Research, News & Discoveries

By Wendy Bindeman https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-sciences/wp-content/uploads/sites/101/2020/08/Discovery_Richmond-SMWeb-1.mp4   Melanoma is the most common of all cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 100,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2020. While 60 percent of people with metastatic melanoma, an aggressive type of skin cancer, have multiple treatment options… Read More

By Zoe Weinman The Board of Visitors of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, established in 2018, recently added eight new members. The board consists of alumni and non-alumni who have expertise in fields related to basic sciences research, education and career development. These experts act as advisors to… Read More

by Seth Robertson Aug. 5, 2020, 8:49 AM Science Photo Library The ancient Egyptians were the first to mention the brain in writing—preserved on a 2,700-year-old papyrus that details the symptoms of head injuries—but the importance of the organ escaped them. They believed it… Read More

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has selected 45 doctoral students and their advisers to advance diversity and inclusion in the sciences. Over the last 16 years, a growing community of doctoral students and their advisers has knit together, bound by a shared passion for science. They’re working on cutting-edge projects… Read More

Aug. 6, 2020, 10:00 AM by Sarah Glass Oral contraceptives are implicated in slightly increasing breast cancer risk. This birth control method contains forms of estrogen, a hormone that binds ERalpha (estrogen receptor alpha), to alter the reproductive cycle. While much is known about estrogen signaling, few have researched how receptor homeostasis… Read More

Aug. 5, 2020, 7:00 AM By Jenna Somers Cody Siciliano (Vanderbilt University) Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Cody Siciliano has been awarded the Fay/Frank Seed Grant from the Brain Research Foundation and the Alkermes Pathways Research Award from the… Read More

Jul. 30, 2020, 8:08 AM by Bill Snyder A protein linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, may be a key to treating fibrotic disease of the kidneys and other organs, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported recently. FUS is the… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro Jul. 21, 2020, 10:00 AM The brain has an uncanny ability to enhance or reduce communication between brain cells. Whether or not communication is fast or slow changes the brain’s overall function. Understanding how these cells communicate within the brain is… Read More

A bold engineering approach by a Vanderbilt University researcher to sort breast cancer cells based on their behavior first has produced compelling data that show less migratory cells create more metastases, contradicting the prevailing hypothesis on how cancer spreads. Expanding this ambitious research by Cynthia Reinhart-King, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor… Read More

Jul. 16, 2020, 9:16 AM by Tom Wilemon After serving 16 years as associate director for Research Education at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), Ann Richmond, PhD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, is stepping down from the leadership post. Ann Richmond, PhD, is stepping down from her role as associate director… Read More