Molecular Biology

When bacterial pathogens enter our bodies, they’ve got one goal—hunt for food to multiply. And during the process, they make us sick. Eric Skaar, Ernest W. Goodpasture Professor of Pathology and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, is uncovering how pathogens compete with healthy microbes for essential nutrients. He was recently elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Read More

Danial Asgari, a postdoctoral researcher in the Tate Lab, and Ann Tate, associate professor of Biological Sciences, recently published a study in Molecular Biology and Evolution titled “How the Structure of Signaling Regulation Evolves: Insights from an Evolutionary Model.” Their findings show that negative feedback loops (or NFLs) acting closer to a cell’s final decisions, such as turning genes on or off, are especially resistant to evolutionary change. Read More

Wiesmeyer, associate professor of molecular biology, emeritus, died on Oct. 4, 2024, in Nashville. He was 92. Read More

Photo of post doctoral researcher Michal Kliman that ran on the cover of Chemical & Engineering News magazine in October. (Steve Green / Vanderbilt) In the world of molecular biology, lipids haven’t gotten as much respect or attention as nucleic acids and proteins even though they play… Read More