School of Medicine Basic Sciences
Department of Biochemistry
Biochemistry is part of Basic Sciences in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Basic Sciences is comprised of the departments biochemistry, cell and developmental biology, pharmacology, and molecular physiology and biophysics. Learn more about our thriving research community by clicking the buttons below.
What is Biochemistry?
The Department of Biochemistry is dedicated to discovering the fundamental mechanisms of biological processes, bridging these discoveries with clinical applications to improve human health, and training the next generation of biomedical scientists. Our investigators are leaders in applying advanced approaches in structural biology, mass spectrometry, chemical biology, cell biology, and genetics to thematic areas like DNA and RNA metabolism, cell division, enzymology, molecular cancer biology, signaling, toxicology, and metabolism. We are united in seeking molecular answers to biomedical questions.
The Department has 26 primary investigator-track faculty and another ~50 secondary, educator, and research-track faculty. An exceptional group of graduate, medical, and undergraduate students and large cohort of post-doctoral fellows train in our laboratories supported by over $30M in funding.
As one of four basic science departments in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, Biochemistry benefits from being affiliated with a large medical center and medical school as well as Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Connected Computing. Our unique structure allows us to strategically invest in infrastructure, initiatives, and people to fulfill our missions of research, education, and service.
Biochemistry investigators have received major awards including election to the National Academy of Sciences, and a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Stanley Cohen, 1986). Our culture of excellence, collaboration, innovation, rigor, dedication, inclusiveness, ambition, kindness, and resiliency facilitates high impact research, education, and service. – David Cortez, Chair
We invite queries regarding graduate studies, postdoctoral training, and faculty positions.
A recent article about the Biochemistry Department can be found here.
Upcoming Events
ASCEND Committee Meeting
Dr. Sonja Lorenz, Max Planck Institute
Dr. Ian Morgan, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Dr. Peter Chien, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Welcome Back Picnic in the Park
Dr. Ruma Banerjee, University of Michigan
Dr. Manajat Hayer-Hartl, Max Planck Institute
2026 BCHM Department Retreat
The Richard Armstrong Lecture: Dr. Elizabeth Villa, UCSD
Dr. Daniela Nicastro, UT Southwestern
Dr. Susan Ackerman, UCSD
Dr. Dipanjan Chowdhury, Harvard University
Biochemistry Announcements
-
Dr. Kevin Schey was recently elected secretary of the International Mass Spectrometry Imaging Society's (IMSIS)executive board.
-
Dr. Borden Lacy was awarded the Kathryn M. Edwards Award for Clinical and Translational Research Impacting Disease Prevention at the 2026 School of Medicine Spring Faculty Assembly.
-
Dr. Ivelin Georgiev was awarded the Stanley Cohen Award for Research Bridging Diverse Disciplines, such as Chemistry or Physics, to Solve Biology's Most Important Fundamental Questions at the 2026 School of Medicine Spring Faculty Assembly.
-
Dr. Mollie Uhrig (Cortez Lab) has been named the 2026 Destination Biochemistry Stanley Cohen Postdoctoral Scholar.
-
Dr. Yingxuan Zhu (Bhowmick & Cortez Labs) has been named the 2026 Destination Biochemistry Benjamin Danzo Postdoctoral Scholar.
-
Gabriela Gonzalez-Vasquez (Cortez lab) received the "Best Poster Award" at the VICC symposium.
-
Dr. Martin Egli presented "RNA Structure, Etiology and Re-Engineering Into siRNA Therapeutics," at the May 28 Kairos Lecture.
-
Dr. Kate Clowes Mosters (Sanders lab) and Dr. Sarah Glass (former Guengerich lab grad student) were featured in the article, "Ten-year anniversary: Ten trainee success stories from the School of Medicine Basic Sciences."
-
Dr. Brandt Eichman has been named a 2026 Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellow.
-
Dr. Doug Mitchell has been designated a Chartered Chemist by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
-
Dr. Graham Hudson has agreed to join the department as an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry.
Biochemistry News
Marked for destruction: designing new targets for protein degradation therapies
June 25, 2026-Targeted protein degradation (TPD) represents an emerging class of therapeutics that selectively degrades disease-relevant proteins.
For example, targeted degradation of oncoproteins in a tumor can inhibit tumor growth while minimizing the toxic side effects of traditional chemotherapy. The degradation relies on the endogenous mammalian ubiquitin ligase pathway, specifically through the use of proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) molecules which recruit E3 ligases to target proteins for ubiquitination. However, TPD strategies are hindered by the limited number of E3 ligases with useful targets.
School of Medicine Spring Faculty Assembly honors 14 ‘outstanding’ teachers, clinicians and researchers
June 17, 2026-Fourteen faculty members of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine were recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Extraordinary Performance of Clinical Service, and Outstanding Contributions to Research during the annual Spring Faculty Assembly on May 29.
In introductory remarks, Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and Dean of the School of Medicine, noted that Vanderbilt’s ranking as one of the nation’s top academic medical centers reflects its commitment to invest in medical research and train the next generation of health care leaders.
Martin Egli’s Kairos Lecture focused on RNA’s physical characteristics and how they influence its biological roles and disease
May 28, 2026-Martin Egli, the Richard N. Armstrong, Ph.D. Professor of Innovation in Biochemistry and a professor of biochemistry at the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, delivered a Kairos Lecture on May 28.
The chair of the Department of Biochemistry, David Cortez, introduced Egli. Cortez gave a brief biography and touched on Egli’s accomplishments, which include his pioneering of nucleic-acid crystallography methods and solving of ultra-high-resolution structures of canonical and unusual forms of DNA and DNA/RNA hybrids. Egli’s work, which has resulted in over 300 publications and two influential nucleic acid textbooks, has advanced strategies to stabilize RNA for therapeutic applications, including siRNA. He has received major honors and extensively served his department and the university.
Looking to become a biochemistry undergraduate major?
Contact the Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Undergraduate Major Program at https://as.vanderbilt.edu/biochemistry-chemical-biology/