pathology microbiology and immunology

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
This is a 3D volume rendering of an MRI of a post-mortem heart obtained from a patient with COVID-19, acquired at ultra-high 500 micron spatial resolution.
May 21, 2020

Team uses imaging to study ways the heart is affected by coronavirus

Researchers are using imaging and diagnostic pathology to examine postmortem hearts donated by victims of COVID-19 to gain a better understanding of how the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 affects the heart.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 19, 2020

Probing innate immunity

Manuel Ascano team validates an inhibitor of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, which is important for cellular innate immunity against bacteria, viruses, and our own damaged DNA.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 14, 2020

Antibodies eye Pacific Island “fever”

Vanderbilt Vaccine Center team isolates monoclonal antibodies against Ross River virus, which causes rash, fever and debilitating muscle and joint pain lasting three to six months.

By Bill Snyder
May 14, 2020

The adaptable anthrax bacterium

Vanderbilt researchers discover how anthrax bacterium defends itself against structural damage and resists the toxicity of the antimicrobial drug targocil.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 7, 2020

New method captures early viral-host protein interactions

Researchers have developed a method to identify the primary interactions between incoming viral RNA genomes and host proteins.

By Bill Snyder
April 30, 2020

Price’s old laboratory recipe book proves to be invaluable

Howard Price has a decades-old green notebook he keeps in his office at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and when a shortage of a critical laboratory supply nearly brought testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to a halt at the Medical Center, the notebook’s contents quickly became invaluable.
By Jill Clendening
April 30, 2020

Antibody finding raises hopes for Marburg, COVID-19 treatments

Monoclonal antibodies against Marburg virus — a more lethal cousin of the RNA virus that causes COVID-19 — may aid in the development of antibody “cocktails” to counter viral infection.
By Bill Snyder
April 28, 2020

The priceless notebook of Mr. Price

A vital ingredient for COVID testing was unavailable anywhere. Then Howard Price remembered a recipe in an old notebook.
By Jill Clendening
April 23, 2020

Collaboration key to rapid expansion of lab test capacity

The rapid ramping up of SARS-CoV-2 testing at VUMC reflects the dedication of the professionals who work in the Clinical Laboratory and also their collaboration with colleagues in research laboratories throughout VUMC.
By Jill Clendening and Bill Snyder
April 14, 2020

VUMC seeks plasma donations from recovered COVID-19 patients

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is recruiting volunteers who have tested positive for COVID-19 and fully recovered to donate plasma to help those who are currently ill with the virus as part of a new research study.
By VUMC News and Communications
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 12, 2020

Diagnostic testing for genetic disorders now available on site

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has opened a Clinical Genomics Laboratory to provide diagnostic testing for genetic disorders.
By Leigh MacMillan