Studies of the molecular complex that helps build specialized cellular surfaces could shed light on the mechanisms underlying a genetic deaf-blindness syndrome accompanied by intestinal disease.

Despite a challenging health care landscape, Vanderbilt University Medical Center continues to advance the highest-quality patient care, train the next generation of physician leaders and push forward the frontiers of biomedical science.

Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered how intestinal cells build the "brush border" -- a specialized surface structure that is critical for absorbing nutrients and defending against pathogens.

Two new “super-resolution” optical microscopes have put Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the cutting edge of cellular imaging, and are giving researchers their first views of the cell at the molecular level.

The epithelial cells that line the intestines have a newly discovered mechanism for protecting us against microbes: they fire anti-bacterial "bullets" into the gut.