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Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have found a way to calm the “genomic storm” that triggers the often-lethal consequences of sepsis. Sepsis, an exaggerated and overwhelming inflammatory response to various infections, is a leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. Using a cell-penetrating peptide they… Read More

High circulating glucose, the hallmark of diabetes, is linked to the disease’s most serious complications including heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputation. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death and costs the nation an estimated $322 billion a year. Restoring the action of insulin has been the traditional treatment… Read More

Ronald Emeson was presented with the Teacher of the Year Award at last week’s 26th annual Joel G. Hardman Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum. Emeson is now a three-time winner of the award. He previously received it in 2003 and in 1995, the first year it was awarded. Read More

Vanderbilt Basic Sciences Prof. Richard Caprioli (Department of Biochemistry) is featured in the cover story of the American Chemical Society’s primary trade magazine, Chemical and Engineering News. The article outlines how imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), pioneered in the Caprioli laboratory, has now been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical industry. IMS enables… Read More

Vanderbilt University cancer researcher Ann Richmond, Ph.D., 2016 recipient of one of the highest honors for scientific achievement bestowed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, will be a keynote speaker during a national VA research conference next week at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Cancer Immunotherapy: Advances and Challenges” is the… Read More

Vanderbilt University biochemist Billy Hudson, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2017 Carl Brändén Award by The Protein Society for exceptional contributions to science, education and service. The award, named for the late Swedish biologist Carl Brändén, a pioneer in protein crystallography, will be presented during the society’s 31st Annual Symposium July… Read More

The protein gamma-secretase appeared to be a promising target for drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. It “cuts” the amyloid precursor protein to release amyloid-beta — a protein fragment that clumps together and forms neuron-killing plaques. “Amyloid-beta is thought to ‘seed’ Alzheimer’s disease, so lowering its production has been a goal to… Read More

Cell survival is dependent upon regulation of numerous proteins, both cytosolic and membrane bound. Reporting in Nature Communications, Mukhtar Ahmed, Ph.D., and Ian Macara, Ph.D., identified an unexpected link between cell survival and the polarized delivery of proteins to the surface of mammary epithelial cells. Read More

The fungal pathogen Candida albicans causes diseases ranging from topical infections such as athlete’s foot and oral thrush to life-threatening systemic infections. Increasing incidence of infections and drug resistance support the need for new therapeutics. Now, Galina Lepesheva, Ph.D., and colleagues report the catalytic properties, ligand-binding profiles and inhibition of activity of C. albicans CYP51 by… Read More

Understanding the processes that regulate aging is crucial to potentially increasing longevity and enhancing quality of life. Using the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae), Christopher Lord, Ph.D., Ophir Ospovat and Susan Wente, Ph.D., demonstrated that accumulation of tRNA (transfer RNA) in the nucleus increased replicative life span. These results were published this month in… Read More