Pharmacology

The Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization has honored five faculty members as 2024 Master Innovators for their groundbreaking research and transformative innovations. These pioneers, recognized for achievements spanning patents, startups and impactful technologies, exemplify Vanderbilt's dedication to translating academic excellence into societal advancements. Read More

Amanda Linkous, research associate professor of pharmacology, has been awarded a research grant from the Merck Research Laboratories Scientific Engagement and Emerging Discovery Science (SEEDS) program to identify therapeutic intervention points to prevent the colonization and proliferation of small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer in the lung and brain. Read More

Research from the lab of Bill Tansey and other collaborators tested protein inhibitors called WINi against a panel of cancer cells and found that they have strong action against blood cancers and synergize with an FDA-approved cancer drug. Read More

In a recent episode of Smarter Every Day, YouTube sensation and host Destin Sandlin talks with Vanderbilt Professor Tina Iverson and Senior Research Associate Prashant Singh about bacterial “motors” and how they work in the microorganisms that make us sick. The video racked up more than 1.4 million views in its first day. Read More

Vanderbilt assistant professor of pharmacology Cody Siciliano has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to study oral chemesthesis, the burning sensation you feel in your mouth when you sip alcohol. Understanding this sensation better could lead to new treatments for alcohol use disorders, but research in this area is scarce. Read More

Using computer-aided drug design, Heidi Hamm, Craig Lindsley, and Jens Meiler and their labs generated a novel series of biologically active compounds that can serve as a basis for anti–blood clot preventative drugs. Read More

The Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center hosted its fifth Annual Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Day on April 10 with the theme of “big data.” Aside from presentations from faculty from across campus and the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, the day featured data blitzes, a keynote presentation, and a poster reception with more than 45 posters. Read More

Incoming assistant professor of pharmacology Quynh Anh Nguyen spearheaded research that points to a previously unidentified region of the hippocampus as responsible for epileptic seizures. The work could lead to new avenues of treatment to help epilepsy patients control their seizures. Read More

Sean Davies, associate professor of pharmacology and associate director of graduate studies for the department, has been awarded a Scaling Success grant from Research Development and Support in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation. Read More

Avenir Award funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse recognizes research that represents “the future of addiction science.” Brown’s research is creating an AI-experiment feedback loop that will help optimize painkilling drugs to be less addictive. Read More

Join the next Lab-to-Table conversation, “Beyond Addiction: Therapeutic Developments and Societal Impact” on Jan. 24 at 11:30 a.m. CT. Read More

Erin Calipari works to understand how drugs like opioids and cocaine alter learning circuits and neurochemistry in one of the country's epicenters of substance use disorder and addiction. Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, led by Erin Calipari, advances research to understand how addiction and substance use disorder develops in the brain. VCAR’s goals are to develop new pharmaceutical strategies and to destigmatize addiction as a personal failing. Read More

In just over two years, a Vanderbilt-Neumora collaboration has led to the Phase 1 clinical trial of a treatment for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, which affect 3.7 million adults in the United States. This is the third chemical compound discovered at the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery to reach Phase 1 clinical trials.     Read More

Biomedical engineer David Merryman and Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery director Craig Lindsley have developed a new drug that treats PAH, a type of high blood pressure that affects arteries in the lungs and in the heart, without serious neurological side effects. Read More

Join “Coffee: Where Science Meets Sips” in the next Lab-to-Table Conversation on Sept. 27. Read More

Vanderbilt's Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization named Richard Caprioli, C. David Weaver, Susan Eagle, and Franz Baudenbacher 2023 Master Innovators. The yearly recognition program acknowledges Vanderbilt’s top innovators and entrepreneurs for their contributions to the creation, development, and commercialization of intellectual property. Read More

Experts in research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias share their latest findings at the 2023 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Nik Lampe, postdoctoral researcher, was awarded a grant to examine the social and medical factors influencing ADRD using data from VUSNAPS. Read More

Emily Hodges, assistant professor of biochemistry, and Cody Siciliano, assistant professor of pharmacology, have been named Dean’s Faculty Fellows of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

Jackson Roberts II, MD, an internationally known clinical pharmacologist in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who helped define the role of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in human disease, died May 31 in Nashville. He was 79. Read More