Research, News & Discoveries

Tadashi Inagami, PhD, DSc, Vanderbilt University Professor of Biochemistry, emeritus, who helped characterize the biochemical basis for hypertension, heart failure and vascular disease, died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 13 after a brief illness. He was 92. “Tad was an exceptional scientist in the hypertension research field and brought international recognition… Read More

Scientists from Vanderbilt University, the Universidad de la República in Uruguay, and other research centers have achieved a scientific tour de force — resurrecting a “dead antibody” to reveal the mysteries of cytochrome c, a versatile protein that is an essential part of the cell’s energy-generating capacity, and of life… Read More

By Leah Mann Wenbiao Chen, Ph.D. The lab of Wenbiao Chen, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, identified a signaling pathway for hyperaminoacidemia-induced alpha cell proliferation. Hyperaminoacidemia, or an excess of amino acids in the bloodstream, occurs when the function of glucagon, a pancreatic hormone that raises glucose levels… Read More

A chemical biology research lab fit for an academic medical center is being installed at Wynne High School (WHS) in Wynne, Arkansas, as part of a pilot project of Aspirnaut STEM pipeline at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Aspirnaut, a K-20 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Pipeline for Diversity and… Read More

Photoperiod, or length of day, influences seasonal changes in disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, with these changes being more prevalent in females. Not incidentally, there are known sex differences in the brain’s reward pathway, where release of dopamine into the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been implicated in mood… Read More

Vanderbilt University leaders hosted visitors from the health care investment firm Deerfield Management, including its president and managing partner, James Flynn, on Feb. 23 for a series of events celebrating the ongoing collaboration between Vanderbilt and Deerfield to rapidly advance new therapeutics from the research bench… Read More

By Leah Mann Professor Chuck Sanders Chuck Sanders, Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Chair of Cardiovascular Research and professor of biochemistry and medicine, has recently been promoted from associate dean for research to vice dean of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Sanders received his Ph.D. in… Read More

High density lipoprotein (HDL) is often referred to as “good cholesterol.” However, cholesterol is just one of many types of cargo HDL can carry. In addition to shuttling cholesterol from blood to the liver, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) can also transport proteins, metabolites and small RNAs (sRNA). The discovery of HDL’s… Read More

Five Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty members were elected as 2022 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They were selected by a group of their AAAS peers.   “The ranks of AAAS fellows include the likes of W.E.B. Du Bois,… Read More

By Caroline Cencer Anne Hatmaker Fungal diseases caused by pathogenic fungi such as molds affect millions of people worldwide every year. Despite the high prevalence of fungal diseases, the mechanism of infection is not well understood. The laboratory of Professor of Biological Sciences Antonis Rokas, led by graduate student Anne… Read More