Vanderbilt investigators said their work shows that computational design can improve the ability of naturally occurring antibodies to recognize different flu strains and may hasten the development of more effective flu therapies and vaccines.

Preventing the formation of secretory structures that promote scarring in the kidney could offer new therapeutic options for a disease that affects millions of people worldwide.

Vanderbilt researchers propose that cellular signaling pathways are amplified by a “conveyor belt” mechanism that exchanges active and inactive enzymes.

A link between anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and C. diff infection suggests caution against overusing such drugs in patients at high risk for infection.

DNA-binding “switches” represent a fundamentally new method of communication between DNA-processing enzymes, Vanderbilt researchers propose.

Vanderbilt investigators are defining the genetic programs that control the development of pancreatic beta cells — studies that could inform new cellular or regenerative therapies for diabetes.

A greater understanding of the mechanisms and cell types involved in returning adipose (fatty) tissue to the lean state may lead to more effective treatments for obesity.