Research, News & Discoveries

Jun. 10, 2019, 9:00 AM by Leigh MacMillan During late stages of heart development, interactions between the endocardium (the inner layer of cells) and the myocardium (the heart muscle) are known to be crucial. Signaling between these two cell layers during the earliest stages of heart development has been more difficult… Read More

Jun. 6, 2019, 9:17 AM by Bill Snyder Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has joined an international effort to streamline and accelerate development of vaccines and other treatments against a growing worldwide surge of deadly and debilitating viral infections. The Viral Immunotherapeutic Consortium (VIC), led by La Jolla Institute for… Read More

Jun. 6, 2019, 8:32 AM Award winners pose for a photo at last week’s Spring Faculty Meeting. (photo by Anne Rayner) by Kathy Whitney Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, kicked off the Spring Faculty Meeting… Read More

May. 29, 2019, 9:18 AM (left to right): Reza Dastvan, PhD, Smriti Mishra, PhD, and Hassane Mchaourab, PhD, are studying the inner workings of a protein pump that contributes to cancer chemotherapy resistance. by Leigh MacMillan Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered how a protein pump distinguishes between chemicals that it… Read More

May. 16, 2019, 12:47 PM by Bill Snyder Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have discovered a “hidden target” on the surface of the hypervariable influenza A virus that could lead to better ways to prevent and treat the flu. Because… Read More

As a member of the class of ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters, the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) harnesses energy from ATP hydrolysis to power conformational changes that transfer substrates across the cell membrane against a concentration gradient. P-gp transports more than 200 structurally diverse substrates, thereby playing a role in the pharmacokinetics of… Read More

May. 9, 2019, 10:30 AM by Sanjay Mishra Basement membranes are an ancient form of extracellular matrix composed of complex biological molecules including Collagen IV. As important structural and functional components of tissues, basement membranes are subject to environmental damage, but little is known about how they are repaired. Now, a… Read More

May. 9, 2019, 9:03 AM From left, Brinda Selvaraj, Jonathan Sheehan, PhD, Hassane Mchaourab, PhD, and colleagues are part of the new trans-institutional Program in the Molecular Basis of Genetic Diseases. (photo by Steve Green) by Bill Snyder Vanderbilt has established a program to help researchers determine more precisely how… Read More

May. 8, 2019, 8:53 AM Vanderbilt University sophomore Aakash Basu and junior Eric Zhang have been named Goldwater Scholars. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier award for undergraduate STEM students who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of research leaders. Basu and Zhang were selected from a… Read More

by Kate Derrick May. 3, 2019, 8:15 AM (L to r) Brian T. McCann, Matthew S. Freiberg, Provost Susan R. Wente, Edward Wright-Rios, Ben Ho Park, Owen D. Jones, Carl H. Johnson (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt University) Vanderbilt’s six newest endowed chairs were honored by colleagues,… Read More