Laboratory and administrative personnel at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were honored on March 29 for research excellence during the 20th annual Research Staff Awards Ceremony.

An international research team co-led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center has revealed how variations in gene regulation in different cell types drive pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive respiratory disorder characterized by scarring and loss of functional lung tissue.

Using a technique developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, researchers identified antibodies that are excellent leads as potential therapies for human parainfluenza virus 3, a leading cause of acute and potentially fatal respiratory illness.

Leading investigators in diabetes, pancreas and islet biology, and computational biology have received $12.5 million in two five-year awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create the world’s first, integrated knowledge base of human-derived tissue- and cellular-level pancreatic information to support innovative, collaborative and reproducible research.

While immune checkpoint inhibitors that target the PD-1 molecule on T-cells have proven to be effective with many cancers, these immunotherapies have not worked for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but new research has identified a “cousin” molecule as a potential therapeutic target for AML. 

Study authors used activity, clinical and genetic data from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program to explore the association of genetic risk of higher body mass index and the level of physical activity needed to reduce incident obesity. 

During her Discovery Lecture on March 21, Professor Dame Frances Ashcroft, recipient of the 2023 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, spoke on the joy science has given her.