Discoveries

A multidisciplinary research team at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has discovered a new way to kill a tumor by disrupting its acidic “microenvironment” without harming normal tissue. The target of this unorthodox approach is hydroxyapatite (HAP), a naturally occurring mineral that is a major component of bone and teeth, but which also is produced by some tumors. Read More

Combining deep mutagenesis and cryo-EM reveals new conformational state of a protein responsible for high-speed DNA replication. The research builds on growing theories of molecular evolution. Read More

Stachowiak is recognized for a paradigm-shifting discovery in the field of membrane biophysics, demonstrating that proteins can induce membrane curvature solely through a surface-crowding mechanism. Her lab investigates the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the function of lipid membranes in cells and explores the opportunity of creating bio-inspired materials and systems that borrow these mechanisms. Read More

High school student Benjamin Gordon, former Marnett lab intern, has been named a top scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2024, the oldest science and math competition for high school seniors in the U.S. Read More

An international collaboration led by Vanderbilt researchers has identified a key component in lesions associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in older adults. Read More

In a collaborative effort co-led by teams from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Michigan, a comprehensive study that integrates multiple analytic approaches has linked a regulatory gene network and functional defects in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells to Type 2 diabetes. The study, published Dec. 4 in… Read More

A potential schizophrenia treatment discovered through the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in phase 1 clinical trials—the third WCNDD therapeutic to reach that benchmark.  “Vanderbilt is proud that a discovery by our researchers at the Warren Center… Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time have shown that activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential for the development of kidney fibrosis, tissue scarring following injury that can lead to kidney failure. Their discovery, reported Nov. 14 in the journal Nature Communications,… Read More

On Nov. 2, Lisa Monteggia, Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and professor of pharmacology, psychiatry and psychology, joined John Hoomes, CEO and artistic director of the Nashville Opera, for a discussion on the artistic approach and scientific research behind the Nashville Opera’s upcoming performance of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Read More

A new study in the journal Cell Host & Microbe brings the beneficial bacterial residents of the gut into the mix. The findings show that commensal gut microbes impact the host-pathogen competition for iron and have implications for therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing pathogens from acquiring essential nutrients. Postdoctoral fellow Yasiru… Read More