News
Combination antibody therapies should retain effectiveness against emerging COVID-19 variants: study
Jun. 24, 2021—Jun. 22, 2021, 7:39 AM Five monoclonal antibody “cocktails,” including one developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), are protective in animal studies against several variant strains of COVID-19, according to a report this week in the journal Nature. The findings suggest that many of the combination antibody therapies currently being tested in humans should retain...
Merrikh named finalist for Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists for second year
Jun. 18, 2021—Jun. 17, 2021, 9:00 AM By Jenna Somers Houra Merrikh For the second year in a row, Professor of Biochemistry Houra Merrikh has been named a finalist for the 2021 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in the life sciences category for her discovery of a potential solution to prevent the evolution of antimicrobial resistance...
Craig Lindsley named to Medicinal Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society Hall of Fame
Jun. 16, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 15, 2021, 12:00 PM Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and University Professor of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Chemistry Craig Lindsley, the William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine and director of Vanderbilt University’s Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, will be inducted as a member of the...
Hidden variable gives people another tool to manage major depressive disorders
Jun. 3, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro Jun. 2, 2021, 9:00 AM THE IDEA Sandra Rosenthal, Jack and Pamela Egan Professor of Chemistry and professor of pharmacology and chemical and biomolecular engineering, and collaborators have proposed that the seasonal rate of change in daylight has the greatest effect on illnesses with seasonal patterns, including bipolar disorder and major depressive...
Borden Lacy named Faculty Mentor of the Year
May. 27, 2021—Faculty Mentor of the Year Recipients of the Faculty Mentor of the Year award must demonstrate a willingness to share expertise and advice; service to the community at large, including other mentoring activities; and scholarship within the mentor’s own career, including publications, awards, presentations and honors. The Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association solicits nominations from all Vanderbilt...
Steven Townsend wins David Y. Gin Young Investigator Award
Apr. 16, 2021—by Marissa Shapiro Apr. 16, 2021, 9:00 AM By Miquéla Thornton Steven Townsend (Vanderbilt University) Assistant Professor of Chemistry Steven D. Townsend has been awarded the 2021 David Y. Gin Young Investigator Award by the American Chemical Society. The award is one that “encourages outstanding contributions to research in carbohydrate chemistry by scientists in the...
Personalized Structural Biology aids cancer treatment decisions
Apr. 9, 2021—Apr. 8, 2021, 8:55 AM by Bill Snyder Cancer specialists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in partnership with biochemists and structural biologists across the Vanderbilt University campus, are taking “personalized” cancer therapy to a new level. Benjamin Brown, left, Jens Meiler, PhD, Zhenfang Du, PhD, and colleagues are studying the functional consequences of genetic mutations...
Dr. James Crowe Jr. receives SEC Faculty Achievement Award
Apr. 9, 2021—by Ann Marie Deer Owens Apr. 8, 2021, 1:30 PM Dr. James Crowe Jr., professor of medicine, in his lab at Medical Research Building IV. (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) Dr. James E. Crowe Jr., a physician-scientist on the front lines of global research to eliminate human susceptibility to COVID-19 and other illnesses, is Vanderbilt University’s winner...
Mark Denison Receives Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor Award
Apr. 2, 2021—The Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor Award, established in honor of Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt upon his retirement in 2000, recognizes faculty accomplishments that span multiple academic disciplines. Denison, Edward Claiborne Stahlman Professor of Pediatric Physiology and Cell Metabolism and one of the world’s foremost experts on coronaviruses, earned his medical degree from the...
Novel way to neutralize Rift Valley Fever Virus
Apr. 1, 2021—Apr. 1, 2021, 11:00 AM by Bill Snyder Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) is an emerging infection in sub-Saharan and North Africa that causes severe, hemorrhagic illness in livestock and humans and which has pandemic potential. James Crowe Jr., MD, and colleagues isolated a panel of human monoclonal antibodies from the blood of people in Kenya who had survived RVFV infection and from those who...