Research

Vanderbilt engineering alumnus and Google Earth co-founder Chikai Ohazama will speak at Vanderbilt as part of E-Week Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Read More

Cell surface molecules called integrins have been found to play an important role when cancer metastasizes. Read More

Modifying a form of RNAs may improve their efficacy for research and medical uses. Read More

Dickerson, Sung and Webster recognized for research including nanoparticles, regenerating blood vessels and finding options for 'inoperable' patients. Read More

Results of a landmark, seven-year National Institutes of Health-funded trial, Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), demonstrate clear benefit for babies who undergo fetal surgery to treat spina bifida, the most common birth defect in the central nervous system. Read More

ohn C. Gore, Hertha Ramsey Cress University Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University and professor of biomedical engineering, has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to the development and applications of magnetic resonance and other imaging techniques in medicine. Read More

(iStock photo) Vanderbilt University Medical Center is participating in a multi-site, national study to identify the role nurses play in improving outcomes among heart failure patients. Nancy Wells (Vanderbilt) “Heart failure is being recognized as a huge issue in elderly and middle-aged people, and it has a profound effect on… Read More

The Vanderbilt MRI Labs Physics / Imaging Department (Anne Rayner / Vanderbilt) Serotonin – a chemical that has roles in multiple brain functions, including mood, sleep and cognition – is manufactured by clusters of brainstem neurons gathered in the raphé nuclei. A reliable, non-invasive imaging method for assessing raphé neuron… Read More

The industrial chemical BPA is found in commercial products, such as plastic water bottles. (iStock Photo) The safety of industrial chemicals bisphenol A (BPA) and alkylphenols, which are used in commercial products like plastics, has recently been called into question. Exposure to these chemicals is typically measured… Read More

Toadstools in early morning light (Photo by Guy Nicholls, iStock) For some reason, fungi don’t get no respect. Despite the fact that genetically they are more closely related to animals than to plants and despite the fact that they play an absolutely critical role in the environment,… Read More

Tina Hartert, M.D., MPH, left, Kathryn Miller, M.D., MPH, and Yarris Muhammed are on the team studying the links between rhinoviruses and bronchiolitis. (Mary Donaldson / Vanderbilt) An infant’s risk of developing bronchiolitis caused by human rhinoviruses (HRV), aka the common cold, is linked to whether the mother has allergies… Read More

(Photo credit: iStock photo) In the battle of the bulge, one important battalion is a set of brain cells expressing the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R). Via signals from the fat-derived hormone leptin, these neurons regulate feeding behavior and fat metabolism in an attempt to regulate body weight. But how leptin influences… Read More

Since the days of Darwin, the “tree of life” has been the preeminent metaphor for the process of evolution, reflecting the gradual branching and changing of individual species. The discovery that a large cluster of genes appears to have jumped directly from one species of fungus to another, however,… Read More

Volunteer Becky Clark reads to a student at the Mama Lere Hearing School at Vanderbilt (Anne Rayner / Vanderbilt) OPTION Schools Inc., in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, is conducting a study looking at how children who are deaf or hard of hearing… Read More

Peter Hedera, M.D. Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), a group of progressive neurodegenerative disorders that impairs the ability to walk, can be caused by mutations in more than 40 different genes. Despite this genetic heterogeneity, the pathologic features – degeneration of long axons in the spinal cord – are relatively uniform,… Read More

Try asking any Monday morning quarterback about blown fourth-down play calls in the NFL and you are guaranteed passionate opinions. In most fourth-down plays, an NFL team will punt or try for a field goal. But, occasionally, teams decide to do something that is viewed as risky – attempt a… Read More

Caving expert John Hickman, who accompanies Bachmann on his underground expeditions, rappels down to the entrance of the Snail Shell Cave near Murfreesboro, Tenn Have you ever had the feeling that events beyond your control are working in your favor? That certainly seems to have been the case in the… Read More

The latest news about discoveries by Vanderbilt researchers is now available on a new online news channel, Research News @ Vanderbilt. Read More

School for Science and Math students Katie Roland, left, who attends Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet School, and Isaiah Bolden, who attends Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School, with the School for Science and Math’s director, Angela Eeds, Ph.D. (Mary Donaldson / Vanderbilt University) Report after report, it… Read More

Every few months, chemist Brian Bachmann sheds his white lab coat, collects his flashlight, helmet, surgical gloves and knotted rope, puts on old clothes and hiking boots and heads to a nearby cave. Bachmann, an assistant professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt, has combined his industrial experience in… Read More