VU Chemical Biology

Join us for the VICB Annual Student Research Symposium!

🗓 Sept 11, 2026 | 🕗 8AM–5PM
📍 Vanderbilt University Student Life Center

Keynote: Craig Crews, Ph.D. (Yale University)

#VICB #Vanderbilt #ChemicalBiology #DrugDiscovery #Research #Symposium

Join us for the next VICB Seminar with Mei Hong (MIT)
🧠 “Deconstructing and Reconstructing Tau by Solid-State NMR”
📅 Wed, Nov 12 | 🕛 12:15 PM | 📍 1220 MRB III

#VICB #Vanderbilt #ChemicalBiology #NMR #Neuroscience

@vubasicsciences.bsky.social

The VICB and St. Jude CBT have launched a new monthly trainee-led research series, CBT & VICB Trainee Talks, bringing together graduate students and postdocs from both institutions to share research and build collaborations.

For details, contact: tia.repscher@vanderbilt.edu

Join us TODAY in room 1200 MRB III at 12:15pm for a seminar from Danette Daniels!

Join us this WEDNESDAY, November 5, as the
@vanderbilt.edu
Institute of Chemical Biology (VICB) Seminar #Series continues!

A recent study from ZJ Yang Lab examines how structural flexibility contributes to cold adaptation in cellulases.

Read more:
www.vanderbilt.edu/csb/2025/10/...

Congratulations to Mayme Van Meveren (Fesik Lab) and Yilin Yang (Lau Lab, CDB) on receiving Vanderbilt’s Research Excellence Award at the 2025 Fall Staff Assembly.

Their contributions reflect the dedication and scientific excellence that define the VICB community.

Vanderbilt’s Ancora Partnership: A collaborative journey toward health care innovation Since the inception of the Ancora Innovations partnership in 2018, Vanderbilt and Deerfield Management have enjoyed a robust collaboration. Deerfield’s commitment includes significant support for adva...

@vanderbilt.edu and Ancora Innovations continue their collaboration to advance translational research and health care innovation.

VICB recognizes the importance of partnerships that connect discovery with real-world impact.

Learn more: bit.ly/47T1ZOP

Join us Wed, Nov 5 for the next VICB Seminar!

🧬 Dr. Danette Daniels (Foghorn Therapeutics) presents:
“Towards New Cancer Medicines with Degraders of Chromatin Regulatory Proteins”

🕛 12:15PM | 📍1220 MRB III

Celebrating appointments and promotions in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences: July–September 2025 Congratulations to our School of Medicine Basic Sciences faculty members who were promoted or received new appointments between July and September 2025. These individuals significantly enrich our p…

🎉 Congratulations to the faculty members in our school on their recent appointments and promotions! These individuals significantly enrich our pursuit of pathbreaking research and contribute to the growth and success of our school. 👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿 medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

Fall Incentive 2025 Join me and make a gift to Vanderbilt

💛 Your pride looks good in Vandyprint! When you make a gift to the School of Medicine Basic Sciences by Nov. 9, you’ll get a limited-edition thank-you gift to show our appreciation. Every contribution helps support our community!

Vanderbilt’s Ancora Partnership: A collaborative journey toward health care innovation Since the inception of the Ancora Innovations partnership in 2018, Vanderbilt and Deerfield Management have enjoyed a robust collaboration. Deerfield’s commitment includes significant support for adva...

@vanderbilt.edu and Ancora Innovations continue their collaboration to advance translational research and health care innovation.

VICB recognizes the importance of partnerships that connect discovery with real-world impact.

Learn more: bit.ly/47T1ZOP

New algorithmic tool can improve microscopy image analysis, making improvements across fields A new image analysis tool called TrueSpot has the capacity to overhaul the quantity and quality of usable data that can be obtained from fluorescence microscopy, which is used across an enormous ra…

🔬 Introducing TrueSpot, a new algorithmic tool that’s poised to revolutionize microscopy image analysis across biology and medicine. Developed in Gregor Neuert’s lab, TrueSpot automates detection and quantification of fluorescent “spots” in 2D & 3D images. medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

The emperor of all oncogenes Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology William Tansey and Professor of Biochemistry Stephen Fesik are rewriting the playbook for defeating cancer. After ten years of research, the two School o…

🧬 Few genes wield as much power or mystery as MYC, a key driver of #cancer cell growth and survival. Stephen Fesik and William Tansey are uncovering how MYC reprograms cells and why it’s one of the most challenging yet promising targets in oncology. 👉 medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

Vanderbilt scientist tackles key roadblock for AI in drug discovery Vanderbilt’s Dr. Benjamin P. Brown is improving the way the field of drug discovery creates machine learning algorithms to predict a protein’s interactions with a small molecule. These improvements…

💻 Ben Brown takes on one of the biggest roadblocks to using AI in this field: how to accurately model the complex interactions between drugs and their protein targets. Learn more about his new targeted approach 👉

From Lab to Legacy: Marnett’s Trainees Gather to Toast a Life in Science and Service In a heartwarming tribute to a remarkable career, more than 70 of his former graduate students and postdoctoral scholars recently traveled from across the globe for a three-day festivity on Oct. 3–…

🎓👏 Join us in honoring dean emeritus Larry Marnett, whose five decades of dedication to science, leadership, and mentorship was highlighted during a reunion of 70+ former trainees from around the globe.

