Basic Sciences

eye
January 25, 2018

A cataract-heart connection

Studies of alpha-B crystallin in zebrafish could ultimately lead to improved treatment for cataracts and heart disease.

By Meredith Jackson
January 25, 2018

Number of minority trainees on rise, but not minority faculty

Vanderbilt investigators examined the entire training pathway of potential biomedical research faculty and found two key points of loss: during undergraduate education and in transition from postdoctoral fellowship to tenure-track faculty.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 25, 2018

Directorships honor VUMC’s critical missions

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on Monday held its first Directorship Celebration to honor and support eight of its leaders in clinical care, research, education and administration.

By Bill Snyder
Insulin in vials
January 25, 2018

Study may point to new ways to reverse insulin resistance

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered how insulin crosses the capillary endothelium to exit blood vessels and stimulate skeletal muscle cells — a major finding that may lead to new ways to reverse insulin resistance, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes.

By Bill Snyder
January 18, 2018

Investigators eye new target for treating movement disorders

Blocking a nerve-cell receptor in part of the brain that coordinates movement could improve the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, dyskinesia and other movement disorders, researchers at Vanderbilt University have reported.

By Bill Snyder
January 16, 2018

A spicy finding

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that curcumin — the active ingredient in the spice turmeric — needs to be metabolically activated to exert anti-inflammatory effects.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 11, 2018

Macara named ‘Pink Tie Guy’ for Komen breast cancer research

Ian Macara, PhD, Louise B. McGavock Professor and Chair of Cell and Developmental Biology and co-leader of the Signal Transduction and Chemical Biology Research Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), has been named one of the Pink Tie Guys for the Susan G. Komen Central Tennessee organization.
By VUMC News and Communications
August 8, 2017

Early drivers of gastric cancer

Using bioinformatics approaches, Vanderbilt investigators have identified gene expression networks that are deregulated in mouse and human stomach cancers.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 7, 2017

Vanderbilt begins Phase 1 trials of new Alzheimer’s drug

Developed at Vanderbilt, VU319 is designed to precisely target a specific neuron receptor associated with cognitive function while avoiding potentially dangerous side effects.
By Bill Snyder
July 27, 2017

Investigators use light to kill microbial ‘vampires’

On July 24 Vanderbilt scientist Eric Skaar, Ph.D., MPH, summarized his group’s latest paper in a tweet: “If S. aureus is going to drink our blood like a vampire, let's kill it with sunlight.”
By Bill Snyder
July 26, 2017

Vanderbilt mourns loss of pharmacologist H. Alex Brown

H. Alex Brown, Ph.D., the Bixler-Johnson-Mayes Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, died from cancer Tuesday, July 25, at his home. He was 56.
By Bill Snyder
July 20, 2017

Study identifies protein’s role in chemotherapy resistance

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have discovered a protein that may lead to a new way to prevent resistance and improve outcomes for patients whose cancers have mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA2.
By Bill Snyder
July 20, 2017

Shyr named chair of Department of Biostatistics

Yu Shyr, Ph.D., Harold L. Moses Professor of Cancer Research and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Quantitative Sciences, has been named chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Biostatistics. He will assume the post Sept. 1.
By VUMC News and Communications