News
Vanderbilt researchers develop new evolutionary approach for identifying proteins that functionally interact
May. 4, 2022—Jacob Steenwyk, a graduate student in biological sciences, and collaborators at Vanderbilt, Tel Aviv University and University of Wisconsin-Madison measured the coevolution of pairs of genes shared across budding yeasts to identify the genes that participate in the same cellular or molecular functions. The results of this work could fundamentally change how we identify genes...
Study advances understanding of bacterial bioterrorism agent
Apr. 8, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a critical regulatory factor in Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax and has been used as a biological weapon. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Communications, provide new insights into bacterial gene regulation and may guide novel antibacterial therapeutic strategies. B. anthracis forms dormant spores — the...
New prognosis predictor and target for gastric cancer
Apr. 8, 2022—Treatment resistance is especially pronounced in gastric cancer and contributes to patient mortality, highlighting the need for resensitization strategies. Robert Coffey, MD, Xiaodi Zhao, PhD, and colleagues compared the secretome, or secreted proteins, of chemoresistant and chemosensitive human gastric cancer cell lines to identify biomarkers of resistance. CGA, the alpha-subunit of glycoprotein hormones, was one...
Vanderbilt ranks 12th in annual survey of NIH funding; 2021 awards topped $445M
Apr. 1, 2022—Vanderbilt University again ranked among the nation’s top research institutions receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to the latest data compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The total amount Vanderbilt scholars received across the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine Basic Sciences and 15 clinical sciences departments, which...
Crowe receives national award for COVID antibody research
Apr. 1, 2022—James Crowe Jr., MD, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, and Michel Nussenzweig, MD, PhD, of The Rockefeller University, have been jointly awarded the 2022 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine for “groundbreaking work” that enabled the use of human antibodies to treat COVID-19. The announcement was made March 24 by Harrington Discovery Institute Institute...
Pietenpol named AACR Fellow
Mar. 24, 2022—The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has inducted Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, and Yu Shyr, PhD, into the 2022 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy. The mission of the AACR Academy is to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. Fellows of the AACR Academy...
Bachmann, Cortez among faculty honored with endowed chairs
Mar. 2, 2022—Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver honored faculty from across the university at an endowed chair investiture ceremony on campus Feb. 24, conferring the university’s highest scholastic rank on those who had received the designation during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. “As a milestone...
Vanderbilt inks collaboration with precision neuroscience company Neumora to continue development of investigational treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders
Feb. 23, 2022—Vanderbilt University has signed an exclusive, worldwide license and a research collaboration agreement with Neumora Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering precision medicines for brain diseases through the integration of data science and neuroscience. The licensed program centers around the M4 muscarinic receptor positive allosteric modulator—including two new series of compounds—that targets schizophrenia and other...
Understanding the molecules and brain circuits recruited by stressful experience
Feb. 18, 2022—Stressful experiences can lead to adaptive or detrimental behaviors. Understanding how stress can affect our brains can help understand basic brain function and is also essential to discerning causes and treatments for some diseases. A group of researchers led by Jeffrey Conn, professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt, explored how specific types of neurons within the...
Pandemic leads to broader use of monoclonal antibodies
Feb. 17, 2022—New cases of COVID-19 in the United States have dropped by about 75% from the latest peak in mid-January, but as of Feb. 14, the two-year-old pandemic had claimed more than 920,000 lives, more than in any other country. Even now, more than 2,000 deaths are reported every day. Most at risk: the millions of...