Leigh MacMillan

Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., recipient of a 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Jan. 8. Read More

New findings suggest that misfolded proteins accumulate in the heart atria, particularly in patients with hypertension, and may contribute to atrial heart disease. Read More

A newly identified “atheroprotective” gene is a tool for exploring plaque pathophysiology and may be a good target for therapies to slow atherosclerosis progression. Read More

Understanding how the protein TRPV1 helps neurons survive after glaucoma-related stressors could lead to new therapeutic strategies for glaucoma and other neurodegenerative conditions. Read More

New structural findings reveal how "gatekeeper" proteins participate in the secretion systems bacteria use to infect host cells. Read More

Suzanne Bakken, Ph.D., RN, the Alumni Professor of Nursing and professor of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Dec. 11. Read More

Jim Cassat, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric infectious disease specialist who joined the Vanderbilt faculty this summer, loves taking care of children with bone infections and doing research to understand the host-pathogen interactions during these invasive infections. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed tools to probe the role of the essential metal manganese in neurons, and which offer a started point for developing therapeutic agents for manganese-related neurological disorders. Read More

Understanding how zinc and the host’s immune response control H. pylori’s cancer-causing potential could suggest new therapeutic strategies to reduce infection and cancer risk. Read More

Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered a new molecular mechanism that regulates microtubule dynamics. The unexpected finding, reported in Developmental Cell, has implications for cancer drug discovery. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that certain immune cells contribute to the development of hypertension, suggesting novel targets for treating the disease. Read More

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can share resources to cause chronic infections, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. The findings shed light on a long-standing question in infectious diseases and may inform new treatment strategies. Read More

A particular neuronal cell population is involved in the pathogenesis of a rare neurological disorder, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered a new type of immune cell residing in the intestinal epithelium that may function as a first line of defense against ingested pathogens. Read More

The potential for long-range signaling factors – such as those identified in the current study – to regulate stem cell behaviors has implications in tumor progression and metastasis. Read More

A person’s mitochondrial gene “signature” could predict risk for diabetic retinopathy and guide early intervention strategies. Read More

Nobel laureate Peter Doherty, Ph.D., who discovered how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 2. Read More

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share common genetic underpinnings. Vanderbilt researchers combined high-resolution gene expression studies with gene association data to reveal signaling pathways linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Read More

Bernard Lo, M.D., president of the Greenwall Foundation and director emeritus of the Program in Medical Ethics at the University of California, San Francisco, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 25. Read More

Stem cells derived from patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension provide a unique resource for studying the molecular defects that cause the disease and testing potential therapies. Read More