School Of Medicine Basic Sciences

Immersion Vanderbilt, now in its third year as a graduation requirement, consistently provides students with the opportunity to pursue a variety of in-depth experiences and independent projects. Students align their immersion projects with their interests—whether those are artistic, research-oriented, career-focused, globally aimed or community-engaged. Faculty from all 10 schools and colleges support students’ goals and ambitions within immersion, and this year, that support is enhanced by a new cohort of 10 Immersion Faculty Fellows who are supported by Undergraduate Education in the Office of the Provost.  Read More

Vanderbilt University’s new Center for Computational Systems Biology brings computer science, engineering and biomedical researchers together with clinicians at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to accelerate discovery related to human diseases and conditions. Read More

Researchers at the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, a clinical stage biotech within the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, have detailed the successful drug discovery of a Phase I Single Ascending Dose clinical trial of VU319, a drug for memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Read More

Researchers at the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, a clinical stage biotech within the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, have detailed the successful drug discovery of a Phase I Single Ascending Dose clinical trial of VU319, a drug for memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Read More

Sonja Fulmer, a graduate of Chemical and Physical Biology Program who is now the deputy director of the FDA’s Digital Health Center of Excellence, sat down with us to discuss her experience studying basic science at Vanderbilt and how it played a role in her successful career. Read More

Yi Ren’s most recent paper, published in eLife, describes the structure of a protein complex involved in mRNA export that sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanism of mRNA export and the role it plays during infection by herpes viruses. Read More

Led by Craig W. Lindsley, Vanderbilt drug discovery experts set out to develop a backup drug candidate to improve memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

John M. Jumper, BS’07, is one of three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Oct. 9. Jumper currently is a senior staff research scientist for DeepMind, a London-based company that made a huge leap forward in solving the protein folding problem using artificial intelligence. He is the third Vanderbilt alumnus to win a Nobel Prize. Read More

Erin Calipari, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research and associate professor of pharmacology and molecular physiology and biophysics, has been recognized with the Society for Neuroscience’s 2024 Jacob P. Waletzky award. Read More

Carterra Inc. and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences announced the addition of the Carterra LSAXT label-free interaction analysis platform to the Center for Structural Biology. Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers will be able to discover and characterize large molecules including antibodies. 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

Alan Hurtado, a Chemical and Physical Biology Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Edward Levine, has been awarded the first Linda Sealy Emerging Scholar Travel Award. The award was established to enhance the STEM talent pipeline by promoting a more inclusive environment that supports trainees from diverse backgrounds. Read More

New faculty share advice to their younger selves we can all learn from! 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

Meet some of our new faculty members and learn about their fascinating research. Read More

Hear from some of the newest faculty on why they're excited to work at Vanderbilt. Read More

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Provost C. Cybele Raver and Faculty Senate Chair Alissa Hare, who is assistant dean of the College of Arts and Science, presented awards at this year’s Fall Faculty Assembly to 10 faculty members who have made significant contributions through their scholarship, research or creative expression. Read More

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

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health has renewed a five-year grant through the NIH’s flagship T32 institutional training grant program. T32 grants provide funding to support students and postdoctoral trainees working in focused areas of research that advance the NIH mission. 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