Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus — two pathogens that frequently co-infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis — appear to cooperate with each other, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. When pseudomonas is starved for metal by the host, it shuts down the production of factors that would normally kill staph, promoting a co-infection.

Walter Chazin, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology, is a recipient of a 2016 Fellow of the Biophysical Society award.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have established the molecular basis for the function of Replication Protein A (RPA), a DNA binding protein that is a crucial “scaffold” for genome replication, response to damage and repair.

The Vanderbilt University Department of Biochemistry will host a two-day symposium March 6-7 to honor the 60th birthday of Walter Chazin, Ph.D., director of the Center for Structural Biology.

Insights into the workings of DNA damage response proteins such as SMARCAL1 could suggest new ways to improve genome integrity and prevent cancer.

Vanderbilt investigators report new insights to the workings of calprotectin, an immune system protein that “starves” bacterial pathogens of the metal nutrients they require.

A team led by Vanderbilt University investigators has discovered two new genes — both coding for the signaling protein calmodulin — associated with severe early-onset disorders of heart rhythm.