Stephen Doster

Ege T. Kavalali, PhD, professor and acting chair of the Department of Pharmacology in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been elected a recipient of a prestigious Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. Kavalali, also William Stokes Professor of Experimental Therapeutics at… Read More

Dec. 20, 2019, 11:00 AM by Allison Whitten Prolonged stress can lead to a myriad of mental and physical health issues. Up to one quarter of people suffering from chronic stress also exhibit comorbid anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders. In a new study published in the… Read More

By Deborah Roby A mouse drinking from a water dispenser. Published under a CC0 1.0 license. Researchers at the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, along with collaborators at MIT and Salk Institute, have determined a neurological pathway that may be used to determine a… Read More

Dec. 17, 2019, 8:30 AM by Leigh MacMillan The protein kinase MELK is thought to affect cell cycle regulation, proliferation and mitosis. Overexpression of MELK impacts survival and proliferation of multiple cancer types, including glioblastomas and breast cancer, but its molecular functions in cancer development are unclear. Read More

By Julia Thompson Artist’s rendering of a mental health concept, by Quince Media. Image reproduced under a CC BY 4.0 license. Fear is a crucial emotion for human survival. Without the ability to experience fear in response to possible threats in the environment, it is all too easy… Read More

Dec. 12, 2019, 10:30 AM by Tom Wilemon Ann Richmond, PhD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, is the 2019 recipient of the Society for Leukocyte Biology Legacy Award. Ann Richmond, PhD The award, which has been given annually since 1980, is the highest honor the society bestows upon one of… Read More

Dec. 12, 2019, 10:35 AM by Kelsey Herbers John Gore, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine standing committee to advise the Department of State on unexplained health effects on U.S. government employees and their… Read More

Dec. 12, 2019, 10:51 AM by Bill Snyder A drug used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS is showing promise as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, and Vanderbilt University biochemist F. Peter Guengerich, PhD, is aiding efforts to make this approach to improving memory and cognitive function even better. Read More

Dec. 5, 2019, 3:08 PM by Bill Snyder Glutamate receptors in the brain called AMPARs are critical for synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how… Read More

By Suneethi Sivakumaran Proposed mechanism of skin barrier formation. SDR9C7-catalyzed oxidation of linoleate in ceramides is required for covalent binding to the protein matrix and sealing of the water permeability barrier. Diagram courtesy of Alan Brash. Human skin has three major layers: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. Epidermis is the outermost… Read More