Randy Blakely

The VBI recently marked its 20th anniversary, a span that has seen the institute’s wide-ranging missions—including administering the university’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, as well as postdoctoral training and community outreach—steadily coalesce under a single umbrella. Read More

A special lecture by Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director FAU Brain Institute kicks off activities celebrating Brain Awareness Month at Vanderbilt. Blakely’s talk, “When Cocaine Just Won’t Do: ADHD and Serotonin-Dopamine Crosstalk,” will be held Thursday, March 14, 10 a.m., in 214 Light Hall. Vanderbilt graduate students worked with… Read More

David Robertson, MD, second from left, poses with three longtime colleagues who spoke during last week’s symposium honoring his scientific legacy. Read More

Artificial kidneys, gay-straight alliances and junkyard batteries captured readers' attention in 2016. Read More

Researchers at Columbia and Vanderbilt universities have made an important discovery in mice that has implications for understanding the gastrointestinal (GI) problems experienced by some children with autism. Read More

Meagan Quinlan, a Pharmacology graduate student in the laboratory of Randy Blakely, Ph.D., honored her mentor Tuesday during the 25th Annual Joel G. Hardman Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum in Light Hall. Read More

A new animal model can be used to “dissect” the inflammatory response to infection. Read More

Vanderbilt University scientists are a step closer to understanding how inflammation in the body can affect mood and behavior. Read More

The partnership with Fisk through the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program and other avenues, “presents us with an opportunity to see the results of our efforts impact an under-served community." Read More

The transgenic mouse, into which was inserted a rare human genetic variation in the dopamine transporter, could lead to improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of these all-too-common brain disorders. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers have received multi-year grants from two private foundations to investigate key signaling proteins that could lead to novel treatments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and dystonia, a movement disorder. Read More

Judith Warner, award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller “Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety,” will speak at Nashville’s Adventure Science Center at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 8. Read More

When it comes to government funding of basic science training programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, Vanderbilt University Medical Center hit a grand slam this year, officials said. Read More

(photo by Anne Rayner) Randy Blakely, Ph.D., left, shares a laugh with Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, M.D., and Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., at the fifth annual Conte Center Symposium, held recently in the Vanderbilt Law School’s Flynn Auditorium. Entitled “The Younger Games: Serotonin Science Comes of Age,” the symposium featured presentations by… Read More

The Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience Research at Vanderbilt has received a $10.5 million federal grant to continue its groundbreaking research on serotonin signaling in the brain for another five years. 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 rare genetic change adds support to the idea that altered dopamine signaling is a key risk factor for ADHD. Read More

Vanderbilt University has emerged as one of the nation’s leading academic centers in neuroscience. Read More

A genetic variation that causes early disruptions in serotonin signaling in the brain may contribute to autism spectrum disorder and other enduring effects on behavior. Read More

A new mouse model offers the ability to better test how selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work and could lead to the development of new classes of anti-depressants. Read More