School Of Medicine Basic Sciences

The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a three-year grant to support research led by Houra Merrikh, PhD, professor of Biochemistry, and Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology and director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, to create an anti-evolution drug to reduce the capacity of cancer cells to develop resistance. Read More

10 basic sciences graduate students were recognized for their high academic and scientific achievement and for the originality, significance, and rigor of their dissertation research with the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies. 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

Neil Osheroff received the Mentoring, Innovation, and Leadership in Educational Scholarship Award at the annual Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference that took place in May. Read More

Marie-Claire Harrison, a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, has been named the 2023 recipient of the Brighter Ventures Student Award. The Brighter Ventures Student Award supports Ph.D. students interested in the application of artificial intelligence in the biomedical research field. Read More

The labs of Lauren Jackson and Todd Graham recently published a study in the Journal of Cell Biology describing a significant interaction between an essential protein complex used for protein and lipid transport—the COPI complex—and its regulator protein. Read More

Fluorescent nanoparticles clearly identified colonic adenomas — precursors to colorectal cancer — in mice, and the formulation should translate to clinical use in humans. Read More

Class of 2023: See how Kavya Sharman is using the rich experiences and connections she’s cultivated as an undergraduate and graduate student in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences to build bridges between biotechnology and business. Read More

The CMT Research Foundation, a non-profit focused solely on delivering treatments and cures for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease*, has invested in a project at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences that seeks to treat the problem of overproduction of PMP22, the primary genetic cause of CMT in patients with CMT1A. Read More

Chuck Sanders, Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Chair of Cardiovascular Research and professor of biochemistry and medicine, has recently been promoted from associate dean for research to vice dean of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

The laboratories of Brian Bachmann and Jonathan Irish have developed a method to discover new small molecules that may kill cancer cells by working through the body’s immune system. Read More

By determining how proteins in different areas of the eye’s lens change over time, Vanderbilt researchers have learned more about how they could contribute to the mysterious progression of cataracts—a clouding of the lens that affects more than 65 million people worldwide each year.   Read More

Vanderbilt researchers in the lab of Erin Calipari, assistant professor of pharmacology and molecular physiology and biophysics, have demonstrated a role for dopamine signaling in novelty-based learning—a finding that could have major impacts on how neurological diseases are treated. Read More

This year’s roundup of the top news articles highlights the wide reach and positive impact of Vanderbilt’s research and innovation. Read More

Experts from the Institute for Scientific Information identified 13 faculty at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center as among the top one percent of cited researchers worldwide. Read More

Researchers in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have received three grants totaling $13.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop molecular “atlases” of the brain, kidney, eye and other tissues. Read More

Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery lead researchers discover a therapy that may treat memory loss and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

The School of Medicine Basic Sciences Dean’s Lecture featured renowned immunologist, virologist, and alumnus Dr. Barney S. Graham. In his talk, “Reflections on Pandemics and the Future of Medicine,” Graham discussed his early research experiences leading up to his seminal work on the first experimental COVID-19 vaccines, along with his observations on the pandemic and hopes for the future of medicine. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed an active machine learning approach to predict the effects of tumor variants of unknown significance, or VUS, on sensitivity to chemotherapy. Characterizing VUS can maximize clinical care and precision medicine for each patient. Read More

A proposal to enhance wellness and resiliency training, led by RC Stabile, associate director for trainee wellbeing in the Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training, was recently awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Read More