screening.

A natural signaling molecule that activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain plays a critical role in stress-resilience — the ability to adapt to repeated and acute exposures to traumatic stress, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Despite dramatic recent advances in treatment, colorectal cancer killed more than 49,000 Americans last year, according to the National Cancer Institute, making it the second most lethal malignancy after cancers of the lung and bronchus.

Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., recipient of the 2016 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science and a pioneer in the field of reverse genetics, will deliver her Vanderbilt Prize lecture as part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture series on Thursday, March 30.