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Lopez lab develops computational tools to further understanding of complex biological systems
Jan. 20, 2022—The history of hermeneutics started with Aristotle—parts comprise the whole. To understand the whole, we need to understand the parts. And to understand the parts, we need to understand them in the context of the whole. Carlos F. Lopez, associate professor of biochemistry, described this concept and its connection to systems biology. The biomedical research...
Study identifies molecular trigger of severe injury-induced inflammatory response
Jan. 20, 2022—Patients that sustain severe trauma are at high risk of mortality that comes in waves and may occur days to weeks after injury. Not only are patients at risk for dying at the time of injury, but a second wave of death occurs hours after the injury, from bleeding, and a third wave happens days...
Applying for patent protection of faculty intellectual property
Jan. 20, 2022—A quick guide for Vanderbilt University Basic Sciences This quick guide was assembled by Chuck Sanders, with much input from Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization officers Alan Bentley and Mike Villalobos. Document the conceptualization and development of your “matter” in writing (e.g., a lab notebook) or some other medium. While generally no longer...
Brenda Crews
Jan. 19, 2022—With a heavy heart, we share that Brenda Crews, senior research specialist of the Marnett Lab in the Department of Biochemistry, has passed away. A loyal ‘Dore, Brenda was with Vanderbilt for more than 40 years, and a member of the Marnett lab for nearly 30 of those years! Lab PI and Basic Sciences Dean...
The role of integrins in kidney “integrity”
Jan. 13, 2022—Jan. 13, 2022, 10:40 AM by Bill Snyder Transmembrane receptors called integrins and proteins called laminins play important roles in the formation and function of tissues, including the ducts that collect urine from the filtering units of the kidneys. To better understand their role, Roy Zent, MBBCh, PhD, and colleagues deleted the alpha-3 and alpha-6...
New Awards Announced for Postdoctoral Scholars in Biochemistry
Jan. 10, 2022—By Dave Cortez and Aaron Conley The Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences announced new annual awards for postdoctoral scholars called the Destination Biochemistry Postdoctoral Scholar Awards. These awards will support exceptional postdoctoral fellows from around the world as they join labs in the Department of Biochemistry, making it a...
Vanderbilt scientist’s team project wins $55,000 to research fundamental cell behavior
Jan. 7, 2022—Lars Plate, assistant professor of chemistry and biological sciences, is on a team that won $55,000 from Scialog’s initiative, Chemical Machinery of the Cell. The award—one of 24 granted to 21 researchers in the U.S. and Canada—will enable Plate to pursue collaborative research to advance fundamental understanding of chemical machinery and reactions in intact cells. Scialog’s name is a mélange of...
An inward look into Biochemistry
Jan. 6, 2022—By Wendy Bindeman Welcome to the first of four articles in our new “Meet the Departments” series! The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences is composed of four departments: Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Pharmacology. Through this article series, we will be featuring each one, highlighting their proudest accomplishments,...
Study explores how bacteria become drug resistant
Jan. 6, 2022—Researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Arizona have revealed more of the inner-workings of a two-stage “molecular motor” in the cell membrane that enables bacteria to become resistant to drugs. Their findings, which were reported recently in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, will aid the search for inhibitors that can “turn off” the...
Vanderbilt extends its longest ongoing drug discovery agreement with pharmaceutical company through 2023
Dec. 22, 2021—Vanderbilt has extended its longest ongoing drug discovery agreement with Osaka, Japan-based Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a research and development-oriented pharmaceutical company that is committed to creating innovative medicines in specific areas, through November 2023. The initial agreement was signed in November 2015, and this was its fourth extension. Vanderbilt’s participation will continue to be...