Research, News & Discoveries

Aug. 19, 2021, 11:00 AM by Bill Snyder PON1 (paraoxonase 1), an enzyme associated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL), breaks down lipid peroxides, highly reactive fatty molecules that can damage blood vessels. In this way, PON1 can protect against the development of cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have observed reduced PON1 enzymatic activity in… Read More

THE IDEA Mosquito larvae are surprisingly complex, with a sophisticated sense of smell that enables them to find food, avoid predators and thus become healthy adult mosquitoes with greater ability to transmit disease to humans. While it was previously known that water-dwelling mosquito larvae can taste chemicals in the water,… Read More

Aug. 19, 2021, 10:12 AM   by Bill Snyder A multi-institutional team led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has isolated monoclonal antibodies that in laboratory and animal studies prevented infection by alphaviruses, including the often-lethal Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). EEEV, which infects the central nervous system of… Read More

Aug. 11, 2021, 4:10 PM   by Bill Snyder Paige Vega, a PhD student in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University, has been selected as the 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. Paige Vega has been selected as the 2021 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. (photo by Elaine… Read More

Aug. 10, 2021, 9:01 AM   by Bill Snyder Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that people recovering from COVID-19 and those vaccinated against the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, produce identical clones, or groups, of antibody-producing white blood cells. Their discovery, reported this week in the journal Cell… Read More

THE IDEA Research Assistant Professor Seth Taylor and Professor David Miller, both in Vanderbilt University’s Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, have established a gene expression atlas for the nervous system of the nematode C. elegans, along with… Read More

by Skylar Cuevas THE IDEA With modern-day cancer therapeutics presenting adverse side effects to heart health, scientists are studying methods to attack cancer cells without the risk of damaging the heart. Researchers Steven Townsend, associate professor of chemistry, and Neil Osheroff, John… Read More

THE IDEA A new study from Vanderbilt University researchers has established a novel way to understand how the body discovers and responds to wounds. The research was led by graduate student James O’Connor and Professor Andrea Page-McCaw in the Department of Cell… Read More

THE IDEA Building on recent research confirming how ketamine induces rapid antidepressant action, Professor of Pharmacology Lisa Monteggia and her collaborators show how the molecular mechanism of the gene MeCP2 and associated synaptic adaptability are critical to the long-term antidepressant effects of ketamine. Lisa Monteggia… Read More

A new, $1.5 million Department of Energy grant brings together experts from three institutions to parse the metabolism of a blue-green algae that holds great promise for biofuel production. The team, led by Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Jamey Young, will take a systems biology approach to identify how… Read More