Department of Biochemistry

November 20, 2017

15 faculty members elected as AAAS fellows

Fifteen Vanderbilt faculty members conducting a range of biomedical and clinical research have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Six of the 15 have received funding through the university’s Trans-Institutional Programs initiative, which facilitates research and teaching collaborations across disciplines and are a core pillar of the university’s Academic Strategic Plan.

By Bill Snyder
October 12, 2017

A switch for autoimmunity

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered a class of compounds that inhibit a mediator of inflammation and autoimmune disorders, and that could pave the way for development of future therapies.

By VUMC News and Communications
September 29, 2017

Novel insights to antibiotic targets

New mechanistic details about the DNA-unwinding activity of antibacterial protein targets could lead to the design of better antibiotic medicines.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 3, 2017

HDAC3 role in B-cell development

The histone deacetylase HDAC3 is required for the maturation of B cells, white blood cells that produce antibodies.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 25, 2017

Altered metabolism and disease

Vanderbilt researchers report a structure of a human metabolic enzyme bound to its substrate 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone.

By VUMC News and Communications
July 20, 2017

Study identifies protein’s role in chemotherapy resistance

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have discovered a protein that may lead to a new way to prevent resistance and improve outcomes for patients whose cancers have mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA2.

By Bill Snyder
June 12, 2017

Repriming replication roadblocks

New findings shed light on how enzymes that replicate DNA skip over mutations that might cause cancer and restart DNA synthesis further away.
By Sanjay Mishra
May 18, 2017

Oxidative stress in tumors

Vanderbilt investigators have developed a new method for measuring oxidative stress in human tumors, which provides insight into cancer development.
By Sanjay Mishra
April 27, 2017

Protein structure may aid in treating Alzheimer’s disease

A new protein structure may guide the development of Alzheimer's therapeutics.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 14, 2017

A new mode of DNA repair

Structural details of a protein that removes DNA lesions shed light on fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 6, 2017

Vanderbilt’s Pietenpol joins Sledge as a Chief Scientific Advisor for Susan G. Komen

Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., Executive Vice President for Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), has been named a Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) for the nonprofit breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen.
By VUMC News and Communications
April 3, 2017

Fighting fungal infections

A detailed structural and functional analysis of the yeast protein that is the main target of antifungal drugs will help direct efforts to develop better treatments.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 23, 2017

Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication  

DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.”
By Bill Snyder