Biochemistry

Yi Ren’s most recent paper, published in eLife, describes the structure of a protein complex involved in mRNA export that sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanism of mRNA export and the role it plays during infection by herpes viruses. Read More

Carterra Inc. and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences announced the addition of the Carterra LSAXT label-free interaction analysis platform to the Center for Structural Biology. Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers will be able to discover and characterize large molecules including antibodies. Read More

Research from the lab of Bill Tansey and other collaborators tested protein inhibitors called WINi against a panel of cancer cells and found that they have strong action against blood cancers and synergize with an FDA-approved cancer drug. Read More

Jeffrey Spraggins, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, biochemistry, and chemistry, has been named director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center. He succeeds Richard Caprioli, Stanford Moore Chair in Biochemistry, who established the MSRC in 1998 and who is retiring this summer. Read More

Richard Caprioli, Stanford Moore Professor of Biochemistry at the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, is retiring from Vanderbilt in August 2024. Caprioli’s work has created new possibilities for understanding the relationships between molecular and cellular organization in tissue microenvironments, ultimately providing a precision medicine toolbox for uncovering the molecular underpinnings of normal aging and disease.Caprioli is best known for developing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spec. Read More

The prestigious fellowship program assists exceptional graduate students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees across various fields, including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, STEM education and social sciences supported by NSF. Read More

Researchers in the lab of Stephen Fesik, Orrin H. Ingram II Chair in Cancer Research, have added BI-0474 as the second molecule co-discovered by Vanderbilt to the open science portal opnMe.com, an initiative being driven by biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Read More

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

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

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

Vanderbilt scientist Houra Merrikh led a team of researchers who discovered the first evolution-resistant chemical compound that prevents drug resistance development in bacteria. The compound is also a drug development platform that targets antimicrobial resistance during treatment of infections with antibiotics and evolution in general, Merrikh said. 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

As a professor of biochemistry and medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine for more than 40 years, Osheroff is the longest serving course director currently teaching medical students. He also codirects the preclerkship phase of the medical school curriculum and leads the Master Science Teachers cohort, a role established in 2007 to recognize VUSM’s outstanding basic science educators. Through his teaching, he has helped medical students at VUSM and across the globe acquire the basic science skills and knowledge they need to thrive in clinical practice, according to the AAMC. Read More

For his outstanding achievements, including investigations directed at nucleic acid structure, DNA bypass polymerases and the circadian clock, Martin Egli has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. The academy is dedicated to innovative research, interdisciplinary and transnational collaboration.  Read More

School of Medicine Basic Sciences researchers at the forefront of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease research and therapeutic development join CTTC leadership at CMT Research Foundation global research convention. The CMTRF has invested in further research at Vanderbilt to address the primary genetic cause of disease in patients with CMT disease type 1A. Read More

The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a three-year grant to support research led by Houra Merrikh, PhD, professor of Biochemistry, and Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology and director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, to create an anti-evolution drug to reduce the capacity of cancer cells to develop resistance. Read More

Emily Hodges, assistant professor of biochemistry, and Cody Siciliano, assistant professor of pharmacology, have been named Dean’s Faculty Fellows of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

Neil Osheroff, John G. Coniglio Chair in Biochemistry and professor of biochemistry and medicine, received the Mentoring, Innovation, and Leadership in Educational Scholarship Award at the annual Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference that took place in May. Read More