Department Of Pharmacology

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have made a fundamental discovery about how the heart compensates for genetic variations that otherwise could trigger abnormal and potentially fatal heart rhythms. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a potential way to reduce atherosclerosis: blocking the modification of an HDL-associated enzyme by reactive molecules called isolevuglandins. Read More

Lisa Monteggia leads discovery of the gene responsible for ketamine’s long-term effects with implications for antidepressant therapeutics. Est. reading time: 2.5 mins. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified potential new targets for the prevention of atherosclerosis through the enhancement of autophagy, a natural process for recycling damaged cellular material. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Tina Iverson and colleagues provide a structural view into the assembly of a protein machine essential for cellular energy production. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified and characterized inhibitors of an enzyme that synthesizes lipid signaling molecules with roles in energy balance, inflammation and addiction. Read More

A single mutation in one gene can impair inhibitory signaling in the brain and cause multiple types of seizures and behavioral abnormalities. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Sean Davies and colleagues are exploring lipid aldehydes produced during oxidative stress and their contribution to HDL dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Read More

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. Read More

A newly identified protein interaction that affects cell cycle regulation may be an attractive target for cancer therapy. Read More

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. Read More