Research, News & Discoveries

Vanderbilt and Northwestern University researchers characterized a group of KCNQ1 variants probe their role in a common heart disorder called LQTS. They found that there are five classes of mutations that act through independent mechanisms, suggesting that a more tailored/personalized treatment approach could be beneficial for LQTS patients. Read More

Physician-scientist Mitch Lazar delivered a School of Medicine Basic Sciences Apex Lecture on Feb. 11 about nuclear receptors and the circadian regulation of metabolism. Read More

The lab of Lauren Jackson provides the first evidence of an endosomal “supercomplex” and reveals a vital role for VARP in mediating coat assembly in a recent paper published in Science Advances. Read More

A study of a unique spatial map of gene expression in 1.6 million cells from the lungs of 35 people with pulmonary fibrosis revealed a discovery that could eventually change how early PF can be detected. Some lung tissue in these patients shows signs of the disease before significant structural remodeling of the tissue occurs. Read More

Great Britain’s Wellcome Trust has recognized Vanderbilt’s Carrie K. Jones and the University of Glasgow’s Andrew Tobin with their prestigious Discovery Award. The pair will study how blocking the M5 muscarinic receptor in the brain counteracts opioids’ addictive properties, which could lead to new treatments for preventing or addressing opioid addiction. Read More

Renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology molecular biologist David Bartel delivered a School of Medicine Basic Sciences Apex Lecture on Jan. 15 about the regulation of mRNA translation and decay. Read More

Researchers from the School of Medicine Basic Sciences found that, although synapses are not bound by a membrane, they are still able to maintain a nanostructure necessary for evoked neurotransmission with the help of a physicochemical phenomenon called liquid-liquid phase separation. Read More

Meet Elana Milano, program manager for research for the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

Recent work from collaborators Ray Blind, Lucia Rameh, and John York has provided the first comprehensive analysis of inositol phosphate regulation of mTOR and mTORC1, increasing our kinetic understanding of mTOR kinase activity and providing a tool to modulate mTOR/mTORC1 in cells. Read More

The National Institutes of Health S10 Shared and High-End Instrumentation Grant programs support purchases of state-of-the-art shared instruments that enhance the research of NIH-funded investigators. Vanderbilt investigators who intend to apply for either program need to submit an internal proposal for review. Read More