Read more about this tribute 👉 medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

A Halloween interview with Maud Menten Tune in to Professor of Biochemistry Chuck Sanders' yearly Halloween interview, this year featuring Maud Menten, co-creator of the Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics equation.

🎃 Halloween is right around the corner and every year, Chuck Sanders sits down with a very special guest...This Halloween, his annual eerie interview features none other than Maud Menten, co-creator of the legendary Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics. 🧪 medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

From lab to legacy: Marnett’s trainees gather to toast a life in science and service In a heartwarming tribute to a remarkable career, more than 70 of his former graduate students and postdoctoral scholars recently traveled from across the globe for a three-day festivity on Oct. 3–5 t...

Colleagues and former trainees gathered to honor Dr. Larry J. Marnett, Dean Emeritus, Distinguished Professor, and founding leader of the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology (VICB).

Celebrating 50 years.

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/4nhbP2w

@vanderbilt.edu @vubasicsciences.bsky.social #wednesday

Join us Wed, Nov 5 for the next VICB Seminar!

🧬 Dr. Danette Daniels (Foghorn Therapeutics) presents:
“Towards New Cancer Medicines with Degraders of Chromatin Regulatory Proteins”

🕛 12:15PM | 📍1220 MRB III

Vanderbilt scientists are tackling a major hurdle for AI in drug discovery and improving model reliability for new protein targets.

🔗https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-sciences/2025/10/16/vanderbilt-scientist-tackles-key-roadblock-for-ai-in-drug-discovery/

Publications Latest Publications BTK autoinhibition analyzed by high-throughput swaps of SH2 domains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Timothy Eisen*, Chien-Lun Hung, John Kuriyan*. Advanced Dimensionality Reduction for Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Human Eye Tissue through Low-Rank Modeling with Sparse and Dense Residuals. Analytical Chemistry.Roger Moens* (Delft University of Technology), David Anderson, Richard Caprioli, Christine Curcio, […]

Recent VICB-affiliated papers span molecular mechanisms to novel therapeutics:
• BTK autoinhibition (PNAS)
• Eye tissue imaging mass spectrometry (Analytical Chemistry)
and more!
medschool.vanderbilt.edu/vicb/publica...

@vanderbilt.edu @vubasicsciences.bsky.social #Monday #research #vanderbilt

VICB is pleased to announce a collaboration with the
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology in introducing LassoESM, a new language model designed to predict properties of lasso peptides.

@vubasicsciences.bsky.social @vanderbilt.edu #research #biology #collaboration #university

📢 VICB Seminar
🗓️ Oct 15 | 12:15 PM | 1220 MRB III
🎤 Yan Zhang (Zhejiang Univ.)

Talk: “GPCR Exoframe Modulators: From de novo design to applications”

Co-sponsored by Pharmacology.
medschool.vanderbilt.edu/vicb/seminar...

VICB is pleased to announce a collaboration with the
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology in introducing LassoESM, a new language model designed to predict properties of lasso peptides.

@vubasicsciences.bsky.social @vanderbilt.edu #research #biology #collaboration #university

Learning the language of lasso peptides to improve peptide engineering Learning the language of lasso peptides to improve peptide engineering

Meet LassoESM, a lasso peptide-tailored protein language model developed by a team from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. ChBE professor Diwakar Shukla, project co-leader, has provided valuable insights into machine learning knowledge.

chbe.illinois.edu/news/stories...

Vanderbilt’s Neuert lab unveils TrueSpot, an algorithm to better automate microscopy image analysis.

Learn more ⏩https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-sciences/2025/10/06/new-algorithmic-tool-can-improve-microscopy-image-analysis-making-improvements-across-fields/

@vubasicsciences.bsky.social

Vanderbilt research looks to smooth out bumps in medicinal chemistry processes Vanderbilt researchers probe the mysteries of an enzyme that could be used as a tool in basic research and medicinal chemistry.

🧪 Vanderbilt researchers are on a mission to “smooth out the bumps” in medicinal chemistry. Their new work addresses key inefficiencies that slow discovery and could accelerate the path from lab to clinic.

Learn more 👉 medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

Spraggins awarded $4M NSF grant to develop next-generation molecular imaging platform In addition to fueling cutting-edge research, a new molecular imaging system will serve as a cornerstone resource at the Mass Spectrometry Research Center, which is recognized nationally as a hub f…

🎉 Jeff Spraggins has been awarded a $4 million NSF grant to develop a next-generation molecular imaging platform. This cutting-edge technology aims to visualize biomolecules in tissues with greater clarity, helping researchers decode disease pathways. medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...

Prashant Donthamsetti wins prestigious NIH pioneer award to advance addiction research Prashant Donthamsetti has received a prestigious NIH Director’s Pioneer Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. His project will use a new platform called Tag-Guided Drug to uncover how sp…

🎉 Congratulations to Prashant Donthamsetti on receiving the prestigious NIH Director's Pioneer Award to push forward research into next-generation strategies for understanding and treating addiction.

Read more 👉 medschool.vanderbilt.edu/basic-scienc...