Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Lipids in the plasma membrane regulate the position of the contractile ring that is required for cell division, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

Using super-resolution microscopy tools in the Nikon Center of Excellence, Vanderbilt investigators have determined the molecular architecture of the contractile ring machinery that functions during cell division — a process that is essential for life.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that microvilli – finger-like projections from cells in the intestine – respond to the shear stress of fluid flow to drive a cellular pathway that regulates nutrient balance.

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered a novel non-genetic cause of resistance to the targeted anti-cancer therapy cetuximab. Their findings, reported this week in Nature Medicine, suggest a strategy for overcoming this resistance.

An interdisciplinary team of Vanderbilt University researchers has received a two-year, $2-million federal grant to develop an “organ-on-chip” model for two genetic forms of epilepsy.

Internationally known epigeneticist C. David Allis, Ph.D., will deliver the first Flexner Discovery Lecture of the academic year at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, in room 208 Light Hall.

Genetic mutations in PMP22 (peripheral myelin protein 22) cause a variety of peripheral neuropathies, underscoring the importance of the protein to a healthy peripheral nervous system. But the precise function of PMP22, a major component of the myelin sheath that surrounds and insulates peripheral nerve cell axons, has been unclear.