Department of Pharmacology
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.
A new contributor to atherosclerosis
Jan. 27, 2020—Sean Davies and colleagues are exploring lipid aldehydes produced during oxidative stress and their contribution to HDL dysfunction and atherosclerosis.
Kavalali receives Humboldt Research Award
Dec. 31, 2019—Ege T. Kavalali, PhD, professor and acting chair of the Department of Pharmacology in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been elected a recipient of a prestigious Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.
Cell fate signaling
Dec. 17, 2019—A newly identified protein interaction that affects cell cycle regulation may be an attractive target for cancer therapy.
Study explores potential new class of antidepressants
Nov. 21, 2019—Researchers at VUMC have taken a major step that could ultimately facilitate development of a new class of antidepressants which may relieve symptoms more rapidly and effectively and with fewer side effects than current medications.
Team discovers one more piece to the autism puzzle
Oct. 3, 2019—Vanderbilt investigators have linked genetic mutations in a single receptor to epilepsy, autism and intellectual disability.
Guengerich, Sanders-Bush named ASPET fellows
Sep. 20, 2019—Vanderbilt University’s F. Peter (Fred) Guengerich, PhD, and Elaine Sanders-Bush, PhD, are among 22 prominent scientists named this week to the inaugural class of fellows of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).
A probiotic treatment for obesity?
Aug. 8, 2019—Engineered bacteria that produce beneficial compounds — and that could potentially be administered in foods like yogurt — may be a future treatment for obesity and other chronic diseases.