Research, News & Discoveries

Online recruiting goes viral in the wake of COVID-19. By ake1150, Stock.Adobe.com By Lorena Infante Lara Faculty recruitment in the biosciences is a normal part of life at academic institutions. Candidates visit campuses, meet with faculty in the department they intend to join, interact with students, and, most importantly, present… Read More

By Nataliya Kalabina, stock.adobe.com.   By Kendra H. Oliver Over the past few weeks, the Basic Sciences community has witnessed the successful defenses of six of its students. They demonstrated remarkable adaptability and professionalism in these uncertain times as they shared their research with virtual crowds topping out near 200 viewers for… Read More

https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/t2-main/medschool-prd/wp-content/uploads/sites/101/2020/03/Crowe_Website.mp4   By Sarah Glass Microscopic view of the Ebola virus. (jaddingt, stock.adobe.com) Many people associate Ebola with the previous viral epidemic of the last decade, but, especially in light of the current global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, few are aware that there is currently an active outbreak occurring in the… Read More

Mar. 23, 2020, 8:00 AM by Leigh MacMillan The influenza virus RNA-nucleoprotein complexes are shown in green. (CDC/Dan Higgins) The viral genome of influenza A — the primary cause of seasonal flu epidemics — is composed of eight RNA segments that are each encapsulated by many copies of viral nucleoprotein… Read More

by Bill Snyder Vanderbilt University Medical Center is teaming up with academic, governmental and corporate partners in an unprecedented, fast-tracked global effort to develop antibody-based treatments to protect people exposed to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Researchers from the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center (VVC) have rapidly responded to this… Read More

https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/t2-main/medschool-prd/wp-content/uploads/sites/101/2020/03/Porter_Updated-1.mp4   By Stella Child In the last two decades, scientists have found increasing evidence for the contribution of environmental factors to neurodegenerative diseases. Organic solvents, heavy metals, and air pollutants are now all categorized as neurotoxicants, substances that affect the function of the nervous system. A subset of… Read More

Mar. 19, 2020, 9:00 AM by Bill Snyder Stress is a precipitating factor for craving and relapse in cocaine use disorder. A part of the brain known as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has been linked to both anxiety and addiction. Guanfacine, a drug that acts on… Read More

Mar. 12, 2020, 9:10 AM by Tom Wilemon Researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) discovered a role for MYCN in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a particularly aggressive form of the disease, and identified a potential intervention for further clinical investigation. MYCN is a well-known oncogene that plays a role in… Read More

Mar. 5, 2020, 1:30 PM by Leigh MacMillan Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) — a form of chronic lung disease — is a leading complication of preterm birth affecting infants born before 32 weeks gestation. Exposure to high levels of oxygen (hyperoxia) plays a role in BPD pathogenesis, but the precise molecular… Read More

https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/t2-main/medschool-prd/wp-content/uploads/sites/101/2020/03/Hodges.mp4   By Hillary Layden Most human cells contain roughly 6.5 feet of DNA, which must be tightly compacted to fit within the nucleus. Cells compact DNA by wrapping it around proteins called histones, forming a DNA-protein complex called chromatin. “Closed” chromatin is tightly compacted and cannot interact with… Read More