Basic Sciences

Graduate student Hillary Layden studies transcriptional control of cancer in the lab of Scott Hiebert, Hortense B. Ingram Chair in Cancer Research and professor of biochemistry. She shares the results from her research in which she used a deep genomic analysis to determine how protein mutations influence gene expression to promote cancer progression. Read More

A Tri-Institutional Seminar series has been initiated by the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, Meharry Medical College and Fisk University, focused on trainee development and promoting collaboration and existing ties between scientists affiliated with all three institutions. The series is open to the public. Read More

Ken Lau, professor of cell and developmental biology, and colleagues have laid out the principles governing the biology of early, precancerous lesions, which are different from the principles that govern cancers. Their authoritative perspective was published in Cancer Discovery in April 2024. Read More

David Cortez, a world-renowned leader in DNA damage response and repair mechanisms and the pathophysiology of cancer, developed and applied highly creative technological approaches to identify and characterize proteins involved in DNA and genome maintenance. The Protein Society is the premier international society dedicated to supporting protein research. Read More

After a rigorous nomination and review process, Vanderbilt University professors -- Jada Benn Torres, David Cliffel, Volker Haase, Janet Macdonald, Xiao-Ou Shu, Keith Wilson and Zheng Wei -- were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, which received $527.7 million in direct and indirect NIH grant support in FY23, has been among the top 10 U.S. medical schools in NIH funding for six of the last 10 years. Read More

The Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center hosted its fifth Annual Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Day on April 10 with the theme of “big data.” Aside from presentations from faculty from across campus and the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, the day featured data blitzes, a keynote presentation, and a poster reception with more than 45 posters. Read More

Incoming assistant professor of pharmacology Quynh Anh Nguyen spearheaded research that points to a previously unidentified region of the hippocampus as responsible for epileptic seizures. The work could lead to new avenues of treatment to help epilepsy patients control their seizures. Read More

The lab of Tina Iverson, Louise B. McGavock Professor and professor of pharmacology, in collaboration with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco; Stanford University; and The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have published new work in Nature Microbiology, providing new insights on chemotaxis. Read More

Molecular biologist Emily Hodges, assistant professor of biochemistry, studies the regulatory elements of our genome and is interested in parsing how changes in DNA sequence affect gene regulation. Read More

The lab of Antentor O. Hinton Jr., assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, came together with collaborators from across Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the U.S., and Brazil to determine the differences in the 3D morphology of mitochondria and their cristae in brown adipose tissue. Read More

Sean Davies, associate professor of pharmacology and associate director of graduate studies for the department, has been awarded a Scaling Success grant from Research Development and Support in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation. Read More

Led by Neil Osheroff, Vanderbilt researchers are the first to undertake a systematic analysis of the mechanism of action of gepotidacin, a first-in-class triazaacenaphthylene antibacterial, against its targets in Escherichia coli—the type II topoisomerases gyrase and topoisomerase IV—and the mechanistic basis for drug resistance. E. coli is the etiological agent of most urinary tract infections. Read More

Vanderbilt University Professor of Biochemistry and Vice Dean of Basic Sciences Chuck Sanders and Professor of Biochemistry Bruce Carter have been hard at work searching for therapies, if not a cure, for CMT. Read More

Manuel Ascano, associate professor of biochemistry and pathology, microbiology and immunology, and Dr. Alissa Weaver, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Extracellular Vesicle Research, are one of nine U.S. research teams awarded funding from the National Science Foundation to more fully understand the potential biotechnological uses of RNA, ranging from crop disease protection to treatments that combat cancer. Read More

Brandt Eichman and Walter Chazin, professors of biochemistry, have worked together to provide a better understanding of how exactly DNA replication is initiated in eukaryotes. Using Vanderbilt’s state-of-the-art instrumentation in the Center for Structural Biology’s Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility, Eichman, Chazin and their colleagues provided detailed visualizations of a multi-functional protein in action, which sheds light on how DNA replication is initiated in humans. Read More

The lab of Professor of Biochemistry Fred Guengerich has proposed a paradigm shift in the understanding of a critical chemical reaction involved in sterol biosynthesis. Read More

The World Health Organization ranks antimicrobial resistance as one of the top ten global health risks. Vanderbilt researchers led by Houra Merrikh identified the first anti-evolution compound that targets AMR during treatment of infections with antibiotics. Read More

Led by Terunaga Nakagawa, an international collaboration describes for the first time the fundamental mechanism underpinning cellular processes that lead to learning and memory. Read More

Mohammed AlQuraishi, assistant professor at Columbia University, will give an Apex Lecture on Monday, Jan. 29, at 12:00 p.m. CT in 214 Light Hall. His talk, “The State of Protein Structure Prediction and Friends,” is hosted by the School of Medicine Basic Sciences and co-sponsored by the Center for Applied AI in Protein Dynamics. Read More