Pharmacology

Get ready to see stars– We’re taking you to space camp. See why mosquitoes bite you more than others Why you should get “Pinterested” in Vanderbilt! All this and more in this week’s VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast. Watch now. [vucastblurb]… Read More

The strength of Vanderbilt biochemistry, especially in the area of metabolism and diabetes, has a lot to do with a brilliant husband-and-wife research team escaping the rise of Nazism in the early 1920s. Read More

  Annick Suzor-Weiner, Counselor for Science and Technology at the Embassy of France, presents the Legion of Honor Medal to Joseph Parello, Ph.D., visiting scholar in the Department of Pharmacology. (Photo by Tommy Lawson) Joseph Parello, Ph.D, visiting scholar in the Department of Pharmacology, received the insignia… Read More

A team led by Vanderbilt University investigators has discovered two new genes — both coding for the signaling protein calmodulin — associated with severe early-onset disorders of heart rhythm. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Lee Limbird, Ph.D., has received one of pharmacology’s highest honors — the 2013 Julius Axelrod Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Read More

Understanding how the main receptor for light interacts with other signaling molecules may inform new pharmaceutical development. Read More

Heidi Hamm, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology, has won the 2012 Ariens Award from the Dutch Pharmacological Society. Read More

The spinal cord’s neuropeptide Y signaling pathway may be a good target for new pain therapeutics. Read More

A reversible chemical modification of rhodopsin, a receptor for light, plays a role in the degeneration of retinal cells. Read More

A new cooperative program between Vanderbilt University and Lipscomb University’s College of Pharmacy is focusing on the next generation of pharmaceutical researchers. By offering a pathway for students to earn both Pharm.D. and Ph.D. degrees, the program aims to boost the number of pharmacy-trained research scientists. Read More

Females may be at higher risk of potentially fatal heart condition due to gender differences in a protein involved in the heart’s electrical activity. Read More

A combination of biomarkers may reveal new clues about causes of and potential interventions for autism. Read More

Creating a device out of human cells that simulates brain chemistry is the goal of a $6.4 million grant which is part of major new federal initiative to develop a series of “organs on a chip” designed to improve the drug development process. Read More

Stress can promote breast cancer cell colonization of bone, Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology investigators have discovered. Read More

When discovering drugs for brain disorders, it’s important to test the candidates in multiple ways to avoid advancing those with restricted physiological effects. Read More

An interdisciplinary team of scientists have successfully tagged a protein that regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin with tiny fluorescent beads, allowing them to track the movements of individual molecules for the first time. This capability makes it possible to study the manner in which serotonin regulates mood, appetite and sleep at a new level of detail. Read More

A study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators has identified a gene expression pattern that may explain why chemotherapy prior to surgery isn’t effective against some tumors and suggests new therapy options for patients with specific subtypes of breast cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a rare, but important risk posed by the antibiotic azithromycin, commonly called a “Z-pack.” The study found a 2.5-fold higher risk of death from cardiac arrhythmia in the first five days of taking azithromycin when compared with another common antibiotic or no antibiotics at all. Read More

A rare genetic change adds support to the idea that altered dopamine signaling is a key risk factor for ADHD. Read More

Understanding how mutations in neuronal receptors contribute to epilepsy could lead to improved therapies. Read More