The bacterium H. pylori is a leading cause of stomach cancer, and Vanderbilt researchers are studying how one of its toxins gets into cells.

The spring Flexner Discovery Lecture series wraps up on Thursday, April 26, with a presentation by Terry Orr-Weaver, PhD, professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

MCL-1 is a member of the BCL-2 family of proteins important for blocking apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Many types of cancer cells escape the body’s effort to kill them by overexpressing MCL-1.

Understanding the specialized environment where stem cells reside is important for developing stem-cell based regenerative therapies.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a role for microtubules — part of the cellular “skeleton” — in organizing the unique sidedness of the epithelial cells that line organs like the intestines.

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.

Microtubules are the “railroad tracks” essential for moving intracellular “freight” around in the cell. They’re also part of the spindle that pulls the two centrosomes apart during cell division.