Leigh MacMillan

green traffic light
December 3, 2015

Microtubules act as cellular ‘rheostat’ to control insulin secretion

Microtubules — cellular “highways” that deliver cargo to the cell membrane for secretion — have a surprising role in pancreatic beta cells. Instead of facilitating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, they limit it, a team of Vanderbilt investigators reported recently in Developmental Cell.

By Leigh MacMillan
November 12, 2015

VUMC’s Baganz honored by Society for Neuroscience

For her contributions to public communication, outreach and education about neuroscience, Nicole Baganz, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Pharmacology, received the 2015 Next Generation Award from the Society for Neuroscience.

By Leigh MacMillan
DNA sequence visualization
November 12, 2015

Study helps clarify components of DNA ‘copy machine’

Vanderbilt investigators have generated a “parts list” for the molecular machinery that duplicates DNA each time a cell divides. The research has implications for cancer therapies that target components of this machinery.

By Leigh MacMillan
November 4, 2015

Detect and defend against pathogens

Understanding factors, such as the receptor TLR9, that detect and defend against pathogens may lead to therapeutic approaches that promote an effective immune response to treat infections.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 30, 2015

Prenatal folic acid and asthma

The timing of folic acid-containing prescription filling during pregnancy was associated with childhood asthma, according to a new Vanderbilt study.

By Leigh MacMillan
DNA image
October 29, 2015

New class of DNA repair enzyme discovered

A new class of DNA repair enzyme has been discovered which demonstrates that a much broader range of damage can be removed from the double helix in ways that biologists did not think were possible.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 29, 2015

Inflammation, obesity and diabetes

Vanderbilt study adds to the mounting role for inflammatory signaling in obesity.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 21, 2015

Biomarker for intestinal tumors

A new marker could be useful for diagnosing and treating neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestines.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 5, 2015

Potential target for lung cancer therapy

The glutamine transporter protein appears to contribute to the survival of lung cancer cells, suggesting it may be a useful diagnostic biomarker and target for therapies.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 1, 2015

Collaboration seeks to develop new therapies for bone, other diseases

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. and Vanderbilt University have signed a research and license agreement covering Vanderbilt’s research program and intellectual property rights related to compounds that block bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) type-I receptors. The compounds have therapeutic potential in a broad range of diseases, including rare genetic disorders.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 1, 2015

Tolerating a transplant

A new genetic model has generated new strategies for promoting tolerance to transplants – and improving long-term transplant outcomes – in the background of autoimmune disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 1, 2015

Hochmair set for next Discovery Lecture

The co-creator of the world’s first microelectronic multi-channel cochlear implant — a device that provides sound signals to the brain in deaf individuals — will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture.
By Leigh MacMillan