Research, News & Discoveries

Interstrand DNA cross-links (ICLs) — chemical bonds that join the two strands of DNA — are a toxic form of DNA damage. ICLs block both replication and transcription, triggering cell death. Drugs that introduce ICLs, such as mitomycin C, are used as chemotherapeutic agents. ICLs are known to be repaired by… Read More

Vanderbilt University has signed a licensing agreement with Nashville-based start-up Appello Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to advance novel compounds developed by researchers in the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (VCNDD) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The drug-like molecules bind to mGluR4, a glutamate receptor that is highly expressed… Read More

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is widely thought to protect against the development of atherosclerosis, yet drugs that raise levels of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) have failed to reduce the risk of heart disease. Recent evidence suggests that HDL function is more important than HDL-C levels in lowering risk. Isolevuglandins (IsoLGs) are… Read More

Today’s infant formulas are much improved over formulas of decades past, but according to some scientists—and Townsend’s discerning daughter—they’re still a far cry from mothers’ milk. Chemists hope to change that. To create formula that more closely mimics breast milk, researchers like Steve Townsend at Vanderbilt University are trying to make the… Read More

A New Pathway for DNA Cross-Link Repair Interstrand cross-links (ICLs) are a highly toxic form of DNA damage in which the two complementary DNA strands are covalently bound together. This form of damage is difficult to repair, so animal cells have evolved the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway specifically… Read More

Dynamics of Basement Membrane Repair The basement membrane (BM) is an ancient, highly conserved structure that lies under the basal surface of epithelial cells and wraps around organs such as muscles and nerves. It provides mechanical stiffness and modulates cellular communication by interacting with signaling molecules. Although much… Read More

Organizing Microtubule Asters Microtubules (MTs) are a critical component of the cytoskeleton, playing a role in a range of processes from cell polarization to division. MTs are polymers of αβ-tubulin that grow and shrink from a rapidly changing plus-end and a more slowly changing minus-end to form two… Read More

Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are combining their expertise in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computation to explore transformative, interdisciplinary ways to study complex cellular processes to tackle some of the most pressing problems in biology. The collaboration between the university and ORNL was propelled by a May 3 campus… Read More

Biomedical science trainees at Vanderbilt have a new career exploration option starting this fall — they can get a taste of what it means to be a “data scientist.” The Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET) Office of Career Development’s ASPIRE Programreceived a Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) grant to support a… Read More

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a highly infectious lung disease in humans.Unfortunately, resistance to anti-tubercular medicines such as fourth-generation fluoroquinolones is on the rise. In most cases, fluoroquinolone resistance is caused by mutations in a bacterial enzyme called gyrase. Compounds called M. tuberculosis gyrase inhibitors (MGIs) display activity against tuberculosis in cellular… Read More