ANNOUNCEMENTS

Vanderbilt secures new read-and-publish agreement

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have announced a new read-and-publish pilot agreement with the JAMA Network. This open access agreement enables Vanderbilt-affiliated authors to maximize the discoverability, readership, and citations of their research without incurring article processing charges in most JAMA Network publications.

Launching the School of Medicine Basic Sciences Social Media User Group

The user group is open to staff, trainees, and faculty running a social media account in areas connected to the SOMBS. Members will meet to share ideas and collaborate on current social media trends and opportunities. To join, please fill out this form.

RESEARCH NEWS

Have a paper, grant, event, announcement, job posting, or exciting professional update? Let us know what's the latest!

This image links to an article about recent long QT syndrome research.

Vanderbilt and Northwestern labs discover new mechanisms that cause irregular heartbeat

Vanderbilt researchers have found that, for people with long QT syndrome, a heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat, a tailored approach could be beneficial. Led by Charles Sanders (Biochemistry), the research was published in PNAS.

This image links to an article about peanut allergy research.

Research paves the way for ‘hypoallergen’ treatments against peanut allergies

A recent pair of papers from the labs of Benjamin Spiller (Pharmacology) and Scott Smith (Medicine) investigate how peanut allergies are provoked and support the use of a potential treatment option: hypoallergens.

This image links to an article about alcohol reshaping the brain's dopamine system after drinking stops.

How alcohol reshapes the brain’s dopamine system long after drinking stops

Cody Siciliano (Pharmacology) discusses a recently published study that revealed promising targets that may reduce relapse risk in alcohol use disorder patients.

Link to the article about new research about transporting transmembrane proteins and lipid cargo between membranes.

VARP-SNX27 binding in endosomal “supercomplex” formation

Lauren Jackson (Biochemistry) lab members Mintu Chandra and Amy Kendall report using a combination of biochemical, biophysical, and computational modeling techniques to investigate how VARP-SNX27 and Retromer work together to coordinate endosomal trafficking.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Link to article announcing recent recipients of Innovation Catalyst Fund awards.

Skaar, Wikswo receive innovation catalyst funding

Eric Skaar (Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology) and John Wikswo (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics) are recent awardees of Vanderbilt's Innovation Catalyst Fund, an initiative supporting translational research with promising commercial potential.

Collage of the Ph.D. graduates mentioned in the blurb. They are listed in order from left to right. Top row: Brewer to Williams. Middle row: Glass to Stricker. Bottom row: Gil to Stark.

Newly minted graduates

The following graduates successfully defended their dissertations:

Biochemistry: Katherine Brewer, Kateryna Nabukhotna, Amy Tran, Christopher Williams
Cell and Developmental Biology: Sarah E. Glass, Aubrie Stricker
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics: Alejandro Llorente-Esteban, Serena Sweet
Neuroscience: Melanie Gil
Pharmacology: Jared Phillips, Amy Stark

HIGHLIGHTS

This photograph links to an article about career advice for people interested in medical affairs.

Career series: The world of medical science liaisons

The Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training hosted a careers event focused on medical affairs and the role of medical science liaisons. The presentation featured Vanderbilt alums Casey (Butrico) Hatfield and Todd Townsend, who shared insights into their career paths, responsibilities, and experiences providing and connecting scientific and medical knowledge for healthcare providers.

Advice for academia-to-industry transition

Diana Mitrea, an expert in science communication at Dewpoint Therapeutics, talked about her 20-year career in industry as part of the BRET Career Development ASPIRE program’s Ph.D. Career Stories seminar series. Mitrea provided insight on how she transitioned from academic research roles to a high-level communications career in industry.

EVENTS

Friday, Mar. 14: How To – SOMBS: Artificial Intelligence
Dive into the world of AI with this beginner-friendly session! Discover popular tools like Amplify, ChatGPT, and Copilot, and learn how to leverage them with practical examples tailored for the workplace.
10:00 a.m., Microsoft Teams: Meeting link for the “How To – SOMBS” session

Saturday, March 22: BrainBlast
Annual family-friendly Vanderbilt Brain Institute event featuring neuroscientists, brain games, real brains, and more. Free admission.
10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St, Nashville, TN 37219

Monday, Feb. 17–Tuesday, March 25: Commodore Closet Career Clothing Drive
We are asking faculty and staff to bring gently used, clean, interview-ready clothing they would like to donate. The goal of the Commodore Closet event, held on April 8–9, is to provide graduate and professional students with items to help prepare for their professional careers. For questions, please reach out to the Graduate School at graduateschool@vanderbilt.edu with the subject line “Graduate Career Closet.”
Locations: Alumni Hall, Room 010; Sarratt Center, Commodore Closet; Light Hall, BRET Office, Suite 340; Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center; Owen ASA Office, Room 121; Peabody Career Center; The Wond’ry, Lobby; Vanderbilt Law School, Room 152; Central Library

More Basic Sciences Events

To be added to our weekly email dedicated to upcoming biomedical seminars, email Stephen Doster.

To include an event in the calendar and the weekly email, submit event details and graphics to the University Events Calendar. Be sure to use basic-sciences-vanderbilt in the tag section. This tag can be used for any event connected to the School of Medicine Basic Sciences community.

Submissions to the events calendar are manually approved; please submit your event at least two weeks in advance to ensure it is included. If your submission requires updates or edits, email university-calender@vanderbilt.edu.

JOB BOARD

Program Manager, Vanderbilt Center for Computational Systems Biology

Research Technician, Stephanie Wankowicz lab

Data Scientist, Stephanie Wankowicz lab

Postdoctoral Fellow, Stephanie Wankowicz lab

BEFORE YOU GO...

This image links to advice for licensing intellectual property.

Why license IP?

Experts from Vanderbilt University's Center for Technology Transfer and Commmercialization share eight reasons to licence intellectual property. IPs with high potential impact and/or income are most likely to be successfully transferred to the marketplace via CTTC’s commercialization process.

Banner background image courtesy of José Maldonado.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences
MRB III U-1200
465 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37240
Phone: (615) 322-0907 | basicsciences@vanderbilt.edu

Basic Sciences home | News | Subscription management | Contact us | Opt out

Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.
Vanderbilt^®, Vanderbilt University^® and Anchor Down^® are trademarks of The Vanderbilt University. ^©2025 Vanderbilt University. All rights reserved.