Research, News & Discoveries

Kate is a graduate student in the Biochemistry Graduate Program and a member of the Sanders lab since 2020. Her research focuses on the potassium channel KCNQ1 and mutations that cause a cardiac disorder called type 1 long QT syndrome (LQT1). Sanders lab researchers have determined that mistrafficking is a common cause of KCNQ1 dysfunction in LQT1. Kate’s effort to search for small molecules that might remedy this mistrafficking provides an early foundation for possible drug discovery efforts to treat LQT1 and related cardiac disorders. Read More

Meet Josh Luffman, construction and project manager in the facilities, infrastructure and risk management group within the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

A new potential treatment for schizophrenia discovered through the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University has entered phase 1 clinical trials, marking the fifth WCNDD therapeutic to advance into human testing. Read More

To honor and continue the legacy of Richard Caprioli, Ph.D., Stanford Moore Chair in Biochemistry and Director Emeritus of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center, the Richard Caprioli Basic Sciences Research Award for Technology Education Fund was established to allow Vanderbilt University Ph.D. students in the School of Medicine to pursue an opportunity to obtain hands-on training and education in one or more new technologies outside of those obtained in their graduate research training. The scholarship will be awarded to a Ph.D. student to enhance the approach to their research program. Read More

The Center for Computational Systems Biology hosted its inaugural Symposium on AI, Spatial & Systems Biology. The two-day event highlighted how emerging 3D artificial intelligence technologies are transforming biomedical research, ushering in a new era of discovery that bridges molecular, cellular, and systems-level understanding of biology. Read More

Bingshan Li and his lab are changing the paradigm of how geneticists can identify risk genes for schizophrenia, enabling new studies into its underlying biology and opening new doors for the development of treatments against it. Read More

Shan Meltzer has been awarded a prestigious Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation Award to advance her pioneering research on determining how the body’s sensory circuits form and function. Meltzer’s research could ultimately lead to new ways to rewire and repair sensory circuits to treat somatosensory disorders such as chronic pain, nerve injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Read More

Congratulations to our School of Medicine Basic Sciences faculty members who were promoted or received new appointments between July and September 2025. These individuals significantly enrich our pursuit of pathbreaking research and contribute to the growth and success of our school. Read More

In a heartwarming tribute to a remarkable career, more than 70 of his former graduate students and postdoctoral scholars recently traveled from across the globe for a three-day festivity on Oct. 3–5 to celebrate Larry Marnett’s 50 years in academia. Read More

Tune in to Professor of Biochemistry Chuck Sanders' yearly Halloween interview, this year featuring Maud Menten, co-creator of the Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics equation. Read More