Research, News & Discoveries

by Marissa Shapiro Aug. 28, 2020, 9:00 AM Researchers at Vanderbilt University have, for the first time, been able to trigger the specific immune system response required to reverse the course of small intestinal inflammation by inducing production of tuft cells, very rare epithelial… Read More

WTVF, Channel 5, interviewed Erin Calipari, assistant professor of pharmacology, about how stress over the pandemic contributes to the development of substance abuse disorders and the increased probability of relapse. Read More

Aug. 20, 2020, 8:23 AM by Bill Snyder Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified antibodies that, in animals, block infection by alphaviruses, which can cause chronic and debilitating joint pain and arthritis and are an increasing global health concern. The findings, published in the journal Cell Host… Read More

Aug. 20, 2020, 9:30 AM by Bill Snyder Tumors tend to have leaky and highly dysfunctional blood vessels that can prevent anti-cancer drugs and immune cells from getting to them. Improving the effectiveness of cancer therapy, therefore, may require finding ways to “normalize” tumor blood vessels.   Signaling through a protein… Read More

Aug. 20, 2020, 8:48 AM From left, Huan Tao, MD, PhD, Sean Davies, PhD, Jiansheng Huang, PhD, and MacRae Linton, MD, led the study that identified a potential new treatment for atherosclerosis. (photo by Donn Jones) by Bill Snyder A small-molecule “scavenger” that reduces inflammation and formation of atherosclerotic plaque… Read More

by Marissa Shapiro Aug. 19, 2020, 12:00 PM The Vanderbilt Laboratory for Biosynthetic Studies, led by Brian Bachmann, professor of chemistry, has discovered a naturally occurring compound that is resilient to antibiotic resistance because of its rare properties. Antibiotic resistance, the ability of… Read More

By Wendy Bindeman https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/t2-main/medschool-prd/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