News
Building intestinal brush borders
Feb. 11, 2016—Matthew Tyska, Ph.D., and colleagues previously discovered that the brush border’s densely packed microvilli – finger-like membrane protrusions – are connected to each other via cadherin adhesion molecules. Now, the investigators have demonstrated a critical role for a protein called ANKS4B in stabilizing the cadherin-based adhesions between microvilli to build a normal brush border.
The Grant Chase
Feb. 9, 2016—The NCI is asking for annual increases of 7 percent over the next decade. Congress increased funding for NCI by 5.25 percent for 2016. Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) researchers – Kathy Gould, Bill Tansey, and Ian Macara – explain what that funding means for their work.
Andrea Page-McCaw Awarded NIGMS R01
Feb. 9, 2016—Andrea Page-McCaw was recently awarded a new R01 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS): 1R01GM117899, 2/1/2016-12/31/2019, NIH/NIGMS, "Wnt/Wg Extracellular Ligand Distribution and Regulation."
Findings offer new insight on how cell division proteins work
Jan. 29, 2016—Kathleen Gould, Melanie Ohi, and colleagues have found that certain proteins involved in cell division don’t function as previously thought. Instead of bending membranes into tubes, these “F-BAR” proteins — named for a domain they share — appear to form patches on the membrane where the cell’s internal actin cytoskeleton and other proteins can bind and...
Irina Kaverina Named A 2016 Chancellor Faculty Fellow
Jan. 21, 2016—Irina Kaverina, associate professor of cell and developmental biology has been named to the 2016 class of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. The class comprises highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from the humanities, social sciences, life and physical sciences, and clinical sciences, as well as business, education and engineering. "These extraordinary faculty members exemplify our academic mission, and our...
Lau And Colleagues Develop New DISSECT Method
Dec. 22, 2015—Ken Lau, Ph.D., and colleagues have developed a method for preparing single-cell suspensions from epithelial tissues – the type of tissue from which many diseases arise. They describe the new method, DISSECT (Disaggregation for Intracellular Signaling in Single Epithelial Cells from Tissue), in the journal Molecular Systems Biology.
Becky Adams Awarded EMBO Short Term Fellowship
Dec. 8, 2015—Becky Adams has been awarded an EMBO Short Term Fellowship to visit Edinburgh for a month. She will work in Dr. David Tollervey's lab analyzing the RNA targets of the DEAD-box RNA-dependeing ATPase Dbp5, which functions during mRNA export through the nuclear pore complex.
Microtubules’ role in insulin secretion control revealed
Dec. 4, 2015—Irina Kaverina, Ph.D., Xiadong Zhu, Ph.D., and colleagues began using pancreatic beta cells as a model to study microtubule function — to explore how microtubules “traffic” cargo such as insulin granules from the cell interior to the periphery.
David Miller Part of Committee to Facilitate Cross-College Teaching
Nov. 9, 2015—David Miller was recently appointed to the faculty committee of the University Courses initiative. This new initiative, a key component of Vanderbilt’s Academic Strategic Plan, will promote new and creative trans-institutional learning at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels.
Program gives undergrads from Peru lab experience
Nov. 2, 2015—Kenyi Saito-Diaz, a graduate student in Dr. Ethan Lee's lab, is also the co-director of the Research Experience for Peruvian Undergraduates (REPU), a program that provides Peruvian undergraduates with opportunities to become scientists. REPU helps the brightest Peruvian students get internships in U.S. laboratories for three to six months. The experience makes them better candidates for graduate programs abroad and...
Miller Named Outstanding Mentor
Oct. 15, 2015—David Miller was recentlyt named "Outstanding Mentor of the Year 2015" by the Vanderbilt Neuroscience Program!
Ian Macara Presents at Koman Day Event
Oct. 15, 2015—On October 8 Ian Macara gave a presentation on research for Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators, donors, patients and patient advocates. The VICC hosted this day-long event, which included members of the Susan G. Koman breast cancer organization.
Nerve Cell Remodelers
Sep. 25, 2015—In the nematode worm, C. elegans, cholinergic inputs to DD motor neurons are relocated to new positions during early larval development. Graduate student Siwei He, David Miller, Ph.D., and colleagues have determined that the immunoglobulin-like protein OIG-1 antagonizes the relocation of acetylcholine receptors in DD neurons.
Chris Wright Reaches 25-Year Milestone!
Sep. 9, 2015—Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos saluted faculty who have reached the 25-year milestone in their tenure at Vanderbilt during the 2015 Fall Faculty Assembly. “A quarter of a century represents a sizeable investment of one’s career, and the contributions made to Vanderbilt during this time span are significant and transformative,” Zeppos said. Honorees included Professor of Cell And Developmental...
Peruvian Connection
Aug. 28, 2015—The Research Experience for Peruvian Undergraduates (REPU) connects undergraduates from Peru with internships in US and Canadian laboratories. The ultimate goal is to advance science in Peru and Latin America. The program was launched in 2007 by co-founder Abel Alcázar Román, then a Vanderbilt graduate student (now at Yale), with the support of Susan Wente. Andres Guillen Samander, from Lima, completed his internship...