Research, News & Discoveries

by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 24, 2021, 9:00 AM Series of de-lipidated (“cleared”) mouse brains imaged using light sheet microscopy to reveal neural circuits marked by viral tracing strategies. THE IDEA This may lead to collaboration to look for targets affecting the motor cortex and… Read More

Jun. 22, 2021, 7:39 AM Five monoclonal antibody “cocktails,” including one developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), are protective in animal studies against several variant strains of COVID-19, according to a report this week in the journal Nature. The findings suggest that many of the combination antibody therapies currently… Read More

Jun. 17, 2021, 9:00 AM By Jenna Somers Houra Merrikh For the second year in a row, Professor of Biochemistry Houra Merrikh has been named a finalist for the 2021 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in the life sciences category for her discovery of a potential solution… Read More

Jun. 17, 2021, 8:30 AM by Paul Govern Presented with the case of a young woman with a novel de novo genetic variant and a puzzling neurological illness, Eric Delpire, PhD, and colleagues saw aspects of the disease recapitulated in miniature when they used CRISPR to engineer the variant in mice.   The team’s report, appearing… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 15, 2021, 12:00 PM Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and University Professor of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Chemistry Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and director of Vanderbilt University’s  Warren… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 10, 2021, 9:00 AM THE IDEA Lisa Monteggia, professor of pharmacology, and collaborators have provided evidence about how ketamine works as a rapid-acting antidepressant in the brain. The research reinforces the hypothesis that the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor on… Read More

Jun. 8, 2021, 9:53 AM From left, Taylor Smith, MS, Jacek Hawiger, MD, PhD, Jozef Zienkiewicz, PhD, and Yan Liu, MD, and colleagues developed a peptide that may protect against life-threatening microbial inflammation with underlying metabolic syndrome. Photo courtesy Hawiger lab A cell-penetrating peptide developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 2, 2021, 9:00 AM THE IDEA Sandra Rosenthal, Jack and Pamela Egan Professor of Chemistry and professor of pharmacology and chemical and biomolecular engineering, and collaborators have proposed that the seasonal rate of change in daylight has the greatest… Read More

Faculty Mentor of the Year Recipients of the Faculty Mentor of the Year award must demonstrate a willingness to share expertise and advice; service to the community at large, including other mentoring activities; and scholarship within the mentor’s own career, including publications, awards, presentations and honors. The Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro May. 24, 2021, 9:00 AM by Miquéla Thornton An international collaboration led by Vanderbilt researchers has found that a novel form of brain cell communication may influence brain function. The discovery was uncovered by Natalí L. Chanaday, postdoctoral scholar,… Read More