Department of Pharmacology
Personalized Structural Biology aids cancer treatment decisions
Apr. 8, 2021—Cancer specialists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in partnership with biochemists and structural biologists across the Vanderbilt University campus, are taking “personalized” cancer therapy to a new level.
New faculty Rick Sando: A better understanding of brain circuitry
Oct. 26, 2020—New Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Rick Sando is interested in how neural circuits carry out specific functions when activated—and why these processes sometimes go awry.
Cohen Fund bolsters Siciliano’s memory research
Sep. 24, 2020—Cody Siciliano, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been selected to receive a one-year, $100,000 research award from the Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund to support his studies of the neural substrates of memory.
New clue to Alzheimer’s disease
Sep. 3, 2020—Combining studies of genetically diverse mouse populations and human data led to the identification of a gene associated with cognitive decline and brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease.
Assembling cell power plant machinery
Sep. 3, 2020—Tina Iverson and colleagues provide a structural view into the assembly of a protein machine essential for cellular energy production.
‘Scavenger’ molecule may point to new atherosclerosis treatment
Aug. 20, 2020—A small-molecule “scavenger” that reduces inflammation and formation of atherosclerotic plaque in blood vessels in mice potentially could lead to a new approach for treating atherosclerosis in humans, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
A potential new targeted therapy for metastatic melanoma
Aug. 19, 2020—While 60 percent of people with metastatic melanoma, an aggressive type of skin cancer, have multiple treatment options available to them, roughly 40 percent either do not respond to treatment, or relapse.
Siciliano wins Fay/Frank Seed Grant and Alkermes Pathways Research Award
Aug. 5, 2020—Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Cody Siciliano has been awarded the Fay/Frank Seed Grant from the Brain Research Foundation and the Alkermes Pathways Research Award from the biopharmaceutical company Alkermes. Both awards support early-stage researchers pursuing high-risk, high-impact innovative research so that their work may become competitive for NIH grants and other types of funding in the future.
New tools to study bioactive lipids
Jul. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified and characterized inhibitors of an enzyme that synthesizes lipid signaling molecules with roles in energy balance, inflammation and addiction.
Single mutation causes seizure disorder
Jun. 22, 2020—A single mutation in one gene can impair inhibitory signaling in the brain and cause multiple types of seizures and behavioral abnormalities.
Robotic technology speeds arrhythmia gene classification
Jun. 12, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have used high-throughput robotic technology to rapidly study and classify variations in a gene linked to heart rhythm disorders and cardiac conditions.
Blocking stress-induced relapse
Apr. 8, 2020—Danny Winder and colleagues are teasing apart the actions of neurotransmitter receptors in a brain region linked to anxiety and addiction, with a goal of finding treatments for substance use disorders.