Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
The importance of estrogen cycles
Aug. 6, 2020—Deborah Lannigan and colleagues identify a key regulator of the estrogen receptor and suggest that its downregulation by oral contraceptives may increase oxidative stress and DNA damage, a common cause of cancer.
Keeping beta cells “fit”
Jul. 9, 2020—Vanderbilt cell biologists are defining the factors that help beta cells in the pancreas stay healthy, secrete insulin and prevent diabetes initiation and progression.
New clues to lung-scarring disease may aid treatment
Jul. 8, 2020—Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Arizona, have discovered previously unreported genetic and cellular changes that occur in the lungs of people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF).
Leadership in a COVID-19 world
Jun. 29, 2020—Being a biomedical scientist has served Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente well as she’s led the university through “a rapid succession of significant decisions” since the first reports of COVID-19.
Studying cells in reduced dimensions
Jun. 18, 2020—Vanderbilt cell biologists have developed an unbiased, quantitative framework for evaluating single-cell data.
‘Tuning’ cell shape for division
Apr. 20, 2020—Dylan Burnette and colleagues have discovered that two forms of the molecular motor protein myosin have distinct roles in regulating cell shape during cell division.
Research team awarded $9 million to study extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer
Apr. 15, 2020—A multidisciplinary team of investigators at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a program project grant from the National Cancer Institute to explore extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer.
Clues to lung injury in preterm babies
Mar. 5, 2020—Jennifer Sucre and colleagues have discovered a factor that contributes to the pathological changes of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the most common complication of preterm birth.
Protein research seeks to induce tumor regression
Jan. 29, 2020—MYC is a family of three related proteins that are overexpressed in cancer and which contribute to an estimated 100,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States. Understanding how MYC works could lead to the development of new drugs that can effectively block MYC and stop many cancers in their tracks.
Insights on diabetic retinopathy
Jan. 23, 2020—A drug that targets multiple pathogenic steps in diabetic retinopathy may be an ideal therapeutic strategy for the disease, Vanderbilt researchers report.
‘Spatial and Temporal Control of Synaptic Transmission’ Jan. 20
Jan. 17, 2020—Shigeki Watanabe, assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Johns Hopkins University, will discuss “Spatial and Temporal Control of Synaptic Transmission” on Monday, Jan. 20, beginning at 12:15 p.m. in MRBIII, Room 1220.
Vanderbilt-led team discovers new genetic disease and defines underlying mechanism
Jan. 13, 2020—An international research team has discovered a new genetic syndrome caused by mutation of a single gene and named it CATIFA, an acronym for its core symptoms.