Pharmacology

Vanderbilt’s Dr. Benjamin P. Brown is improving the way the field of drug discovery creates machine learning algorithms to predict a protein’s interactions with a small molecule. These improvements bring ML closer to fulfilling its potential in the field—something that has not been realized after more than a decade of work. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers led by Ann Richmond have identified a promising drug combination that targets three key pathways in advanced melanoma, potentially restoring the immune response in patients resistant to standard immunotherapy. Although the work is preclinical, the use of drugs already in clinical trials for other conditions could accelerate testing in humans. Read More

Prashant Donthamsetti has received a prestigious NIH Director’s Pioneer Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. His project will use a new platform called Tag-Guided Drug to uncover how specific dopamine signaling proteins contribute to addiction. This work paves the way for more precise and effective addiction therapies. Read More

James Hayes, Rekha Nagarajan, and James Costanzo are the winners of the 2025 Cell Imaging Shared Resource Life Is Beautiful image contest. CISR provides researchers with access to state-of-the-art imaging equipment and expert technical support for sophisticated microscopy and analysis of tissue and cellular anatomy and physiology. Read More

Richard Gustin, PhD’10, sat down with us to discuss his experience studying basic science and pharmacology at Vanderbilt and how it played a role in his career. Gustin is now a senior director of innovation and strategic initiatives at Neurelis, Inc. Read More

Congratulations to our School of Medicine Basic Sciences members who were promoted or received new appointments between April and June 2025. These individuals significantly enrich our pursuit of pathbreaking research and contribute to the growth and success of our school. Read More

Quynh Anh Nguyen has been awarded the highly competitive Klingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience, a national honor that recognizes promising early-career investigators pursuing high-risk, high-reward research in the neurosciences. The fellowship will support Nguyen’s pioneering investigations into the brain’s inhibitory circuitry and its role in the development and control of epilepsy. Read More

By Lorena Infante Lara Food-related allergies and their effects are insidiously common in the United States: over seven percent of children and over 10 percent of adults are affected.  Although a quarter of people with food allergies have an epinephrine pen, they are expensive and have to be replaced… Read More

A recent review from the pharmacology lab of Valentina Cigliola explores the remarkable regenerative capabilities of zebrafish and neonatal mice and how insights into these mechanisms could pave the way for innovative and regenerative therapies in humans suffering from spinal cord injuries or neurodegenerative diseases. Read More

What makes these results exceptional isn’t just the compounds themselves, it’s what they represent: the value of translational research grounded in real-world therapeutic goals. The partners chose to release these best-in-class tool compounds to the scientific community to accelerate further discovery. Read More