News
CSB researchers receive funding for novel research
Sep. 20, 2023—The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) recently announced the formation of Peer Imaging Clusters (PIC) to receive collaborative research grants to pursue novel research projects as part of the PAIR-UP Imaging Science program for Black imaging scientists. Jamaine Davis leads a PIC that includes fellow CSB researcher Steven Damo, Vanderbilt assistant professor and researcher...
MOE training sessions set for August, September & October
Aug. 11, 2023—Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software users can participate in training sessions for small molecule virtual screening, fragment-based drug design and peptide modeling, conformational searching and docking over the next three months. Mauricio Rodriguez, of Chemical Computing Group, will lead the training sessions via Zoom. MOE enables a wide range of molecular modeling methods inside a...
Clicking into place with paramagnetic NMR restraints
Jul. 14, 2023—Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an incredibly powerful technique for determining protein structure. A complete dataset of chemical shifts (CS) and nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) obtained from NMR can be used to determine structural models of a protein of interest. In the case of integral membrane proteins, however, there is a lot of difficulty in...
CSB Spotlight: Yang Lab
Jul. 6, 2023—John Yang, assistant professor of chemistry, joined the Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2020. He forged his path to Vanderbilt via Nankai University in China, UCLA and MIT with research focusing on theoretical and computational chemistry, chemical biology, physical organic chemistry and enzyme catalysis. John joined the CSB not long after arriving at Vanderbilt,...
Jackson named 2023 Chancellor Faculty Fellow
Jun. 12, 2023—Congratulations to Lauren Jackson, associate professor of biological sciences, on being selected to the 2023 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows along with twelve other recently tenured faculty. The fellows are composed of highly accomplished teachers and researchers from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. Lauren was chosen for her work to uncover...
Structural plasticity in bacterial flagellar motors
Jun. 12, 2023—Chemotaxis is the process of moving in response to one’s environment, and in bacteria, this process is supported largely by flagella. The flagellum is a motility organelle comprised of an elongated filament and various rings, consistent with its role as a rotary motor. One component, the MS-ring, is vital, both for the assembly and rotation...
CSB to co-sponsor Apex Lecture on May 22
May. 12, 2023—The Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences is launching the Apex Lecture Series to recognize scientists who are at the forefront of sea-change advances in biomedical discovery. The seminars will connect Vanderbilt’s campus scientific community with scientists who are pioneering new fields, new ideas and new opportunities to benefit human health. The CSB will co-sponsor...
MOE workshop scheduled for structure-based drug design
May. 12, 2023—In collaboration with the Lee, Mchaourab and Carrasco labs, the CSB is upgrading from four seats of the Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) to a site license that offers unlimited tokens. MOE enables a wide range of molecular modeling methods inside a modern and well-organized GUI. These include, but are not limited to, structure- and ligand-based...
Structural insights into base excision repair
May. 5, 2023—As the instruction manual of the cell, DNA plays an essential role in development and organism function. Consequently, several mechanisms exist to repair DNA following damage. Oxidants result in structural damage to DNA which are typically repaired via base excision repair (BER). A set of proteins called glycosylases serve to recognize these DNA lesions and...
Congratulations: Ben Brown & Alican Gulsevin
May. 5, 2023—Brown receives NIH funding Congratulations to Ben Brown, research assistant professor in the Meiler lab, on his recent NIH award for his project titled Developing a computational platform for induced-fit and chemogenetic drug design. The goal of the project is to integrate AI and physics-based molecular modeling methods to address longstanding challenges in modeling largescale...
Bill Riner sets sail on the trip of a lifetime
Apr. 21, 2023—Some days you might think to yourself, “I want to retire and sail around the world.” For Center for Structural Biology Sr. Systems Administrator Bill Riner, that day is coming sooner rather than later. On April 28, Bill officially retires from Vanderbilt University—and he’s sailing around the world! Bill signed up for the 2023-2024 Clipper...
Insights into the regulation of Huntingtin-associated proteins
Mar. 31, 2023—Huntington’s disease is a genetic neurodegenerative disease that causes wide-ranging issues with motor skills and cognitive abilities. The primary cause of the disease has been identified as mutations in the protein huntingtin (Htt). Htt interacts with over 200 other proteins and plays a role in cell signalling and trafficking. The Chazin group recently published an...
Protein Trafficking: An interactive network of coats, cargos and adaptors – Oh my!
Mar. 24, 2023—Come take a ride along the intracellular highways that are trafficking pathways! Cells use vesicles to transport diverse cargo, such as transmembrane proteins, between cellular compartments. In this complex system, membrane coat proteins work together with adaptor proteins to recruit cargo, encase them within vesicles and deliver them to the proper destination. These coat proteins...
Sanders promoted to Vice Dean of Basic Sciences
Mar. 17, 2023—Chuck Sanders was recently promoted from associate dean for research to vice dean of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences by new Dean John Kuriyan. Chuck will continue in the responsibilities that he had been fulfilling for five years as associate dean for research, which include monitoring IT infrastructure and working closely with Vanderbilt...
MBTP/CSB Student Feedback Meeting moved to March 14
Mar. 6, 2023—Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) Director Walter Chazin will sit down with students to gather feedback on the training program and seminar series. The meeting has been moved Tuesday, March 14, at 12:20pm in 1220 MRB3. A limited number of box lunches will be available. This meeting is for ALL STUDENTS in MBTP and CSB...
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