Department Of Pharmacology

Erin Calipari and colleagues have shown that peripheral administration of a neuroprotective cytokine may improve dopamine signaling problems associated with certain psychiatric disorders. Read More

There’s promise in specific immune system peptides—amino acid compounds that signal cells how to function. In this case, they may be affecting brain activity and, by extension, drug cravings. Read More

Lipid molecules that bind to HDL can modify its function — and blocking that modification can protect HDL and potentially lower the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Dan Roden, MD, internationally known for his contributions to understanding how genetic variation affects drug response, has been named a recipient of the 2018 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases by McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Read More

“America’s Opioid Epidemic” is the theme of the 27th annual Joel G. Hardman Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum, beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center. Read More

Vanderbilt scientists have discovered that a certain enzyme plays a crucial role in preventing obesity-related cardiac dysfunction. Read More

Using techniques to control and monitor the activities of individual neurons, Vanderbilt investigators are probing the brain’s reward circuitry. Read More

Children who underwent cardiac surgery were less likely to develop acute kidney injury if they had been treated with acetaminophen in the first 48 hours after their procedures, according to a Vanderbilt study just published in JAMA Pediatrics. Read More

Treatments for common skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis may be improved by understanding the enzymes responsible for forming the skin’s water-tight barrier. Read More

A Vanderbilt team and their international colleagues characterized for the first time a complex, little-understood cellular receptor type that, when activated, shuts off hunger. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that cancer treatment induces an “idling” state for cells, which could promote resistance to treatment. Read More

Whether art can boost a scientist's creativity is just one of the intriguing questions a group of faculty, students and staff explore in ArtLab, an ongoing workshop started by a postdoctoral student. Read More

Less than 20 years after it was developed, a thin, resilient sheet of carbon atoms with remarkable properties known as graphene is transforming biomedical fields as far flung as tissue engineering, neuroprosthetics and drug discovery. Read More

Craig Lindsley, PhD, co-director of the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (VCNDD), has been named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and elected chair-elect of the Section of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Read More

New research reveals a unique mechanism of C. difficile toxin neutralization by a monoclonal antibody, suggesting new therapeutic approaches. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that curcumin — the active ingredient in the spice turmeric — needs to be metabolically activated to exert anti-inflammatory effects. Read More

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, Lundbeck has exclusively licensed rights to compounds developed at Vanderbilt that act on a receptor in the brain that has been implicated in schizophrenia. Read More

Craig Lindsley, PhD, the William K. Warren Jr. Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt, is the 2018 recipient of the Sato Memorial International Award of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. Read More

Using sophisticated genome mining and gene manipulation techniques, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have solved a mystery that could lead to a new treatment approach for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Read More

Seven outstanding Ph.D.’s with diverse backgrounds and experiences have come to Vanderbilt to pursue postdoctoral training with an eye toward academic careers. Read More