Research, News & Discoveries

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered a potential new target in the fight against colorectal cancer, the nation’s third most common malignancy and, next to lung cancer, the second leading cancer killer. This month in the journal Gastroenterology, R. Daniel Beauchamp, MD, Anna Means, PhD,… Read More

New research from Vanderbilt investigators suggests that clinicians should take a deeper dive into distinguishing EGFR mutations when prescribing targeted therapies for non-small-cell lung cancers. EGFR exon 19 deletion mutations are the most common EGFR mutations in patients with lung cancer. However, the term “exon 19 deletion” is a catch-all… Read More

The bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), which causes severe diarrhea and an estimated 400,000 infections annually in the United States, may be a previously unrecognized contributor to colorectal cancer. The findings from human colon cancer specimens, culturing, and mouse models were reported last month by researchers at Johns Hopkins… Read More

Alyssa Hasty, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, specializes in immunometabolism, specifically on the role that the immune system plays in obesity and metabolic disease. Recent work from her lab explored the changes in immune cell populations in fat during obesity, weight loss, and weight cycling. The work,… Read More

A Vanderbilt laboratory is investigating the sequence of events necessary for the differentiation of stem cells into heart cells—a key step in embryonic development. Postdoctoral fellow Loic Fort and Louise B. McGavock Professor and Chair of Cell and Developmental Biology Ian Macara published their most recent discoveries on this topic… Read More

Margaret Axelrod, PhD, Rachel Brown, PhD, and Simone Herzberg, aspiring physician-scientists in Vanderbilt University’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), are among this year’s recipients of highly competitive P.E.O. Scholar Awards. Recipients of the $20,000 awards from P.E.O. International, a philanthropic organization based in Des Moines,… Read More

Catherine Shelton, a graduate student in the Microbe-Host Interactions PhD program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been selected as the 2022 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. She will receive a $1,000 cash prize and will be mentored by the recipient of the 2022 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science,… Read More

Vanderbilt has awarded 14 faculty members with grants to support the early stages of pioneering research projects identified as likely candidates for further funding from federal, foundation and industry sponsors. The spring 2022 Seeding Success Grants are the second cycle of the internal early investment funding… Read More

It is often assumed that religious leaders and scientists hold opposing worldviews, but what do the two groups actually think about the dialogue between them? Does one have to choose between religion and science, or can there be common ground? Join Alyssa Hasty, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor… Read More

A collaborative project between the labs of  Maulik Patel, assistant professor of biological sciences, and  Kris Burkewitz, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, has identified a new molecular pathway that plays a key role in the ability of cells to sense and… Read More