Biochemistry Department

Doug Kojetin, associate professor of biochemistry, and a collaborator from the Guangzhou Laboratory, use NMR and crystallography to elucidate the binding pose of GW9662 and T0070907 cobound with synthetic ligands for the first time. Read More

Jens Meiler, Distinguished Research Professor of Chemistry and Kevin Schey, Stevenson Chair and professor of biochemistry, are two Vanderbilt collaborators on the project that brings together specialists in virology, structural biology and clinical research to tackle the complex challenge of vaccine development. Read More

Polycystic ovarian syndrome  is a complex endocrinological disorder with widespread prevalence, affecting approximately one in ten women worldwide. Treatment for PCOS typically involves extensive lifestyle modification and medications to help manage reproductive symptoms and insulin resistance, but there are no treatments that directly target hyperandrogenism. Because of this, women with PCOS often feel unsatisfied with the quality of their care and are belabored by the changes necessary to live out their daily lives. Read More

Through his work, Neil Osheroff reaches medical students at Vanderbilt and around the globe with his innovative ideas. Read More

The Chazin lab used a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry, computational modelling, and cell-based techniques are used to interrogate the relationship between NEIL1 and RPA. Read More

Acanthamoeba can cause diseases blinding keratitis, an infection of the eye, or granulomatous amebic encephalitis, a generally fatal infection of the brain and spinal cord. Antifungals that target the biosynthesis of fungal sterols, such as ergosterol, are often used as treatment, but the Acanthamoeba ergosterol biosynthetic pathway has been shown to differ significantly from that found in fungi. Read More

“You’re nervous because you don't know what to expect and excited to see whatever it is you get to see,” Schlafly said of the visit. "I had seen a lab before, but I must say, it’s a pretty humbling experience to go from thinking there is no one at all who knows about your really weird, rare disease to walking into a lab and learning that everyone there is in some way working to cure my issue.” Read More

For bichemist Fred Guengerich, the story of his 50-plus years in science can be told through his 98 semesters on Vanderbilt University’s faculty; the 22 graduate students and 141 postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists he has mentored; the 768 primary research papers, 324 invited reviews and chapters, and 138 book chapters and published proceedings he has authored; and the 125,316 of times he has been cited. But even those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Read More

As a professor of biochemistry and medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine for more than 40 years, Osheroff is the longest serving course director currently teaching medical students. He also codirects the preclerkship phase of the medical school curriculum and leads the Master Science Teachers cohort, a role established in 2007 to recognize VUSM’s outstanding basic science educators. Through his teaching, he has helped medical students at VUSM and across the globe acquire the basic science skills and knowledge they need to thrive in clinical practice, according to the AAMC. Read More

William Wan, assistant professor of biochemistry at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, has been named a 2022  Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences.  “As a Pew Scholar, our lab will use and develop cutting-edge methods like cryo-electron tomography to determine how… Read More