Ten years on, a unique summer research program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center designed primarily for rural high school students with limited resources is achieving its goal of increasing the number of the nation’s scientists and engineers.

Students watched, transfixed, for nearly an hour last Friday as internationally known portrait artist Igor Babailov sketched Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Seniors Domonique Bragg and Cody Stothers, who both hail from rural Arkansas, followed a similar path to Vanderbilt.

A chemical bond discovered by Vanderbilt University scientists that is essential for animal life and which hastened the “dawn of the animal kingdom” could lead to new therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Billy Hudson, Ph.D., an internationally known expert on kidney diseases at Vanderbilt University, is the recipient of the 2012 Senior Investigator Award from the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB) — its highest honor.

An ancient enzyme that can be traced back 500 million years forms the chemical “rivet” that reinforces connective tissue throughout the body, Vanderbilt University researchers reported this week.