Molecular Physiology And Biophysics

  • Study establishes mediator of alpha cell proliferation, important for diabetes treatment

    Study establishes mediator of alpha cell proliferation, important for diabetes treatment

    By Leah Mann Wenbiao Chen, Ph.D. 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… Read More

    Mar. 16, 2023

  • Headshot of Wenbiao Chen.

    CRISPR screen identifies role for a specific protein in insulin secretion

    By Leah Mann Wenbiao Chen, Ph.D. 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… Read More

    Jan. 25, 2023

  • Vanderbilt University

    Vanderbilt mourns loss of renowned scientist Exton

    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… Read More

    Dec. 29, 2022

  • Vanderbilt University

    Collaborative research yields new protein structure

    Structure of a caveolin-1 complex obtained using cryo-electron microscopy. A protomer, or a structural unit, is highlighted in magenta. The image was cropped to focus on panel A of Figure 1 of the paper, modified and published here in accordance to a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Read More

    May. 16, 2022

  • New faculty Nancy Carrasco - Molecular Physiology, in her lab at Light Hall for Vanderbilt Magazine.

    Carrasco elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    The American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced today that Dr. Nancy Carrasco, Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science and professor and chair of molecular physiology and biophysics, has been elected as one of its new members. Carrasco was elected to… Read More

    Apr. 29, 2022

  • Vanderbilt University

    Improving insulin sensitivity

    By Wendy Bindeman Ambra Pozzi Ambra Pozzi, professor of medicine and of molecular physiology and biophysics, first author Kakali Ghoshal (a postdoc in the Pozzi lab), and colleagues recently published a study showing that supplementation with an analog of a lipid metabolite called epoxyeicosatrienoic acid, which is involved in insulin… Read More

    Mar. 15, 2022