Basic Sciences
Novel genetic study sheds new light on risk of heart attack
Oct. 11, 2018—Loss of a protein that regulates mitochondrial function can greatly increase the risk of a heart attack, report Eric Gamazon, Sandra Zinkel and graduate students Christie Salisbury-Ruf and Clinton Bertram in new research.
Mass spectrometry team earns grant to map body at the cellular level
Sep. 28, 2018—Biochemistry professor Richard Caprioli, director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center, and Jeff Spraggins, research assistant professor of biochemistry, and their team will build a platform to molecularly characterize cells.
Cancer Moonshot award to help map tumor progression
Sep. 27, 2018—A trans-institutional team of researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University has received an $11 million Cancer Moonshot grant to build a single-cell resolution atlas to map out the routes that benign colonic polyps take to progress to colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer among both men and women in the United States.
How microvilli form
Sep. 21, 2018—Research led by Matthew Tyska gives new insight into the formation of the lining of the gut that helps us absorb nutrients and guard against illness.
Research reveals link between immunity, diabetes
Sep. 13, 2018—An immune cell called CD8+ is supposed to attack disease, but it can also contribute to inflammation, which can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Unleashing TIGER on small RNAs
Sep. 6, 2018—Kasey Vickers has developed a new analytical method for to study small RNAs, a poorly understood component of the genome.
Team’s findings could spur new treatments for type 2 diabetes
Sep. 6, 2018—New research by an international team that includes Vanderbilt researchers shows how a common diabetes drug blocks glucose production by the liver, suggesting new avenues for treatment.
Immune system emerges as partner in opioid cravings fight
Sep. 5, 2018—There’s promise in specific immune system peptides—amino acid compounds that signal cells how to function. In this case, they may be affecting brain activity and, by extension, drug cravings.
Energetic gene switch
Aug. 30, 2018—James Galligan and Lawrence Marnett have discovered a new histone modification that can affect gene expression.
A brain-builder called “Shh”
Aug. 30, 2018—A newly discovered role for the "Sonic the Hedgehog" protein in the proper development of the cerebellum.
New faculty chair in Vanderbilt’s Basic Sciences created in memory of biochemist Richard Armstrong
Aug. 29, 2018—A $1 million gift has established a new faculty chair within the School of Medicine’s Basic Sciences that is named in honor of the late biochemist Richard Armstrong.
Clue to treating obesity found in body’s ‘rheostat’
Aug. 23, 2018—New research by Masoud Ghamari-Langroudi and colleagues has revealed that a certain brain protein called MC3R plays a role in causing the body to reset its "ideal" weight.