Department of Biochemistry

September 24, 2019

Pettepher to receive AAMC Distinguished Teacher Award

Cathy Pettepher, PhD, is the recipient of the 2019 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

By Kathy Whitney
array of test tubes with pipette dropping fluid into one
September 20, 2019

Guengerich, Sanders-Bush named ASPET fellows

Vanderbilt University’s F. Peter (Fred) Guengerich, PhD, and Elaine Sanders-Bush, PhD, are among 22 prominent scientists named this week to the inaugural class of fellows of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

By Bill Snyder
August 22, 2019

How nerves may lose their insulation

Vanderbilt’s Bruce Carter and colleagues have discovered how genetic changes in the protein PMP22 may contribute to a disease of peripheral nerves.

By Bill Snyder
David Cortez, PhD, left, Petria Thompson, Katherine Amidon, Brandt Eichman, PhD, and colleagues are studying how a DNA repair pathway protein shields sites of damage to avoid mutations.
July 25, 2019

Team’s study reveals details of new DNA repair pathway

Investigators have discovered how a DNA repair pathway protein shields sites of damage to avoid mutations and maintain genome integrity.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 16, 2019

A critical factor for wound healing

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center scientists have discovered a role for a tumor suppressor protein in skin wound healing.

By Anivarya Kumar
July 8, 2019

International Association of Medical Science Educators honors Osheroff

Neil Osheroff, PhD, John G. Coniglio professor of Biochemistry, professor of Medicine and director of the Academy for Excellence in Education, received the Distinguished Career Award for Excellence in Teaching and Educational Scholarship from the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE).

By Kathy Whitney
June 20, 2019

Potential probe for early ovarian cancer

Larry Marnett and colleagues have developed what may become the first agent for targeted PET imaging of cancer tissues, such as ovarian cancer, that express high levels of the COX-1 enzyme.
By Anivarya Kumar
June 12, 2019

Steroid binding to metabolic enzyme

Understanding how a steroid-metabolizing enzyme binds to its substrates may aid in designing drugs to treat sexual dysfunction as well as prostate cancer.
By Bill Snyder
April 25, 2019

A new antibiotic’s mechanism of action

Vanderbilt investigators have characterized how a new first-in-class antibacterial drug works, which will guide the development of additional compounds that overcome antibacterial resistance.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 28, 2019

Cancer’s SOS

Stephen Fesik and colleagues are advancing cancer drug discovery with the characterization of small molecules that modulate RAS, an important target for anti-cancer therapies.
By Sanjay Mishra
March 14, 2019

Correctly copying DNA

A precise understanding of how the enzyme topoisomerase II cuts DNA could lead to better anti-cancer therapies.
By Sanjay Mishra
February 28, 2019

Achilles’ heel for kidney cancer

The discovery that kidney cells with mutations in a certain gene are sensitive to therapies called PI3K inhibitors opens new opportunities for applying precision medicine to cancer treatment.
By VUMC News and Communications
February 28, 2019

Novel DNA repair mechanism preserves genome integrity: study

Biochemistry investigators at Vanderbilt have discovered a new DNA repair mechanism that prevents gene mutations during DNA replication.
By Leigh MacMillan