C elegans

Patrick Hu, MD, PhD, has been named assistant dean for Physician-Researcher Training and director of the Office for Medical Student Research.
December 4, 2019

Genetic screen in worms reveals critical step in insulin synthesis

The identification of a protein important for insulin synthesis may hold clues for understanding the pathogenesis of diabetes.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 17, 2019

Microscopic spines connect worm neurons

Worm neurons have microscopic “spines” — where nerve-to-nerve communication happens — that share features with mammalian neurons, supporting the use of worms to study spine genetics and biology.

By Leigh MacMillan
December 6, 2018

Team seeks to create gene expression map of worm’s nervous system

How do you build a brain? What “rules” govern where neurons end up, how they connect to each other, and which functions they perform?

By Leigh MacMillan
Phyllis Freeman Randy Blakely Vanderbilt Lab
July 7, 2015

NSF award goes to Fisk geneticist following VU post-doc training

The partnership with Fisk through the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program and other avenues, “presents us with an opportunity to see the results of our efforts impact an under-served community.”

By VUMC News and Communications
neuron
August 15, 2013

Researchers track neuron branching’s genetic control switch

In an effort to understand how neurons develop different “architectures,” Vanderbilt developmental biologists have discovered a genetic switch that controls one type of neuron branching in the nematode worm.

By Leigh MacMillan