Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

From left, Ken Lau, PhD, Bob Chen, Qi Liu, PhD, Joseph Rolland, PhD, Martha Shrubsole, PhD, Robert Coffey, MD, and colleagues are studying how polyps develop into colorectal cancer, setting the framework for improved surveillance for the cancer utilizing precision medicine. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
December 14, 2021

Study sets framework for precision surveillance of colorectal cancer

Vanderbilt research has revealed some of the mechanisms by which polyps develop into colorectal cancer, setting the framework for improved surveillance for the cancer utilizing precision medicine.

By Tom Wilemon
PHOTO: Members of the supermere discovery team include (front row from left) Qi Liu, PhD, Robert Coffey, MD, Qin Zhang, PhD, and (back row from left) James Higginbotham, PhD; Dennis Jeppesen, PhD; and Jeffrey Franklin, PhD. (hoto by Erin O. Smith)
December 10, 2021

“Supermeres” may carry clues to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a nanoparticle released from cells, called a “supermere,” which contains enzymes, proteins and RNA associated with multiple cancers, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and even COVID-19.

By Bill Snyder
Stomach
October 14, 2021

New marker for metaplasia

A protein that transports water, called aquaporin 5, is expressed by cells undergoing changes that may increase risk for gastric cancer development, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

By Bill Snyder
Paige Vega has been selected as the 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar.
August 11, 2021

Vega selected as 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar

Paige Vega, a PhD student in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University, has been selected as the 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar.

By Bill Snyder
April 29, 2021

A compound to counteract aging?

A compound that increases lifespan in yeast is offering clues to pharmacological approaches that might slow the aging process and improve health.

By Leigh MacMillan
Deanna Edwards, PhD, left, Jin Chen, MD, PhD, and colleagues are studying a new therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer.
April 1, 2021

Breast cancer cells ‘steal’ nutrients from immune cells: study

Triple-negative breast cancer cells engage in a “glutamine steal” — outcompeting T cells for the nutrient glutamine and impairing their ability to kill tumor cells, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2021

Genetic clues in eye birth defect

Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 21, 2021

WIN for blocking cancer growth

William Tansey and colleagues identified proteins that interact with the cancer drug target WDR5 and are important for cancer cell growth.
By Sarah E. Glass
November 18, 2020

Why does COVID-19 seem to spare children? Vanderbilt University Medical Center study offers an answer 

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children. 
By Bill Snyder
November 12, 2020

New therapeutic target for lung cancer

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new molecular partner — and potential therapeutic target — in a signaling axis that drives lung cancer.
By Sarah E. Glass
October 20, 2020

Preserving gut mucus architecture

A new method that keeps microbes and gut cells together will be useful for studies of complex host-microbe interactions and for analysis of clinical specimens.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 15, 2020

Possible COVID-19 “decoy”

It might be possible to use vesicles carrying the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to bind the virus and prevent infection.
By Bill Snyder
October 15, 2020

Factor involved in stomach injury response identified

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a key factor that coordinates the body’s repair response to severe injury in the stomach caused, most commonly, by infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
By Bill Snyder
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