March 21, 2024

Safe eclipse viewing, measles sweeping the nation, young people’s colonoscopies, and other news stories with VUMC sources

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The New York Times reporter Gina Kolata interviewed David Calkins, PhD, director, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, for a story about safety and viewing of the solar eclipse coming in April.

NBC “Today” reporter Meghan Holohan interviewed Jim Jackson, PsyD, director of Long-Term Outcomes, CIBS Center, for a story about the symptoms of long COVID-19.

Sahar Takkouche, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism and director of the Vanderbilt Weight Loss Center in Wilson County, was quoted in an NBC News story about the underprescribing of weight-loss drugs.

Brian Christman, MD, professor of Medicine, was quoted in a People magazine story about dancer Constance Devernay’s struggle with asthma.

People magazine quoted Katherine Cahill, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, in a story about Rhonda Nelson, the wife of Little River Band member Wayne Nelson, who lived for 20 years without taste or smell, but has now recovered.

William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine, continues to be one of the most in-demand sources about infectious disease in the news. Among the news outlets he has spoken to recently: Salon (“Measles cases are sweeping the nation. Even a few cases can be an extreme drain on the public”), Healthline, Bottom Line Personal, Medscape, and Verywell Health.

Reid Ness, MD, associate professor of Medicine, Gastroenterology, was interviewed by HuffPost wellness reporter, Jillian Wilson, about signs that someone would need a colonoscopy before the recommended age of 45.

Ronald Alvarez, MD, MBA, the Betty and Lonnie S. Burnett Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology, was quoted in a MedPage Today story, “Gynecologic oncology may face a future of too few cases, too many docs.”

Kevin Byram, MD, associate professor of Medicine, was quoted by Medscape in a story about COVID-19 infection being a risk for inflammatory rheumatic disease.

Ashely Johnson, RN, NP, Nurse Practitioner in Oncology, was interviewed by Carla Johnson, a medical writer for the Associated Press, about breast cancer risk assessment scores, how they’re use, calculated, etc. This story was prompted by actress Olivia Munn announcing her breast cancer diagnosis and how her doctor recommended she have further testing due to her score.

Suzanne Sharpton, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, was quoted in Everyday Health in a story about the FDA’s approval of Rezdiffra (resmetirom), the first drug for liver scarring due to fatty liver disease.

Medpage Today quoted Michael Savona, MD, professor of Medicine, in a story about the FDA’s endorsement of imetelstat for MDS-related anemia.

The research of Danxia Yu, PhD, associate professor of Medicine, and doctoral student Lei Wang was cited in a Healio story about bariatric surgery being related to improved cardiometabolic health.

Derek Damin, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, was quoted by Good Housekeeping in a story about the best air purifiers for allergies.