Department Of Biochemistry

New agreement will pursue therapies targeting MCL1 (myeloid cell leukemia 1), which is highly prevalent in many difficult-to-treat cancers. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have used sophisticated cell biological and structural techniques to “classify” mutations in potassium channels, studies that could lead to personalized treatment of heart rhythm disorders. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered an unanticipated link between sulfur and iron balance, pointing to a genetic basis for iron-deficiency anemia. Read More

New findings suggest that oxidative stress damages mitochondrial DNA, and they link this damage to a disease state. Read More

Structural details about a protein involved in the repair of damaged DNA provide insight into xeroderma pigmentosum disorders, which are characterized by increased risk for skin cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered a class of compounds that inhibit a mediator of inflammation and autoimmune disorders, and that could pave the way for development of future therapies. Read More

New mechanistic details about the DNA-unwinding activity of antibacterial protein targets could lead to the design of better antibiotic medicines. Read More

The histone deacetylase HDAC3 is required for the maturation of B cells, white blood cells that produce antibodies. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers report a structure of a human metabolic enzyme bound to its substrate 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have discovered a protein that may lead to a new way to prevent resistance and improve outcomes for patients whose cancers have mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA2. Read More

University of Chicago professor Chuan He will discuss “RNA Methylation in Gene Expression Regulation” from noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 18 in Light Hall, Room 2014, to kick off the Frontiers in Biochemistry seminar series for 2017-18. Talks in the series take place at noon on select Fridays during the school year, with prestigious speakers invited from around the United States. Read More

New findings shed light on how enzymes that replicate DNA skip over mutations that might cause cancer and restart DNA synthesis further away. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have developed a new method for measuring oxidative stress in human tumors, which provides insight into cancer development. Read More

A new protein structure may guide the development of Alzheimer's therapeutics. Read More

Structural details of a protein that removes DNA lesions shed light on fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair. Read More

A detailed structural and functional analysis of the yeast protein that is the main target of antifungal drugs will help direct efforts to develop better treatments. Read More

DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.” Read More

More than a decade after the anti-inflammatory drugs Vioxx and Bextra were pulled from the market because of a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke in some patients, COX-2 inhibitors may be on the verge of a comeback, this time as anti-cancer agents. Read More

Kamakoti “Kami” Bhat, a fifth-year graduate student in the lab of David Cortez, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry in the School of Medicine, has achieved a “first” for Vanderbilt University. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have determined that a previously uncharacterized protein responds to DNA replication stress and has an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the genome. Read More