Immune System

Justin Critchlow, a recent Ph.D. student in Ann Tate’s lab, just published a paper with the labmates Arun Prakash, Katherine Zhong, and Tate, uncovering the intricacies of beetle immune dynamics. This paper sheds light on the dynamics of survival, resilience, and the profound complexities inherent in evolutionary adaptations. Read More

A new study shows that insect immune and circulatory systems cooperate to fight infection, similar to those in mammals. Read More

For more than a decade Matt Lang and collaborators across the U.S. have worked to recreate key components of T-cells and how they know when to start fighting disease. Conventional wisdom suggested that T-cells formed regular, force-free bonds with infected cells, and in doing so caused the chain reaction of immune response. The team slowly... Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology has relaunched its mission with a greater focus on human immunology, an endeavor supported by additional researchers, more funding support and designation as a Center of Excellence. Read More

There’s promise in specific immune system peptides—amino acid compounds that signal cells how to function. In this case, they may be affecting brain activity and, by extension, drug cravings. Read More

New findings by Jörn-Hendrik Weitkamp and colleagues provide the first account of bacterial signatures in mammalian fetal intestinal tissue. The results suggest that bacterial DNA moves from the mother’s microbiome into the fetal intestine, which may be a critical stimulus for normal mucosal immune development. Read More

New research links nutrient-responsive cellular signaling to the antibody-mediated immune response. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered a role for immune system T cells in slowing the decline in skeletal muscle function in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Read More

Scott Smith, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine, has received a 2017 research award from the Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund to test a new therapeutic strategy for peanut allergies. Smith's research could fundamentally change allergy treatment. Read More

Although drug addiction is classically studied in a neuron-centric way, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that the immune system also plays a critical role. Read More