Nancy Cox, Ph.D., founding director of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Dec. 17.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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