VI4 Archives

From left, Xiang Ye, PhD, Suba Rajendren, PhD, Antiana Richardson, and John Karijolich, PhD, are studying how the cancer-causing virus KSHV commandeers host gene expression and regulatory machinery.

Study details RNA editing in virus-infected cancer cells

Apr. 20, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers detail the landscape of RNA editing — a form of RNA modification — in primary effusion lymphoma cells during Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and identify an edited viral microRNA that is critical for infection.

Wenhan Zhu, PhD, recently received a research award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation.

Mathers Foundation award supports study of bacterial physiology

Mar. 23, 2023—Vanderbilt's Wenhan Zhu, PhD, has received a three-year award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation to support his research that aims to answer a fundamental question about bacterial physiology and engineer probiotics to improve gut inflammatory diseases.

E. coli uses serine to abide acidity

Mar. 23, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered another acid resistance mechanism for UTI-causing E. coli, laying the foundation for targeted antibacterial therapies.

Probing hellbender health

Feb. 20, 2023—Understanding how hellbenders — large, fully aquatic salamanders — fight fungal pathogens and disease is important for protecting these unique stream predators; Vanderbilt researchers add new insights.

Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, left, and Kelsey Voss, PhD, led a multidisciplinary team that identified iron metabolism in T cells as a potential target for treating lupus.

Study identifies potential new approach for treating lupus

Jan. 13, 2023—A Vanderbilt study found that targeting iron metabolism in immune system cells may offer a new approach for treating systemic lupus erythematosus — the most common form of the chronic autoimmune disease lupus.

Luc Van Kaer, PhD, left, Luke Postoak and colleagues have identified a protein that is key to the “education” of immature T cells in the thymus.

Study identifies key player in T cell “education”

Sep. 1, 2022—New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output.

Research by Christopher Peek, PhD, left, Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, and their colleagues reveals how gut inflammation leads to bone loss.

Vanderbilt researchers discover how gut inflammation leads to bone loss

Aug. 25, 2022—Gastrointestinal inflammation, such as occurs in inflammatory bowel disease, triggers the expansion of a population of “bone-eating” cells, leading to bone loss.

Maria Hadjifrangiskou, PhD, Connor Beebout, PhD, and colleagues are studying why the bacterium E. coli is so tenacious.

Study describes how E. coli co-opts cells, causes recurrent UTIs

Aug. 25, 2022—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered why the uropathogenic bacterium E. coli, the leading cause of urinary tract infections, is so tenacious; their findings could lead to new ways to prevent recurrent UTIs.