News
Merrikh named finalist for Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists for second year
Jun. 18, 2021—Jun. 17, 2021, 9:00 AM By Jenna Somers Houra Merrikh For the second year in a row, Professor of Biochemistry Houra Merrikh has been named a finalist for the 2021 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in the life sciences category for her discovery of a potential solution to prevent the evolution of antimicrobial resistance...
New neurodegeneration culprit
Jun. 18, 2021—Jun. 17, 2021, 8:30 AM by Paul Govern Presented with the case of a young woman with a novel de novo genetic variant and a puzzling neurological illness, Eric Delpire, PhD, and colleagues saw aspects of the disease recapitulated in miniature when they used CRISPR to engineer the variant in mice. The team’s report, appearing in Clinical Genetics, uncovers a neurodegenerative disease role for dysregulated protein kinase D1 (PKD1),...
Craig Lindsley named to Medicinal Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society Hall of Fame
Jun. 16, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 15, 2021, 12:00 PM Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and University Professor of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Chemistry Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and director of Vanderbilt University’s Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, will be inducted as a member of the...
Research Snapshot: Finding confirms process by which ketamine acts as an antidepressant
Jun. 11, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 10, 2021, 9:00 AM THE IDEA Lisa Monteggia, professor of pharmacology, and collaborators have provided evidence about how ketamine works as a rapid-acting antidepressant in the brain. The research reinforces the hypothesis that the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor on synapses, at the point where neurons communicate, is the drug’s target. Lisa...
Team develops potential treatment for life-threatening microbial inflammation
Jun. 11, 2021—Jun. 8, 2021, 9:53 AM From left, Taylor Smith, MS, Jacek Hawiger, MD, PhD, Jozef Zienkiewicz, PhD, and Yan Liu, MD, and colleagues developed a peptide that may protect against life-threatening microbial inflammation with underlying metabolic syndrome. Photo courtesy Hawiger lab A cell-penetrating peptide developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center can prevent, in...
Hidden variable gives people another tool to manage major depressive disorders
Jun. 3, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 2, 2021, 9:00 AM THE IDEA Sandra Rosenthal, Jack and Pamela Egan Professor of Chemistry and professor of pharmacology and chemical and biomolecular engineering, and collaborators have proposed that the seasonal rate of change in daylight has the greatest effect on illnesses with seasonal patterns, including bipolar disorder and major depressive...
Borden Lacy named Faculty Mentor of the Year
May. 26, 2021—Faculty Mentor of the Year Recipients of the Faculty Mentor of the Year award must demonstrate a willingness to share expertise and advice; service to the community at large, including other mentoring activities; and scholarship within the mentor’s own career, including publications, awards, presentations and honors. The Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association solicits nominations from all Vanderbilt...
Lindsey Seldin earns Postdoc of the Year award
May. 26, 2021—May. 25, 2021, 2:00 PM The Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs announced its 2021 award winners at the Spring Postdoc Awards ceremony on May 24. Postdoc of the Year The Postdoc of the Year award recognizes a postdoctoral scholar who demonstrates excellence in research and scholarship since January 2020. The nominee must...
Vanderbilt neuroscientists uncover a novel means of interneuronal communication using extracellular vesicles
May. 24, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro May. 24, 2021, 9:00 AM by Miquéla Thornton An international collaboration led by Vanderbilt researchers has found that a novel form of brain cell communication may influence brain function. The discovery was uncovered by Natalí L. Chanaday, postdoctoral scholar, A. Alejandro Vilcaes, assistant professor at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina...
Umbrella programs in biomedical sciences recruit nearly 90 Ph.D. students
May. 21, 2021—Lorena Infante Lara The School of Medicine’s umbrella Ph.D. programs, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences and the Quantitative and Chemical Biology program, recruited 67 and 19 incoming graduate students, respectively. The new students will arrive on campus in August to begin the 2021-2022 academic cycle. The QCB seized upon the opportunities...