School Of Medicine Basic Sciences

Stressful events can rapidly modify how the brain responds to its environment and guides behaviors. These processes are relevant for neurotypical brain function and for the development of affective disorders and other psychiatric diseases, yet we have much to learn regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms. In this paper, researchers utilized pharmacologic, transgenic, and optogenetic tools to evaluate changes in brain function related to stress. Read More

In recognition of Black History Month, the School of Medicine Basic Sciences’ monthly virtual Lab-to-Table Conversation will celebrate Black excellence in research and discuss the future of diversity in academia. The event will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 22, from noon to 1 p.m. CT.  Read More

The Enabling Innovation Initiative will host David Owens, professor of the practice of management and innovation and Evans Family Executive Director of the Wond'ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, for “Inside the Box: Innovative Within Constraints” on Friday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. CT. Read More

Richard Sando, assistant professor of pharmacology, has been selected to receive a 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship, one of the most competitive and prestigious awards available to early-career researchers. Read More

Ege Kavalali and Heidi Hamm collaborated to discover a signaling pathway for how spontaneous release of neurotransmitters can be selectively regulated without disrupting evoked action potentials. Read More

Ege T. Kavalali, William Stokes Professor of Experimental Therapeutics, has been named chair of the Department of Pharmacology in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

By Aaron Conley Systems biology and the Lopez lab The history of hermeneutics started with Aristotle—parts comprise the whole. To understand the whole, we need to understand the parts. And to understand the parts, we need to understand them in the context of the whole. Carlos F. Lopez, associate… Read More

Join taste experts, scientists and a Nashville chef to learn about the science behind flavor in a virtual event on Monday, Jan. 31, at noon CT. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt researchers led by Ken Lau has revealed some of the mechanisms by which polyps develop into colorectal cancer, setting the framework for improved surveillance for the cancer utilizing precision medicine. Read More

The Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology presents Dr. Lynmarie Thompson of the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Thompson will discuss “NMR and Hydrogen Exchange of Chemoreceptor Complexes Suggest Signaling Occurs via Stabilization of a Disordered Domain.” Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have revealed more of the inner-workings of a two-stage “molecular motor” in the cell membrane that enables bacteria to become resistant to drugs. Read More

Vanderbilt has extended its longest ongoing drug discovery agreement with Osaka, Japan-based Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a research and development-oriented pharmaceutical company that is committed to creating innovative medicines in specific areas, through November 2023. Read More

Researchers discover how a protein may treat schizophrenia, including reversing working memory deficits, a hallmark of schizophrenia for which there is currently no treatment. Read More

Erin Calipari, assistant professor of pharmacology and a member of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, has been named a Dean’s Faculty Fellow of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

Vanderbilt alumni and the founders of Jackalope Brewing Co. and Yazoo Brewing Co. will join Vanderbilt researchers for a Dec. 16 virtual discussion about beer and fermentation science. Read More

Kristopher Burkewitz, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, has been awarded $100,000 from the American Federation for Aging Research and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research to research the biological aging process. Read More

The School of Medicine Basic Sciences’ monthly Lab-to-Table Conversation will bring together research experts on Tuesday, Nov. 30, for a virtual discussion about our current understanding of the biology of longevity. Read More

Stephen Fesik’s discovery of a cancer-targeting molecule has been made freely accessible through opnMe for global researchers to advance research into cancer therapeutics. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers push research on ketamine’s role as a rapid antidepressant another step forward. This work opens avenues for new therapeutics for half of people for whom today’s antidepressants don’t work. Read More

Discovering a signaling pathway’s influence on brain development in a nematode sheds light on human nervous systems. Est. reading time: 2 mins. Read More