Department of Biochemistry

March 17, 2016

Cunningham Award winner

Lisa Poole, a graduate student in the lab of David Cortez, Ph.D., received the 2016 Leon W. Cunningham Award for Excellence in Biochemistry last week during the Biochemistry Department’s annual retreat at the Student Life Center.

By Bill Snyder
Indian mother and child
February 11, 2016

Slight chemical change may improve TB treatments: study

One small chemical change to an existing antibacterial drug results in a compound that is more effective against its target enzyme in tuberculosis, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 28, 2016

Nobel laureate’s lecture highlights impact of science

“Stay with science,” Nobel laureate Peter Agre, M.D., advised dozens of medical and graduate students who attended his lecture at Vanderbilt University Medical Center last week. “It will take you to fascinating places.”

By VUMC News and Communications
model of DNA double helix
January 22, 2016

Faulty building blocks in DNA

An enzyme that builds DNA is able to insert the wrong building blocks, which could generate mutations.

By Bill Snyder
January 8, 2016

Copying chromosome caps

Telomeres – the caps on the end of chromosomes – are a source of stress for a particular protein involved in copying DNA, a new study reports.

By Leigh MacMillan
DNA sequence visualization
November 12, 2015

Study helps clarify components of DNA ‘copy machine’

Vanderbilt investigators have generated a “parts list” for the molecular machinery that duplicates DNA each time a cell divides. The research has implications for cancer therapies that target components of this machinery.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 22, 2015

Chazin honored with international biophysics award

Walter Chazin, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology, is a recipient of a 2016 Fellow of the Biophysical Society award.
By Bill Snyder
October 7, 2015

Rational design of novel antifungals

Structural and molecular details of an anti-fungal target's interaction with inhibitors suggest ways to design better treatments for fungal infections.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 2, 2015

The yin and yang of COX-2

New findings add to the understanding of how the enzyme COX-2 works, which is critical to the development of COX-2-targeted anti-inflammatory drugs.
By Sanjay Mishra
August 26, 2015

Framework for studying cell responses

Vanderbilt investigators have developed a framework for studying cellular responses that could be used to identify the agents driving a range of biological processes in health and disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 25, 2015

How the cell makes morphine

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered how mammals, including humans, produce the painkiller morphine.
By Sanjay Mishra
August 12, 2015

Origins of neuroblastoma

Vanderbilt researchers are exploring how neuroblastoma tumors begin and progress, knowledge that could provide new treatments for this pediatric cancer.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 7, 2015

Bridging the antibiotic gap

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered how certain molecules with antibiotic properties are synthesized, findings that could lead to new drugs that overcome the increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
By Sanjay Mishra and Bill Snyder