Walter Chazin
DNA’s on/off switch
Jan. 18, 2019—Walter Chazin and colleagues have identified how a chemical "switch" in DNA primase, an enzyme essential to the replication of our genomes, works in order to hand off genetic information to the next enzyme.
New view of the heartbeat
Apr. 6, 2018—Structural views of the proteins that regulate the heartbeat may help improve existing treatments for cardiac arrhythmias.
DNA damage repair: molecular insights
Dec. 5, 2017—Structural details about a protein involved in the repair of damaged DNA provide insight into xeroderma pigmentosum disorders, which are characterized by increased risk for skin cancer.
Repriming replication roadblocks
Jun. 12, 2017—New findings shed light on how enzymes that replicate DNA skip over mutations that might cause cancer and restart DNA synthesis further away.
New working group to assess and prioritize opportunities for enhancing research IT resources on campus
Mar. 17, 2017—The Research IT Special Project Working Group will advance the efforts of the Provost’s Initiative to Enhance Research and Scholarship, or PIERS.
Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication
Feb. 23, 2017—DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.”
VUMC investigators find pathogens work together to infect host
Nov. 3, 2016—Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus — two pathogens that frequently co-infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis — appear to cooperate with each other, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. When pseudomonas is starved for metal by the host, it shuts down the production of factors that would normally kill staph, promoting a co-infection.
Chazin honored with international biophysics award
Oct. 22, 2015—Walter Chazin, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology, is a recipient of a 2016 Fellow of the Biophysical Society award.
Study sheds light on crucial DNA binding protein
Jul. 30, 2015—Researchers at Vanderbilt University have established the molecular basis for the function of Replication Protein A (RPA), a DNA binding protein that is a crucial “scaffold” for genome replication, response to damage and repair.
Center for Structural Biology symposium to feature stellar lineup
Feb. 26, 2015—The Vanderbilt University Department of Biochemistry will host a two-day symposium March 6-7 to honor the 60th birthday of Walter Chazin, Ph.D., director of the Center for Structural Biology.
Repair protein’s DNA recognition motif
May. 23, 2014—Insights into the workings of DNA damage response proteins such as SMARCAL1 could suggest new ways to improve genome integrity and prevent cancer.
Antibacterial protein’s molecular workings revealed
Feb. 21, 2013—Vanderbilt investigators report new insights to the workings of calprotectin, an immune system protein that “starves” bacterial pathogens of the metal nutrients they require.