Research, News & Discoveries
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New prognosis predictor and target for gastric cancer
Treatment resistance is especially pronounced in gastric cancer and contributes to patient mortality, highlighting the need for resensitization strategies. Robert Coffey, MD, Xiaodi Zhao, PhD, and colleagues compared the secretome, or secreted proteins, of chemoresistant and chemosensitive human gastric cancer cell lines to identify biomarkers of resistance. Read MoreApr. 8, 2022
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Vanderbilt University, Medical Center reach $1B milestone together in research funding
Scholars at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center achieved a significant milestone in 2021: more than $1 billion in research funding awarded from external organizations. Vanderbilt’s global leadership in research—from biomedical and biotechnology discoveries to vaccine development to groundbreaking advances in computer science, education and psychology—contributed to this landmark… Read MoreApr. 5, 2022
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WCNDD-developed Parkinson’s drug to enter next phase of clinical trial
A drug aimed at improving the lives of patients living with Parkinson’s disease will go to the next phase of clinical trials, thanks to a $13.5 million investment raised by Nashville’s Appello Pharmaceuticals. The clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that focuses on nervous system disorders announced Tuesday that its lead drug,… Read MoreApr. 4, 2022
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Biologists discover signaling pathways potentially associated with pancreatic cancer
Kathleen DelGiorno, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, her lab and collaborators at the Salk Institute have discovered some of the specific signaling molecules involved in tumor progression in pancreatic cancer. These molecules, called eicosanoids, play a role in inflammation and… Read MoreApr. 1, 2022
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Vanderbilt ranks 12th in annual survey of NIH funding; 2021 awards topped $445M
Vanderbilt University again ranked among the nation’s top research institutions receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to the latest data compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The total amount Vanderbilt scholars received across the School of… Read MoreApr. 1, 2022
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Crowe receives national award for COVID antibody research
James Crowe Jr., MD, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, and Michel Nussenzweig, MD, PhD, of The Rockefeller University, have been jointly awarded the 2022 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine for “groundbreaking work” that enabled the use of human antibodies to treat COVID-19. The announcement was made… Read MoreApr. 1, 2022
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Biochemical technique for finding small molecules discovered by Vanderbilt and University of Virginia researchers
Lipid rafts, a component of the plasma membranes that surround all cells in the human body, are essential in regulating the membranes’ structure, among other functions. But they are hard to study because traditional biochemical methods tend to destroy them. Chuck Sanders, associate dean for research,… Read MoreMar. 28, 2022
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Hunger signals, including those from cannabinoids, mapped in the brain
Cannabis is well-known for having an effect on eating behaviors. However, how the natural cannabinoid molecules found in the body regulate feeding and eating is not well researched. Masoud Ghamari-Langroudi, research assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, research assistant professor of pharmacology and faculty affiliate… Read MoreMar. 25, 2022
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Pietenpol named AACR Fellow
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has inducted Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, and Yu Shyr, PhD, into the 2022 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy. The mission of the AACR Academy is to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. Read MoreMar. 24, 2022
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Improving insulin sensitivity
By Wendy Bindeman Ambra Pozzi Ambra Pozzi, professor of medicine and of molecular physiology and biophysics, first author Kakali Ghoshal (a postdoc in the Pozzi lab), and colleagues recently published a study showing that supplementation with an analog of a lipid metabolite called epoxyeicosatrienoic acid, which is involved in insulin… Read MoreMar. 15, 2022