Charles Sanders

Medicine often takes a one-size-fits-all approach, but a disorder’s root cause can vary. Vanderbilt researchers have found that, for people with long QT syndrome, a heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat, a more tailored approach could be beneficial. The research, led by Vanderbilt University Professor of Biochemistry and Vice Dean of Basic Sciences Charles Sanders and Northwestern University Professor and Chair of Pharmacology Dr. Al George, was published in PNAS in February 2025. Read More

School of Medicine Basic Sciences researchers at the forefront of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease research and therapeutic development join CTTC leadership at CMT Research Foundation global research convention. The CMTRF has invested in further research at Vanderbilt to address the primary genetic cause of disease in patients with CMT disease type 1A. Read More

The Office of the Provost’s newly charged Science Space Planning Committee, a faculty- and staff-led initiative, will ensure that Vanderbilt’s physical spaces properly serve the needs and goals of scientific research and discovery. Read More

Led by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences professor Hassane Mchaourab, the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Protein Dynamics will focus on the application of machine learning techniques to understand how proteins work. Read More

The CMT Research Foundation, a non-profit focused solely on delivering treatments and cures for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease*, has invested in a project at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences that seeks to treat the problem of overproduction of PMP22, the primary genetic cause of CMT in patients with CMT1A. Read More

Over the past five years, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have collectively received more than $15 million to purchase cutting-edge instruments through National Institutes of Health S10 programs that support path-breaking research and innovation for hundreds of Vanderbilt researchers. Pre-proposals for these NIH programs are currently being accepted. Read More

How does climate change affect human health? How are animals and ecosystems similarly influenced, and how are these impacts interconnected? Join Charles Sanders, associate dean for research and professor of biochemistry, as he delves into these questions and more during the next Lab-to-Table Conversation from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Read More

Charles Sanders, associate dean for research and professor of biochemistry and medicine, describes how breakthrough infections occur even for those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read More

Charles Sanders, associate dean for research and professor of biochemistry and medicine, explains the similarities and differences between the “third dose” and “booster” vaccinations for COVID-19. Read More

Charles Sanders, PhD, and colleagues show how a “supertrafficking” mutant potassium channel contributes to heart rhythm abnormalities. Read More

During the Research Ramp-up process, more than 3,000 Vanderbilt research personnel have returned to in-person research activities, while many others have continued remotely through perseverance and ingenuity. The efforts of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences' Charles Sanders and Vanderbilt Blair School of Music's Jeremy Wilson are highlighted. Read More

Further research by biochemistry professors Charles Sanders and  Bruce Carter into therapeutics for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, an inherited condition that damages peripheral nerves, will be funded by Ancora Innovation LLC, a Deerfield Management company that supports Vanderbilt’s innovative life science research. Read More

Vanderbilt biochemists figure out how the little-understood Envelope protein helps SARS-CoV-2 function and how to disrupt the endogenously creative virus. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers—including Charles Sanders, associate dean for research and professor of biochemistry, and graduate student Justin Marinko—have illuminated the cause of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, putting them on the road to developing therapeutic approaches for the disease that affects one in 2,500 people. Read More

Recent advances in imaging technology are enabling Vanderbilt scientists to gain unprecedented views of how molecules, cells and tissues work together, yielding radical new insights into the causes, treatment and prevention of disease. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have used sophisticated cell biological and structural techniques to “classify” mutations in potassium channels, studies that could lead to personalized treatment of heart rhythm disorders. Read More

Genetic mutations in PMP22 (peripheral myelin protein 22) cause a variety of peripheral neuropathies, underscoring the importance of the protein to a healthy peripheral nervous system. But the precise function of PMP22, a major component of the myelin sheath that surrounds and insulates peripheral nerve cell axons, has been unclear. Read More

A new protein structure may guide the development of Alzheimer's therapeutics. Read More

Charles Sanders, Ph.D., has been named associate dean for Research in the Basic Sciences of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Read More

Integrins are membrane proteins made up of combinations of different “alpha” and “beta” subunits that enable cells throughout the body to interact with their surroundings. Read More