Engineered bacteria that produce a therapeutic compound in the gut prevent obesity in mice, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered.

During her 13-year tenure as chair of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Pharmacology, Heidi Hamm, Ph.D., bolstered its international reputation, attracted 18 new faculty members and helped take it in new directions, such as drug discovery.

Heidi Hamm, Ph.D., the Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Professor of Cardiovascular Research and an internationally known expert on G protein-mediated signaling, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, June 12.

Neuroscientist and biophysicist David Clapham, M.D., Ph.D., known for his studies of ion channels and cell signaling, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, April 3, in 208 Light Hall.

Saturday’s Brain Blast event at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, attracted 268 children and about 100 adults to free, hands-on activities.

Richard Kim, M.D., former professor of Medicine and clinical pharmacologist at Vanderbilt, will deliver this year’s Grant R. Wilkinson Distinguished Lecture in Clinical Pharmacology at 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in 208 Light Hall.