News Category
WCNDD Advances TREK Channel Drug Discovery Through Industry Collaboration
Jun. 6, 2025—The Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (WCNDD) has partnered with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to develop novel compounds targeting TREK channels—key regulators of neuronal excitability and pain signaling. This collaboration exemplifies the power of academic-industry partnerships in accelerating neuroscience innovation and advancing new therapeutic strategies for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Read the full article...
Vanderbilt has developed internal funding programs to facilitate faculty research.
May. 14, 2025—Vanderbilt University is accelerating research innovation through a suite of internal funding programs designed to empower faculty across disciplines. These initiatives—developed by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Provost C. Cybele Raver, and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation Padma Raghavan—support projects ranging from AI-driven medical imaging to gene therapies for blindness. Programs like the Rapid-Advancement MicroGrant, Seeding...
WCNDD and Ono Pharmaceutical Publish Key TREK Channel Study
Apr. 29, 2025—A new publication from the long-standing collaboration between WCNDD and Ono Pharmaceutical highlights a best-in-class in vivo tool compound targeting TREK ion channels. This study provides the first proof-of-concept for TREK activators as non-opioid analgesics and TREK inhibitors as pro-cognitive agents. Now featured among the most read in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, the work marks...
Staff Spotlight – Elizabeth Childress, Drug Discovery Scientist I
Apr. 28, 2025— The Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University consists of a remarkable community dedicated to advancing the translation of basic science to novel therapeutics to treat serious brain disorders. In addition to our outstanding faculty, postdocs, and trainees who are at the forefront of our cutting-edge research, a large part of our...
One undergraduate’s path to treating brain cancer
Apr. 17, 2025—We’re thrilled to highlight the remarkable journey of Shanay Desai, a senior at Vanderbilt University, whose dedication to neuroscience and drug discovery is making strides in brain cancer research. Under the mentorship of Associate Professor Carrie Jones, Shanay designed an interdisciplinary major that combines his passions for neuroscience and biotechnology. Their collaboration exemplifies the profound...
Getting bang for your buck
Apr. 9, 2025—Precancer Detection Vanderbilt cell and developmental biologists have made progress in understanding the origins of cancer by studying the precise timing of cellular growth. Their work suggests that colorectal cancer often arises from multiple normal cells in the intestinal lining, not just a single cell. The researchers developed a highly precise molecular “clock” that can...
Welcome Trust Discovery Award advances international collaboration to combat opioid misuse and addiction
Feb. 10, 2025—Great Britain’s Wellcome Trust has recognized Vanderbilt’s Carrie K. Jones and the University of Glasgow’s Andrew Tobin with their prestigious Discovery Award. The pair will study how blocking the M5 muscarinic receptor in the brain counteracts opioids’ addictive properties, which could lead to new treatments for preventing or addressing opioid addiction. Read more here.
Staff Spotlight – Research Assistant Professor, Aaron Bender
Jan. 31, 2025—The Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University consists of a remarkable community dedicated to advancing the translation of basic science to novel therapeutics to treat serious brain disorders. In addition to our outstanding faculty, postdocs, and trainees who are at the forefront of our cutting-edge research, a large part of our center’s...
Celebrating recent appointments and promotions in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences
Jan. 27, 2025—Congratulations Colleen Niswender, promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Department of Pharmacology!
