Leigh MacMillan

June 22, 2023

Mosaicism and genetic disease

Genetic mosaicism — when the body’s cells do not all have the same genetic makeup — could generate variants previously thought to be spontaneous in genetic disease, and detecting parental mosaicism could clarify recurrence risk for future children.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 8, 2023

Targeting calcium handling in A-fib

The drug ent-verticilide reduced A-fib incidence and duration in an animal model, suggesting it may be a viable therapeutic option.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 22, 2023

Neurofluid flow and Alzheimer’s disease

Vanderbilt researchers used novel MRI methods to noninvasively quantify measures of neurofluid circulation and found that hypertrophy of a site of cerebrospinal fluid egress may be related to amyloid-beta retention in Alzheimer’s disease.

By Leigh MacMillan
skin cross section
May 18, 2023

A critical skin enzyme

Detailed studies of the enzymatic properties of PNPLA1 support the requirement for this protein in skin barrier formation.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 9, 2023

Neural networks probe proteins

A machine learning method based on neural networks outperformed a mutational scanning model at identifying disease-causing mutations in an Alzheimer’s disease protein, suggesting the method could be useful for facilitating therapeutic design.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 8, 2023

Diabetes drugs associated with fewer adverse cardiac events in older veterans: study

Vanderbilt research finds that GLP1 receptor agonists — a class of diabetes medications — are associated with fewer major adverse cardiovascular events than another type of diabetes drug (DPP4 inhibitors) in older veterans with no prior heart disease.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 8, 2023

Improved imaging for kidney disease

Vanderbilt researchers identified optimal MRI parameters for estimating the severity of polycystic kidney disease, a common inherited disorder that can lead to end-stage renal failure.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 4, 2023

Tracking lung macrophages

A new technique will allow researchers to track subsets of immune cells that patrol and defend the lungs, to better understand the roles of these cells during lung inflammation, infection and injury.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 25, 2023

COVID alters respiratory microbiota

COVID-19 infection alters the microbes of the upper respiratory tract for at least several weeks, and such disturbances could impact disease severity and be targets for therapeutic interventions.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 24, 2023

Novel drugs have potential for treating tuberculosis

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is on the rise, and novel antibacterial drugs called SPTs have potential for treating the deadly lung infection.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 20, 2023

Study details RNA editing in virus-infected cancer cells

Vanderbilt researchers detail the landscape of RNA editing — a form of RNA modification — in primary effusion lymphoma cells during Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and identify an edited viral microRNA that is critical for infection.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 30, 2023

Ovarian cancer expert Odunsi to deliver next Discovery Lecture

Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, director of the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, will deliver the next Discovery Lecture at Vanderbilt on Thursday, April 6.
By Leigh MacMillan