Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

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August 12, 2019

Pancreatic cancer clue

Inflammation synergizes with a cell’s intrinsic genetic program to promote the development of pancreatic cancer.

By Niyati Vachharajani
July 29, 2019

New role for microtubules in diabetes

Microtubules — part of the cell’s cytoskeleton — regulate the secretion of insulin, suggesting that they may be a new target for treating diabetes.

By Bill Snyder
July 18, 2019

Rasmussen named Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar

Megan Rasmussen, a PhD student in Cell and Developmental Biology, has been selected as the 2019 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar.

By Bill Snyder
June 10, 2019

Cell-cell signals in developing heart

Scott Baldwin and colleagues have discovered early signaling events during heart development, findings that could guide cell replacement therapies for heart disease.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 9, 2019

Blueprint for rebuilding the heart

Young-Jae Nam and colleagues are discovering how to express specific factors in connective tissue cells to turn them into heart muscle cells.

By Anivarya Kumar
May 9, 2019

The dynamic basement

Vanderbilt scientists led by Andrea Page-McCaw have discovered a new way to analyze repair of basement membranes — important structural and functional components of tissues.

By Sanjay Mishra
May 3, 2019

Researchers putting the brakes on lethal childhood cancer

Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is one of the most aggressive and lethal childhood cancers. Although rare — about 20 to 25 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States — there is no standard effective treatment for the disease, which is driven by loss of an anti-cancer protein called SNF5. The chances are very small that a child will survive a year after MRT diagnosis.
By Bill Snyder
March 28, 2019

Unraveling endocytosis

New discoveries by Jason MacGurn and colleagues further understanding of the complex machinery that cells use take up substances from outside the cell.
By VUMC News and Communications
March 28, 2019

Discovery Lecture

Ruth Lehmann, PhD, center, a world-renowned expert on the biology of germ cells, delivered last week’s Flexner Discovery Lecture.
By VUMC News and Communications
March 14, 2019

Germ cell biology expert Lehmann set for March 21 Discovery Lecture

Ruth Lehmann, PhD, a world-renowned expert on the biology of germ cells, which generate eggs and sperm, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 21.
By Bill Snyder
March 7, 2019

Vanderbilt mourns cancer researcher Stephen Hann

Stephen Hann, PhD, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, died Feb. 27. He was 67.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 14, 2019

Adhesion protein optimizes border

Matthew Tyska and colleagues have found that an adhesion protein plays a key role in building the intestinal brush border that is essential for absorbing nutrients.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 31, 2019

New target for chronic kidney disease

Preventing the formation of secretory structures that promote scarring in the kidney could offer new therapeutic options for a disease that affects millions of people worldwide.
By Leigh MacMillan