Molecular Physiology And Biophysics

Research from Teru Nakagawa, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, describes intricacies of normal brain function with implications for our understanding of brain injury and recovery: A decrease in pH can modify a neurotransmitter receptor’s structure, thereby modulating its location and kinetics. Read More

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, David Wasserman led groundbreaking research studies on the role of physical exercise, insulin-stimulation and diet in metabolism Read More

A multidisciplinary team of investigators has received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research to support four closely linked projects exploring the fundamental mechanisms that drive the obesity-cancer connection, Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center have “cracked” the genomic code for sepsis in the lungs and kidneys. Read More

Four Vanderbilt graduate students, faculty advisers named to Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellows Program for their leadership in science and commitment to advancing equity and inclusion in science. Read More

A team at Case Western Reserve University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has determined with atomic-level precision how two established drugs bind to and alter the conformation of a cell membrane transporter protein called NKCC1, shutting down its activity. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that the change in a single letter of the genetic code promotes, in a mouse model, the development of inflammation, high blood pressure and resulting kidney damage. Read More

Jacek Hawiger’s anti-inflammatory peptide therapy, licensed by Amytrx and now in clinical trials, has the potential to safely and effectively treat a multitude of inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Read More

All-remote collaboration results in free animal susceptibility tool to help prioritize research and closer examination of at-risk species. Read More

A protein linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, may be a key to treating fibrotic disease of the kidneys and other organs, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported recently. Read More

A drug that targets multiple pathogenic steps in diabetic retinopathy may be an ideal therapeutic strategy for the disease, Vanderbilt researchers report. Read More

Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how AMPARs are formed and operate is essential for the rational design of pharmacological compounds that, by tuning AMPAR activity up or down, could improve treatment of these conditions. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered how a protein pump distinguishes between chemicals that it will expel from a cell and inhibitors that block its action. The new findings could guide the development of more efficient inhibitors to prevent cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy. Read More

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

The bacterium H. pylori is a leading cause of stomach cancer, and Vanderbilt researchers are studying how one of its toxins gets into cells. Read More

Brian Kobilka, MD, who received the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), shared his team’s progress in understanding receptor activation — and how that might guide drug development — at last week’s Flexner Discovery Lecture. Read More

Brian Kobilka, MD, who shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on April 5. Read More

Non-exercise physical activity has a measurable energy expenditure, which goes down when animals engage in voluntary exercise, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Eric Gouaux, PhD, whose work has helped reveal the molecular mechanisms by which nerve cells communicate, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture Thursday, Feb. 22. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have worked out part of the “wiring diagram” of a signaling system in the brain that has been linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Read More