Research, News & Discoveries

Today, the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center includes 140 faculty members from 15 departments and three colleges or schools at Vanderbilt and Meharry Medical College who conduct basic, clinical and translational research on the cause, prevention, treatment and complications of diabetes and obesity. Read More

The study reported in the journal Nature provides a mechanistic explanation for the “obesity paradox” — that obesity can contribute to cancer progression but also improve response to immunotherapy. Read More

Acanthamoeba can cause diseases blinding keratitis, an infection of the eye, or granulomatous amebic encephalitis, a generally fatal infection of the brain and spinal cord. Antifungals that target the biosynthesis of fungal sterols, such as ergosterol, are often used as treatment, but the Acanthamoeba ergosterol biosynthetic pathway has been shown to differ significantly from that found in fungi. Read More

Calipari, Spraggins, and Kirabo are among 13 outstanding faculty members who have been selected for the 2024 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. Read More

Using computer-aided drug design, the labs of Heidi Hamm, Jens Meiler, and Craig Lindsley generated a novel series of biologically active compounds that can serve as a basis for anti–blood clot preventative drugs. Read More

AJ Hinton, Amber Crabtree, and colleagues collaborated to provide a commentary on the challenges facing autistic adults in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine. As autistic adults face a high unemployment rate, the authors argue that solutions are necessary to evoke change within STEMM institutions to acquire and retain autistic employees. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified cancer cell-specific genetic alterations that reprogram the immune “landscape,” thereby driving tumor growth, and discovered a potential new drug target for stopping it. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have successfully negotiated a series of open access agreements with major scientific publishers that expand the number of journals available to Vanderbilt University researchers and enhance the potential reach and impact of their published work. The initiative covers some or all of the article processing charges that Vanderbilt corresponding authors were previously responsible for paying. Read More

Tina Iverson, Louise B. McGavock Chair and Professor of pharmacology and biochemistry, will take the role of associate dean for faculty on July 1, 2024. Read More

Cryo-ET suffers from the “missing wedge” problem: as samples become more tilted, their thickness at the extremes is increased and sample penetration decreases. William Wan and collaborators describe the creation of a new subtomogram averaging package called STOPGAP. Read More