Cell And Developmental Biology

The laboratories of Brian Bachmann and Jonathan Irish have developed a method to discover new small molecules that may kill cancer cells by working through the body’s immune system. Read More

Researchers in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have received three grants totaling $13.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop molecular “atlases” of the brain, kidney, eye and other tissues. Read More

Ethan Lee, professor of cell and developmental biology and pharmacology, has been named a 2022 Innovation Fund investigator by The Pew Charitable Trusts.   Read More

A collaborative project between the labs of Maulik Patel and Kris Burkewitz has identified a new molecular pathway that plays a key role in the ability of cells to sense and respond to stressed mitochondria. Read More

The lab of Kathy DelGiorno seeks to understand changes in the pancreas in response to injury and disease. In a recent project led by graduate student Leah Caplan, the lab investigated the formation of enteroendocrine cells throughout pancreatic tumor development. Read More

A collaborative project between William Tansey and Stephen Fesik has laid the foundation for pre-clinical and clinical trials for rare childhood tumors that are diagnosed in 25 children per year in the United States. Read More

Vanderbilt University again ranked among the nation’s top research institutions receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to the latest data compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Read More

Distinguished psychology professor Jon Kaas has received the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience, the highest recognition from the Society for Neuroscience, for his pathbreaking work in illuminating the structure and function of the cerebral cortex and plasticity in the developing and adult brain. Read More

Kristopher Burkewitz, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, has been awarded $100,000 from the American Federation for Aging Research and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research to research the biological aging process. Read More

The School of Medicine Basic Sciences’ monthly Lab-to-Table Conversation will bring together research experts on Tuesday, Nov. 30, for a virtual discussion about our current understanding of the biology of longevity. Read More

Discovering a signaling pathway’s influence on brain development in a nematode sheds light on human nervous systems. Est. reading time: 2 mins. Read More

Research from scientists at the School of Medicine Basic Sciences and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that cells in the pancreas form new cell types to mitigate injury but are then susceptible to cancerous mutations. Read More

Pioneering research from Vanderbilt scientists discovers the mechanism by which epithelial cells first find and react to wounds. Est. reading time: 3 mins. Read More

David Miller and Seth Taylor push genetic research forward by leading the completion of a gene expression atlas for the entire nervous system of the nematode C. elegans Est. reading time: 1.5 mins. Read More

A compound that increases lifespan in yeast is offering clues to pharmacological approaches that might slow the aging process and improve health. Read More

A new genome-wide CRISPR screening technique conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University is offering new insights about how tumors in 80 to 90 percent of all cancers grow. Read More

Researchers will combine expertise in developmental cell biology and tissue engineering/microfluidics to develop highly complex organoids, with the goal of understanding currently incurable neurological disorders.  Read More

For the second time, cancer researchers at Vanderbilt have discovered a protein that—when genetically manipulated to impede it from interacting with a gene responsible for cancer genesis—effectively melts tumors in days. Read More

Vanderbilt engineers have received a $1.49 million National Science Foundation grant to advance the science of organoids with cells that organize themselves and mimic the development of human brain structures. Read More

When in-person research ramped down in mid-March due to COVID-19, Anita Mahadevan-Jansen and her team did not know when they'd be back in the lab, so they methodically preserved experiments. While preparing the lab for closure was not difficult, the team’s two-month absence created complex academic and financial challenges that they continue to work to overcome. Read More