NCI

July 9, 2020

Keeping beta cells “fit”

Vanderbilt cell biologists are defining the factors that help beta cells in the pancreas stay healthy, secrete insulin and prevent diabetes initiation and progression.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 18, 2020

Probing DNA damage repair

After discovering a new mechanism for DNA damage repair last year, Vanderbilt biochemists now provide direct evidence for how it works.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 18, 2020

Studying cells in reduced dimensions

Vanderbilt cell biologists have developed an unbiased, quantitative framework for evaluating single-cell data.

By Bill Snyder
June 4, 2020

Potential new cancer target

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered the involvement of a certain type of adenosine receptor in mediating signaling that supports tumor growth and metastasis.

By Bill Snyder
Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, and colleagues are studying enzymes involved in metabolism that are particularly important for Staphylococcus aureus to survive in host tissues.
June 3, 2020

Study explores how staph bacteria can survive in bone

A comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic pathways that support Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) growth during invasive bone infections could offer new targets for treatment.

By Leigh MacMillan
The extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer team includes, from left, Jeffrey Franklin, PhD, Yu Shyr, PhD, Qi Liu, PhD, Alissa Weaver, MD, PhD, James Higginbotham, PhD, and James Patton, PhD. Not pictured: Robert Coffey, MD, Kasey Vickers, PhD, and John Karijolich, PhD. (photo taken before social distancing)
April 9, 2020

Research team awarded $9 million to study extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer

The NCI program project grant is supporting multiple projects that aim to define fundamental biological principles about extracellular RNA signaling and the development and aggressiveness of colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 9, 2020

Meat intake and colorectal polyps

Red and processed meat intakes are strongly associated with increased risk of sessile serrated polyps, which are not as well studied as conventional adenomas.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 5, 2020

Clues to lung injury in preterm babies

Jennifer Sucre and colleagues have discovered a factor that contributes to the pathological changes of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the most common complication of preterm birth.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 10, 2020

Imaging breast cancer cell size

A noninvasive MRI approach assesses breast tumor cell size and could be a useful way to evaluate early response to neoadjuvant therapy.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 6, 2020

Powering H. pylori pathogenesis

Timothy Cover and colleagues report new insights into the sources of energy used by a bacterial “machine” linked to the pathogenesis of stomach cancer.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 6, 2020

New tool probes gene regulation

Vanderbilt biochemists got unexpected results when they used their new approach to explore the role of DNA methylation in gene regulation.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 23, 2020

HDL-cholesterol and breast cancer risk

Genetic analyses suggest that high circulating HDL-cholesterol levels may increase breast cancer risk — a surprising finding since increased HDL-cholesterol is thought to be healthy.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 8, 2019

A new regulator of B cell development

New findings establish a role for the pro-inflammatory molecule IL-33 in the early development of antibody-producing B cells.
By Leigh MacMillan