Discoveries

By Leah Mann Graduate student Sarah Kurley with thesis advisor Al Reynolds. (Photo by Mary Donaldson) Albert “Al” Reynolds, celebrated and respected professor of pharmacology, emeritus, passed away earlier in November. He had retired in August after 26 years at Vanderbilt University. In the nearly three decades of Reynolds’ affiliation… Read More

By Caroline Cencer Alyssa Hasty The laboratory of Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Alyssa Hasty recently published a study stressing the importance of glucose homeostasis in maintaining healthy body function. While examining blood glucose levels in diet-induced obese mice, co-first authors Nathan Winn and Matthew Cottam, a… Read More

All of us suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) distress from time to time, but people with mutations in the SLC12A2gene suffer from chronic GI infections, intestinal obstruction, constipation, nutrient malabsorption and blood in the intestine.  To understand why this mutation causes such intense GI distress, Eric Delpire, PhD,… Read More

A genetic variant of apolipoprotein E (APOE), a protein involved in fat metabolism, is the strongest common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and contributes to worse cognition in older adults. However, many people who have the variant (APOE-e4) remain cognitively normal as they age, suggesting there may be… Read More

By Caroline Cencer Felysha Jenkins On October 12, the School of Medicine Basic Sciences hosted the inaugural Hispanic Heritage Month Conference and Workshop, “Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation,” to celebrate Hispanic and Latinx* scientists. Co-moderated by Felysha Jenkins, program manager for diversity,… Read More

The October 17 School of Medicine Basic Sciences Dean’s Lecture featured renowned immunologist, virologist, and alumnus Dr. Barney S. Graham, PhD’91. Throughout his career, Graham has made incredible scientific achievements, leading the first human trial on the AIDS vaccine and serving as the chief architect for the first experimental COVID-19… Read More

Five Vanderbilt graduate students recently participated in the SEC Networking and Career Fair hosted by the University of Missouri, part of the SEC Emerging Scholars Program for doctoral and postdoctoral scholars announced earlier this year. The program is intended to serve as a pathway and source of mentorship for… Read More

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) — a chronic, progressive syndrome — is marked by persistent activation and proliferation of fibroblast cells and the pathologic accumulation of extracellular matrix (scar tissue). Most patients die within 3-5 years of diagnosis. Timothy Blackwell, MD, James West, PhD, and colleagues… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers’ partnership with Ancora Innovation LLC, a Deerfield Management company that supports Vanderbilt University’s innovative life science research, has added an effort to develop therapeutics for a rare form of epilepsy. This is the fourth drug discovery and development program supported through the Ancora-Vanderbilt collaboration. … Read More

Antentor Hinton Jr., assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics at the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, has been awarded a grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Science Diversity Leadership program. The $1.5 million, five-year grant will support his work on “finding organelle… Read More