News
Hamm and Skaar elected to the National Academy of Sciences
May. 1, 2025—Election to the NAS—which was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863—recognizes distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. This year, Heidi Hamm (Pharmacology) and Eric Skaar (Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology) were elected members.
Winning the War on Bacteria
May. 1, 2025—Crucial research by Neil Osheroff and his lab leads to approval of the first new class of antibacterial drugs in decades.
Dean John Kuriyan was named a fellow of the American Association of Cancer Research
May. 1, 2025—Pelayo Correa, MD, professor emeritus of Medicine and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and John Kuriyan, PhD, dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, have been elected to the 2025 class of fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy.
Doug Mitchell named director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology
May. 1, 2025—Doug Mitchell has been appointed the holder of the William Kelly Warren Sr. Chair in Biochemistry and professor chemistry. He has also been named director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Chemical Biology.
Katrin Karbstein appointed co-leader of Vanderbilt’s Cancer Cell Biology Research Program
Jul. 23, 2024—Katrin Karbstein, PhD, has joined the School of Medicine Basic Sciences as Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of Biochemistry. She has also been appointed co-leader of the cancer cell biology program in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
New CBMS supplemental grant aims to enhance laboratory safety practices
Jul. 18, 2024—Given the occurrence of tragic accidents and near-misses at research institutions across the country, cultivating a culture of laboratory safety in academic institutions has been a pressing concern for governmental funding agencies. Thanks to a training grant supplement from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded last year, Vanderbilt campus partners collaborated to execute...
New drug candidates targeting blood clots developed through computer-aided drug design
Jul. 18, 2024—A team of Vanderbilt researchers has created a new series of drug candidates against a hard-to-target receptor involved in the formation of blood clots. The research, spearheaded by the labs of Jens Meiler, research professor of chemistry, Craig Lindsley, Executive Director of Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery and professor of pharmacology, and Heidi Hamm,...
Jeffrey Spraggins named director of Vanderbilt University Mass Spectrometry Research Center
Jul. 17, 2024—Jeffrey Spraggins, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, biochemistry, and chemistry, has been named director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center. He succeeds Richard Caprioli, Stanford Moore Chair in Biochemistry, who established the MSRC in 1998 and who is retiring this summer.
Osheroff Named the 2024 Recipient of the Lillian B. Nanney Award for Outstanding Service to the VUSM/VUMC Community of Educators
Jul. 12, 2024—The Lillian B. Nanney Award for Outstanding Service to the VUSM/VUMC Community of Educators is a lifetime achievement award established to recognize an Academy for Excellence in Education faculty member who has demonstrated sustained outstanding service to the Vanderbilt community of educators. This year’s winner is Neil Osheroff, PhD, John G. Coniglio Professor of Biochemistry and professor...
Spraggins Named 2024 Chancellor Faculty Fellow
Jul. 12, 2024—Thirteen outstanding faculty members from across the university have been selected for the 2024 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise.
New structures offer insight into how a bacterial motor powers bacterial chemotaxis, a key infectious process
Jul. 12, 2024—Bacteria existed for millennia before humans and have been infecting us from the beginning. Although we can treat infections through pharmaceuticals, bacteria continue to become resistant to treatment thanks to their rapid evolution. Bacterial infections remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in 2024, resulting in nearly eight million annual deaths globally. One key...
Hodges lab sheds new light on mechanisms of gene regulatory divergence between species
Jul. 12, 2024—Closely related animal species can look physically different, but you might be surprised to learn that those differences can result not only from DNA sequence changes that alter proteins’ structure or function, but also because changes in the DNA affect how those proteins are expressed. To add to that, not all differences between species can...
David Cortez wins Protein Society award for contributions to basic protein science
Jul. 12, 2024—David Cortez, the Richard N. Armstrong Ph.D. Professor of Innovation in Biochemistry and chair of biochemistry, won The Hans Neurath Award, a 2024 Protein Society Award, for recent contributions of exceptional merit to basic protein research.
Pietenpol to receive ASCO’s highest honor
Jul. 12, 2024—Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, Executive Vice President for Research, and chief scientific and strategy officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will be recognized at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with one of its highest honors.
Kimryn Rathmell named American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
Jun. 23, 2023—Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, was recently inducted as a American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) fellow for her record of volunteer service, dedication and commitment to the organization.