Research, News & Discoveries

by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 17, 2020, 9:43 AM Houra Merrikh, principal investigator in the department of biochemistry, has been named a finalist in the 2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, in the Life Sciences category. Merrikh was selected as one of… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 12, 2020, 10:22 AM Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and University Professor of biochemistry, chemistry and pharmacology, has been named interim Editor-in-Chief of ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science in addition to his current… Read More

Jun. 9, 2020, 12:36 PM By Bill Snyder Vanderbilt University and the global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have signed a new agreement that will enable AstraZeneca to advance two coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies discovered by the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center (VVC) into clinical development as a potential combination therapy for the prevention and… Read More

Jun. 10, 2020, 10:00 AM by Leigh MacMillan In a cruel twist, the bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) makes us bleed and then uses our blood to defend itself against us. Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists have identified a C. diff protein system that senses and captures heme (part of… Read More

Jun. 4, 2020, 2:30 PM by Leigh MacMillan (iStock) The proximal tubule — part of the kidney’s nephron — is a target of acute kidney injury (AKI), and its response to injury determines whether the kidney undergoes repair or progresses to chronic kidney disease (CKD).  Studies have suggested that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, which increases after kidney injury, promotes fibrosis and CKD.  Now, … Read More

Jun. 4, 2020, 2:30 PM by Leigh MacMillan (iStock) The proximal tubule — part of the kidney’s nephron — is a target of acute kidney injury (AKI), and its response to injury determines whether the kidney undergoes repair or progresses to chronic kidney disease (CKD).  Studies have suggested that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, which increases after kidney injury, promotes fibrosis and CKD.  Now, … Read More

by Marissa Shapiro May. 26, 2020, 11:38 AM Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that perchlorate, an environmental pollutant found in many sources of drinking water in the U.S., inhibits the uptake of iodide, an essential component of thyroid hormones, in a more pronounced and fundamental… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro May. 29, 2020, 12:00 PM A complex artificial intelligence-powered analysis is being deployed by Jonathan Irish, associate professor of cell and developmental biology and scientific director of the Cancer & Immunology Core, in the race to understand the inner-workings… Read More

May. 19, 2020, 8:00 AM by Leigh MacMillan The protein cGAS plays an essential role in cellular innate immunity by detecting the DNA of invading pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, or our own damaged and mislocalized DNA. Activation of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway produces a pro-inflammatory immune response, and prolonged activation of cGAS can result in… Read More

May. 14, 2020, 2:30 PM by Bill Snyder Ross River fever is a mosquito-transmitted disease endemic to Australia and surrounding Pacific Islands. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for Ross River virus (RRV) infection, which causes rash, fever and debilitating muscle and joint pain lasting three to six months. Read More