Research

April 16, 2020

‘Tuning’ cell shape for division

Dylan Burnette and colleagues have discovered that two forms of the molecular motor protein myosin have distinct roles in regulating cell shape during cell division.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 16, 2020

Transporter’s role in gut barrier

A disease-associated mutation in a transporter protein impairs gut barrier function, leading to gastrointestinal disease and chronic infections.

By Leigh MacMillan
The extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer team includes, from left, Jeffrey Franklin, PhD, Yu Shyr, PhD, Qi Liu, PhD, Alissa Weaver, MD, PhD, James Higginbotham, PhD, and James Patton, PhD. Not pictured: Robert Coffey, MD, Kasey Vickers, PhD, and John Karijolich, PhD. (photo taken before social distancing)
April 9, 2020

Research team awarded $9 million to study extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer

The NCI program project grant is supporting multiple projects that aim to define fundamental biological principles about extracellular RNA signaling and the development and aggressiveness of colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 9, 2020

Study tracks genomics of lung tumor behavior

A study by Vanderbilt researchers has identified genomic alterations in early stage adenocarcinomas of the lung that may indicate whether the lesions develop into aggressive tumors.

By Tom Wilemon
April 8, 2020

VUMC explores strategy to protect Emergency Department providers during COVID-19 pandemic

Policy changes related to telemedicine that were quickly implemented during the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) have created opportunities for technology-based clinical evaluation, which serves to protect patients and providers alike, while conserving personal protective equipment (PPE).

By Kathy Whitney
April 6, 2020

VUMC team aids development of potential antiviral drug for COVID-19

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are playing a key role in the development of a potential new antiviral drug to treat COVID-19.

By Bill Snyder
March 24, 2020

Spasticity underdiagnosed

Spasticity — a consequence of stroke and other disorders of the central nervous system — may be underdiagnosed and undertreated in nursing home residents.
By Paul Govern
March 23, 2020

Researchers developing potential coronavirus antibody therapies

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is teaming up with academic, governmental and corporate partners in an unprecedented, fast-tracked global effort to develop antibody-based treatments to protect people exposed to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19.
By Bill Snyder
March 23, 2020

Study reveals an inherited origin of prostate cancer in families

Vanderbilt researchers have identified haplotypes, ancestral fragments of DNA, that are associated with hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) in a first-of-its-kind genomic study made possible by the study of prostate cancer patients with family histories of the disease.
By Tom Wilemon
March 23, 2020

Cellular factor helps package flu genome

New insights on influenza genome packaging could guide strategies for interfering with the virus’s life cycle and ability to cause infection.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 19, 2020

Race, hormones and diabetes risk

Variation in the levels of hormones called natriuretic peptides may contribute to racial differences in susceptibility to diabetes, suggesting that this hormone system may be a target for reducing risk of the disease.
By VUMC News and Communications
March 19, 2020

Blocking stress-induced relapse

Danny Winder and colleagues are teasing apart the actions of neurotransmitter receptors in a brain region linked to anxiety and addiction, with a goal of finding treatments for substance use disorders.
By Bill Snyder
March 18, 2020

UC Berkeley’s Doudna named to receive Vanderbilt Prize

Jennifer Doudna, PhD, who led development of the revolutionary genome editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9, is the recipient of the 2020 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced this week.
By Bill Snyder