Stephen Doster

In late August of this year, Dr. Bill Sutherland visited the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences dean, Larry Marnett, and Dr. Nancy Carrasco, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, to donate materials from the life of his father, Nobel laureate Dr. Earl Sutherland. Read More

Research led by Dylan Burnette, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, and first-author Abigail Neininger, a graduate student in the Burnette lab, identified the Hippo pathway as a key regulator of heart muscle cell division, which has large translational implications for treatments after a heart attack. Their article was… Read More

By Colbie Chinowsky The surface of the intestinal tract is the sole site of nutrient absorption—a life-sustaining process—and disturbances to this tissue have the potential for deadly consequences. The small intestine has evolved a variety of structures that maximize the surface area available for nutrient uptake, including microvilli, fingerlike projections… Read More

Sep. 7, 2021, 8:00 AM by Leigh MacMillan The cardiac natriuretic peptides (NPs) maintain blood pressure and fluid volume and stimulate fat cell metabolism. The expression level of NPRC — a “clearance” receptor that binds and degrades NPs — in adipose tissues is critical for NP action, yet little is… Read More

Sep. 8, 2021, 3:04 PM by Bill Snyder Cross-reactive human monoclonal antibodies isolated by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center prevented, in an animal model, severe illness and death caused by two emerging and deadly viruses called Nipah and Hendra. Their results, published this week in the journal Cell… Read More

by Leigh MacMillan Like a spider trapping its prey, our immune system cells cooperate to capture and “eat” bacteria. The newly identified antibacterial mechanism, reported Sept. 10 in Science Advances, could inspire novel strategies for combating Staphylococcus aureus (staph) and other extracellular bacterial pathogens. It was… Read More

THE IDEA Ege Kavalali (Vanderbilt University) Lisa Monteggia (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) Researchers are one step closer to understanding the physiology of antidepressant action in the brain. They have confirmed that even when brain cells are not active, they trigger protein production that affects the function of cells and neural circuits. The… Read More

Manny Ascano is the 2021 Channcellor’s Award recipient for ground-breaking cancer research. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Cybele Raver and Faculty Senate Chair Mark Magnuson, Louise B. McGavock Professor of Molecular Physiology and… Read More

by Bill Snyder The tumor suppressor protein p53 is mutated in more than half of all human cancers. Several drugs that potentially can restore mutant p53 to its normal cancer-killing function are in clinical investigation. However, much remains to be learned about various mutations that lead to a “loss of… Read More

by Bill Snyder A monoclonal antibody cocktail against the COVID-19 virus discovered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and developed by AstraZeneca reduced the risk of symptoms in a study of immunocompromised and chronically ill adults later exposed to the virus by 77%, the company announced today. Based on the… Read More