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Researchers at Vanderbilt University have worked out part of the “wiring diagram” of a signaling system in the brain that has been linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their findings, published last month in the journal Biological Psychiatry, raise hopes for a new approach to treating ASD, which affects an estimated one in every… Read More

Immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system, is one of the most promising forms of cancer therapy and has been shown to work well against some types of cancer. But in early studies, breast cancer has proven to be largely resistant to immunotherapies, which are effective in only… Read More

The epithelial cells lining organs like the intestines and kidneys build a special surface called the “brush border,” which consists of a dense array of finger-like protrusions. Irina Kaverina, PhD, Matthew Tyska, PhD, and colleagues in Argentina explored the role of microtubules — part of the cellular “skeleton” — in building the… Read More

Craig Lindsley, PhD, co-director of the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (VCNDD), has been named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and elected chair-elect of the Section of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Both distinguished positions acknowledge Lindsley’s significant contributions to pharmacology, therapeutics… Read More

Sanjay Mishra, Shu-Yu Wu, Ph.D., and colleagues led by Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D., recently reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry the use of CRISPR editing in zebrafish to specifically delete alpha-B crystallin genes, which play roles in maintaining lens transparency in the eye and heart muscle integrity. It was the first time both… Read More

A team of Vanderbilt investigators examined the entire training pathway of potential faculty candidates to identify points of greatest loss of URM trainees. They reported recently in PLOS ONE two key points of loss: during undergraduate education and in transition from postdoctoral fellowship to tenure-track faculty. The authors suggest focusing additional interventions on… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on Monday held its first Directorship Celebration to honor and support eight of its leaders in clinical care, research, education and administration. One of the honorees is Jennifer Pietenpol, Director, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and Executive Vice President for Research. “These directorships are critical to our entire institution, as… Read More

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea, causing nearly a half million infections in the United States each year. Recurrence after treatment with antibiotics is common and new therapies are needed. Now Heather Kroh, PhD, Ramyavardhanee Chandrasekaran, PhD, Ben Spiller, PhD, Borden Lacy, PhD, and colleagues show that the antibody,… Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered how insulin crosses the capillary endothelium to exit blood vessels and stimulate skeletal muscle cells — a major finding that may lead to new ways to reverse insulin resistance, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. Their discovery, published earlier this month by the Journal of Clinical Investigation, was… Read More

New Insights into Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) comprises a group of developmental disorders characterized by a wide range of symptoms, typically including impaired social interactions and excessive repetitive behaviors. Increasing evidence suggests that the pathophysiology of ASD involves an imbalance between two neuronal pathways, which are… Read More