Basic Sciences Faculty and Facility Profiles

In these videos, a number of our faculty members discuss their research, the importance of basic science, funding, and offer advice for graduate students and postdocs. Visit the Basic Sciences YouTube Playlist to see overviews and full interviews of our faculty profiles!

About VU Basic Sciences

Lawrence Marnett
Message from the Dean of Basic Sciences

Addiction Research

Erin Calipari    Research Overview    Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Principle Investigator, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research

Cody Siciliano    Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology

Danny Winder   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Professor of Psychiatry; Director, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research

Age-Related Diseases

Kris Burkewitz   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Alzheimer’s, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Long QT Syndrome

Chuck Sanders   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Associate Dean for Research
Professor of Biochemistry
Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Chair in Cardiovascular Research

Alzheimer’s, Autism, Parkinson’s (Neurological & Psychiatric Disorders)

Jeffrey Conn   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Professor of Pharmacology
Lee E. Limbird Chair in Pharmacology

Ege Kavalali  Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Professor of Pharmacology
William Stokes Chair in Experimental Therapeutics

Craig Lindsley  Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab   WNCDD
University Professor of Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry
William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine

Blood Disorders

Breann Brown   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry

Brain Tumor Research – Adult & Children

Rebecca Ihrie   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Breast Cancer / Cancer Metastasis

Rebecca Cook   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Associate Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Assistant Professor, Neurological Surgery

Barbara Fingleton  Research Overview  Full Interview   Lab
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Associate Professor, Surgery

Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Ovarian Cancer

Fiona Yull   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology

Cancer Biology

Jonathan Irish   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology
Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

Cancer & Neurodegenerative/Metabolic Disease

Erkan Karakas   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics

Cancer & Viral Infection

Yi Ren   Research Overview  Lab
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

Cell Fate In Disease

Carlos Lopez   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics

Colon Cancer & Crohn’s Disease

Ken Lau   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology

Computational Biology

Jens Meiler   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Professor of Chemistry
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics

Gregor Neuert   Research Overview  Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

DNA Replication: Cancer, Mutagenesis & Drug Resistance

David Cortez   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Professor of Biochemistry

Houra Merrikh   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Professor of Biochemistry

Depression & Rhett Syndrome

Lisa Monteggia   Research Overview  Full Interview   Lab
Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute
Professor of Pharmacology
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Professor of Psychology

Funding

Funding Basic Sciences at Vanderbilt University

High-Throughput Screening & Antibody Core

Paige Vinson   Research Overview   Full Interview   Core Facilities
Director, High-Throughput Screening Core
Director, Vanderbilt Antibody and Protein Resource Core

Infectious Diseases

Manny Ascano   Research Overview   Full Interview   Lab
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry
Assistant Professor, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

Microscopy & Quantitative Image Analysis

Bryan Millis   Facility Overview   Full Interview
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Microtubule Regulation & Molecular Transport

Irina Kaverina   Research Overview    Full Interview    Lab
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology

Marija Zanic   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

Molecular Recognition – Endocarditis

Tina Iverson   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Professor of Pharmacology
Professor of Biochemistry

Obesity

Alyssa Hasty   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Associate Dean for Faculty Development for Basic Sciences
Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Stem Cell Pathways

Vivian Gama   Research Overview   Full Interview    Lab
Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology