Research, News & Discoveries

By Julia Thompson Artist’s rendering of a mental health concept, by Quince Media. Image reproduced under a CC BY 4.0 license. Fear is a crucial emotion for human survival. Without the ability to experience fear in response to possible threats in the environment, it is all too easy… Read More

Dec. 12, 2019, 10:30 AM by Tom Wilemon Ann Richmond, PhD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, is the 2019 recipient of the Society for Leukocyte Biology Legacy Award. Ann Richmond, PhD The award, which has been given annually since 1980, is the highest honor the society bestows upon one of… Read More

Dec. 12, 2019, 10:35 AM by Kelsey Herbers John Gore, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine standing committee to advise the Department of State on unexplained health effects on U.S. government employees and their… Read More

Dec. 12, 2019, 10:51 AM by Bill Snyder A drug used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS is showing promise as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, and Vanderbilt University biochemist F. Peter Guengerich, PhD, is aiding efforts to make this approach to improving memory and cognitive function even better. Read More

Dec. 5, 2019, 3:08 PM by Bill Snyder Glutamate receptors in the brain called AMPARs are critical for synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how… Read More

By Suneethi Sivakumaran Proposed mechanism of skin barrier formation. SDR9C7-catalyzed oxidation of linoleate in ceramides is required for covalent binding to the protein matrix and sealing of the water permeability barrier. Diagram courtesy of Alan Brash. Human skin has three major layers: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. Epidermis is the outermost… Read More

By Lorena Infante Lara Vanderbilt University has a new program focused on the study of extracellular vesicles (EV). Alissa Weaver, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair and Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and of Pathology Microbiology and Immunology, will direct the Vanderbilt Program for Extracellular Vesicle Research. Weaver, an… Read More

By Cassandra Awgulewitsch   A 3D drawing of a B cell. From Blausen.com staff (2014). “Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014”. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436. Reproduced under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Kristy Stengel, a postdoc in… Read More

Dec. 5, 2019, 10:34 AM by John Howser Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Cornelius Abernathy Craig Professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology, has been named as interim chair of the Department of Medicine in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Her appointment is effective Jan. Read More

Dec. 4, 2019, 1:00 PM Patrick Hu, MD, PhD, identified a previously unknown step in insulin synthesis, providing new clues to diabetes pathogenesis. (photos by Susan Urmy) by Leigh MacMillan The identification of a protein important for insulin synthesis may hold clues for understanding the pathogenesis of diabetes. Although the… Read More