Research, News & Discoveries

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

Basement membrane (BM) is an evolutionarily ancient sheet-like scaffold that wraps around most animal tissues. BM protects and provides mechanical stiffness to tissues and regulates development, function, and repair. But how it is repaired after being damaged is poorly understood. Now in a study published in the journal Matrix Biology, Andrea Page-McCaw, PhD, and colleagues have… Read More

Since it began 16 years ago, the Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy (VSSA) has provided research experiences for roughly 2,000 undergraduates from colleges around the country. Nearly half are members of under-represented minority groups; many are the first in their families to pursue graduate or medical degrees. Hailing from diverse backgrounds,… Read More