Vanderbilt researchers have discovered how certain molecules with antibiotic properties are synthesized, findings that could lead to new drugs that overcome the increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Vanderbilt University researchers next month will launch a major initiative to acquire “dense genotypes” from 100,000 individuals whose medical histories are known.

Bruce Damon, Ph.D., has been named director of Vanderbilt University’s Chemical and Physical Biology (CPB) graduate program, which prepares students for “cutting-edge” research careers at the interface of the chemical sciences, physical sciences and biology.

Pioneering Vanderbilt University structural biologist Charles Sanders, Ph.D., has been named interim editor of Biochemistry, an eminent journal for publishing research articles about the molecular structure, mechanisms and interactions of important biological molecules.

The gut has its own built-in pacemakers, populations of specialized cells that control smooth muscle contraction in the stomach, small intestine and colon.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have established the molecular basis for the function of Replication Protein A (RPA), a DNA binding protein that is a crucial “scaffold” for genome replication, response to damage and repair.