‘Molecular Physiology and Biophysics’
Delpire recognized for advancing cell and molecular physiology
Apr. 13, 2023—Eric Delpire, PhD, professor of Anesthesiology and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, has been awarded the 2023 Davson Distinguished Lectureship, the highest award bestowed by the Cell and Molecular Physiology Section of the American Physiological Society. The award was established in 1994 to recognize prominent scientists who’ve made major contributions to cell and molecular physiology research....
Molecular physiologist Nancy Carrasco named SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner
Apr. 10, 2023—Nancy Carrasco, Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics and chair of the department in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, has been named the 2023 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner from Vanderbilt University. Carrasco has made significant contributions to the field of membrane biology, particularly in the study...
Study establishes mediator of alpha cell proliferation, important for diabetes treatment
Mar. 16, 2023—By Leah Mann The lab of Wenbiao Chen, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, identified a signaling pathway for hyperaminoacidemia-induced alpha cell proliferation. Hyperaminoacidemia, or an excess of amino acids in the bloodstream, occurs when the function of glucagon, a pancreatic hormone that raises glucose levels and breaks down amino acids, is disrupted. In...
CRISPR screen identifies role for a specific protein in insulin secretion
Jan. 25, 2023—By Leah Mann The labs of Wenbiao Chen, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, and Irina Kaverina, professor of cell and development biology, recently published a study in Molecular Metabolism focused on detecting genes that regulate insulin secretion. The authors demonstrated a new role for the Commander complex—a bound group of 16 proteins—in insulin...
Vanderbilt mourns loss of renowned scientist Exton
Dec. 29, 2022—John H. Exton, MBChB, MD, PhD, professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, emeritus at Vanderbilt University, whose research provided fundamental insights into how many biologically active compounds control cellular physiology, died Dec. 18. He was 89. Dr. Exton was a member of the Vanderbilt University faculty from 1964 until his retirement in 2004. A native...
Emily Hodges and Terunaga Nakagawa named 2022 Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund recipients
Sep. 15, 2022—By Emily Overway The Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund provides a yearly award to support innovative and groundbreaking research at Vanderbilt University. This year, after a competitive application process, Emily Hodges, assistant professor of biochemistry, and Terunaga Nakagawa, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, were named as the 2022 recipients. Hodges’ proposed project investigates DNA...
2022 Dean’s Award winners announced
Aug. 8, 2022—By Lorena Infante Lara Thanks to their high academic and scientific achievement, nine graduate students have been named recipients of the 2022 Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies. The students were recognized for the originality, significance, and rigor of their dissertation research. The awardees were selected by a committee made up of the...
Weight cycling increases diabetes risk
Jul. 14, 2022—By Emily Overway Alyssa Hasty, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, specializes in immunometabolism, specifically on the role that the immune system plays in obesity and metabolic disease. Recent work from her lab explored the changes in immune cell populations in fat during obesity, weight loss, and weight cycling. The work, led by...
Collaborative research yields new protein structure
May. 16, 2022—By Emily Overway Recent collaborative research, published in Science Advances, used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of caveolin-1 and how many individual caveolin-1 proteins join to form a complex. Caveolin-1 proteins bend the plasma membrane to form indentations known as caveolae, which sense and respond to changes in membrane tension. The labs of Hassane...
Cryo-EM reveals the molecular mechanism of IP3 receptor channel opening
May. 6, 2022—By Emily Overway Research led by co-first authors Emily Schmitz, a graduate student in the Chemical and Physical Biology program, and Hirohide Takahashi, a research instructor in molecular physiology and biophysics, identified the structure of the human type-3 inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, or IP3, receptor in several conformations using cryo-electron microscopy. Schmitz and Takahasi, who work in...