Research, News & Discoveries

Jacob Steenwyk, a graduate student in biological sciences, and collaborators at Vanderbilt, Tel Aviv University and University of Wisconsin-Madison measured the coevolution of pairs of genes shared across budding yeasts to identify the genes that participate in the same cellular or molecular functions.  The results of this work… Read More

The 2022 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Academic Enterprise Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Extraordinary Performance of Clinical Service, and Outstanding Contributions to Research were presented April 29 during the annual spring faculty meeting. The recipients include…… Read More

The pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii can survive on hospital surfaces — without water — for months, an ability that has helped it become a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Now, a team of Vanderbilt researchers has discovered a mechanism this bug uses to live in a dried-out state: it produces “hydrophilin”… Read More

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced today that Dr. Nancy Carrasco, Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science and professor and chair of molecular physiology and biophysics, has been elected as one of its new members. Carrasco was elected to… Read More

By Ansari Aleem Ansari Aleem, Ph.D. For me, Ramadan—the month of fasting—is about the Quran, worship, prayer, and generosity. Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam and is mandatory for a healthy adult Muslim. I have been practicing fasting ever since I can remember. For me, fasting is a… Read More

A collaborative project between the labs of William Tansey, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of cell and developmental biology and biochemistry, and Stephen Fesik, Orrin H. Ingram II Chair in Cancer Research and professor of biochemistry, chemistry and pharmacology, has… Read More

Prothena and the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery have entered into a collaborative research agreement to develop new small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a condition in which a person’s having… Read More

By Aran Sullivan Felysha Jenkins, Ph.D. During February—Black History Month—Basic Sciences community members participated in a 21-day Racial Equity Challenge. Felysha Jenkins, the Basic Sciences diversity, equity, and inclusion program manager, organized the challenge for the Basic Sciences community, using resources from the… Read More

By Emily Overway Marija Žanić, Ph.D. The lab of Marija Žanić, professor of cell and developmental biology, is investigating the regulation of microtubules. Work led by former postdoctoral fellow Elizabeth Lawrence, recently published in eLife, details the role of microtubule-associated protein SSNA1 in… Read More

By Chuck Sanders Marie Maynard Daly (Photo courtesy of the archives of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Ted Burrows, photographer). As part of my responsibilities as president of The Protein Society I recently had the pleasure of announcing a new society award: the Marie Maynard Daly Award. Daly was a… Read More