Research Enterprise Newsletter - June 2008: Faculty News
Lacy named Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease
Borden Lacy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Core Faculty member in the Center for Structural Biology, has been named as an Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease by the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund for her research program titled "Structural biology of bacterial pathogenesis." The program is described at bwfund.org.
Crowe lands NIAID grant to advance B-Cell approaches to HIV Vaccines
James E. Crowe, M.D., has landed a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to advance underdeveloped approaches to designing a preventive HIV vaccine. The grant is part of a new program to foster the study of B cells, which can produce antibodies with the capacity to neutralize HIV. The $15.6 million, five-year program will strengthen and expand the scientific foundation of HIV vaccine research. Crowe will be part of a network of 10 research teams nationwide that will share resources, methods and data to accelerate progress. NIAID awarded the B-cell program grants to four investigators who already have established a body of research on B cells and antibodies in the context of HIV, and to six investigators with less experience in this area who have exceptionally creative ideas.
Vanderbilt acquires ChemBioOffice Ultra Site License
The Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, the Center in Molecular Toxicology and the Department of Chemistry have purchased an Academic Site License through CambridgeSoft for:
- ChemINDEX & NCI Personal Internet Edition
- ChemBioDraw Ultra 11 Mac
- The Merck Index 14.0 Personal Internet Edition
- MestReC Standard
- ChemACX Personal Internet Edition
- ChemBioOffice Ultra 2008 Windows
The site license provides unlimited product access to employees and students with a Vanderbilt email address. The software may be installed on systems owned by Vanderbilt, employees and students. Products may be downloaded from scistore.cambridgesoft.com). For additional information, please contact Ned Porter at nporter@vanderbilt.edu or the ITS Software Store at software.store@vanderbilt.edu.
Guengerich named to Chinese Academy of Sciences
F. Peter Guengerich, Ph. D., the Harry Pearson Broquist Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Center in Molecular Toxicology, has been named an honorary professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu Institute of Biology.
Postdocs publish findings on survival, life quality in live recipients
Current or former postdoctoral surgical research residents recently reported, in collaboration with faculty in the Departments of Surgery, Biostatistics, Preventive Medicine, and Psychiatry, a series of investigations addressing factors that influence survival and health-related quality of life outcomes in liver transplant candidates and recipients. Eric Castaldo, MD, MPH, developed a multivariate path analysis model that determined the significant, positive effect of pre-transplant MELD scores on post-transplant physical quality of life. Robert Russell, MD, MPH, demonstrated, using longitudinal quality of life survey data, that better post-transplant physical quality of life was associated with a greater reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression after liver transplantation.
