Discoveries
Basic Sciences names Hasty senior associate dean for faculty
Sep. 25, 2023—By Aaron Conley Alyssa Hasty, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of molecular physiology and biophysics and associate dean for faculty in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, has been promoted to senior associate dean for faculty. “Since 2017, Alyssa’s strong leadership has been invaluable for shaping faculty development, culture, recruitment, and retention,” said John Kuriyan, dean of...
Michael Rapé, ubiquitin researcher, to present an Apex Lecture on Sept. 29
Sep. 22, 2023—By Kate Carter To highlight major inflection points in research, the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences launched the Apex Lecture Series in 2023, which allows the Basic Sciences community to engage with researchers from around the world who are influencing the trajectory of their fields. Michael Rapé, professor of cell and developmental biology and...
Erin Calipari receives $2M to study how alcohol use disorder develops in the brain
Sep. 13, 2023—Erin Calipari, associate professor of pharmacology and associate director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, has received a grant of nearly $2 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to understand what happens in the brain that makes individuals return to drinking after periods of abstinence. Alcohol use disorder is a...
Vanderbilt scientists make headway in drug development to cure pulmonary arterial hypertension
Sep. 13, 2023—Research by David Merryman and Craig Lindsley has resulted in the development of VU6047534, a new drug that treats pulmonary arterial hypertension—a type of high blood pressure that affects arteries in the lungs and in the heart—without serious neurological side effects. The article, “Development of a Peripherally Restricted 5-HT2B Partial Agonist for Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension,”...
Nancy Carrasco receives 2024 Award for the Biophysics of Health and Disease
Sep. 13, 2023—Please join us in congratulating Nancy Carrasco, Joe C. Davis Chair in Biomedical Science and chair of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, for receiving the 2024 Award for the Biophysics of Health and Disease from the Biophysical Society. Carrasco’s lab focuses on understanding the physiology of thyroid hormone biosynthesis and how it is affected by genetic...
Foundation funds research to block drug resistance in cancer treatment
Sep. 1, 2023—The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a three-year grant to support research led by Houra Merrikh, PhD, professor of Biochemistry, and Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology and director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, to create an anti-evolution drug to reduce the capacity of...
Lourdes Estrada named School of Medicine assistant dean of Health Equity Education
Aug. 25, 2023—Lourdes Estrada, PhD, is the newly named assistant dean of Health Equity Education in the School of Medicine. Estrada is also a professor of Biochemistry, associate director of Academic Programs & Operations for the Medical Scientist Training Program and director of Vanderbilt Academy for Excellence in Education.
Neil Dani honored with prestigious 2023 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar award
Aug. 24, 2023—In a landmark achievement, Neil Dani, an assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, has been named a 2023 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar. The prestigious grant program supports early-career biomedical scholars who adopt bold and innovative approaches to fundamental scientific questions in cancer, immunology, neuroscience and pain.
Uddin receives second Phi Beta Psi national research award
Aug. 24, 2023—Md. Jashim Uddin, research associate professor of biochemistry, has received the Phi Beta Psi national research award for the second year in a row. The award will fund an ongoing project in which Uddin and colleagues are working to develop an improved cancer imaging platform and technique. There has been significant interest within the field of...
John Jumper, developer of AlphaFold, to present an Apex Lecture on August 30
Aug. 8, 2023—To highlight major inflection points in research, the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences launched the Apex Lecture Series earlier this year, which allows the Basic Sciences community to engage with researchers from around the world who are influencing the trajectory of their fields. John Jumper, BS’07, senior staff research scientist for the artificial intelligence company...