Research, News & Discoveries

​Methylglyoxal-Histone Adducts As the primary protein component of the nucleosome, histones play a critical role in packaging DNA and regulating chromatin dynamics. Histones contain an unusually large number of lysine and arginine residues, particularly in their N-terminal tail. These residues serve as sites of numerous enzymatically controlled post-translational… Read More

Vanderbilt’s most prestigious faculty honor for accomplishments in research, scholarship or creative expression was awarded to Kathleen Gould during Fall Faculty Assembly Aug. 23. Gould, the Louise B. McGavock Chair, professor of cell and developmental biology, and associate dean for biomedical sciences, received the Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research. Gould’s research focuses… Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan have discovered a critical factor in the rheostatic control of the body weight by the brain. Their findings, reported this week in the journal Science Advances, help explain the weight gain that occurs during pregnancy and could lead to a new approach for treating… Read More

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine has established a new award to recognize and support outstanding graduate students who have distinguished themselves through the excellence, significance and scientific rigor of their work. This month eight graduate students entering their fourth year of training will receive the inaugural Dean’s Award for… Read More

Targeting Melanoma by CXCR4 Inhibition Chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is a G protein-coupled receptor that is overexpressed in many kinds of cancer, both in the tumor cells themselves and in the surrounding stroma. CXCR4-mediated signaling, initiated by its endogenous ligand, CXCL12, promotes tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. Hence, CXCR4… Read More

Dr. Nancy Carrasco, a leading figure in the study of iodide transport and its critical role in the thyroid and mammary glands, has been named chair of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Carrasco is expected to join the Vanderbilt faculty in spring 2019. She is currently the C.N.H. Read More

Pedro García Barrantes had never heard of Vanderbilt University until he met Joshua Bruner, a graduate student in Craig Lindsley's lab at the Nashville institution. At a young chemists' conference in Brazil in 2011, "everyone else from the U.S. was complaining about their adviser except for Bruner," García Barrantes… Read More

Control of Axon-Mediated Neuronal Degeneration Neuronal cell death by apoptosis plays an important role in development and the establishment of neural circuits. However, if not properly regulated, neuronal apoptosis can lead to serious neurodegenerative disease. Helping to maintain the critical balance between survival and death are the neurotrophins,… Read More

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has awarded 2018 Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study to 45 doctoral student-adviser pairs from across the country. Three are from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. All have demonstrated high promise to become leaders in their fields, says David Asai, HHMI’s senior director for science education. The… Read More

A biochemistry instructor curious about an enzyme discovered in the damaged neurons of people with multiple sclerosis made a leap toward a potential cure for countless neurodegenerative ills. Vanderbilt University’s Amrita Pathak, working with Bruce D. Carter, biochemistry professor and associate director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, found that the enzyme… Read More