November 25, 2025

Should dinnertime be earlier in the winter?; how bad will this flu season get?; does reminiscence therapy help people with Alzheimer’s disease?; plus other news stories with VUMC sources.

Self magazine interviewed Shabnam Sarkar, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, for a story about why might it be helpful to eat dinner earlier in the winter. The story has been picked up by MSN and Yahoo Health, among others. 

NBC News reporter Berkeley Lovelace, Jr., interviewed Buddy Creech, MD, director, Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, for a story about Pfizer’s mRNA flu shot outperforming standard flu vaccine. Creech also spoke with NBC News reporter Erika Edwards about the current flu season.

William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by several news outlets about the new flu strain that is spreading in the U.S. Outlets included Prevention, The Tennessean, The Hill, and Newsweek.  

Everyday Health reporter Korin Miller interviewed Paul Ragan, MD, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry, for a story on reminiscence therapy, tied to Chris Hemsworth doing it with his father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Preventioninterviewed B. Gisella Carranza Leon, MD, associate professor of Medicine and medical director of the Vanderbilt Eskind Diabetes Clinic, for a story about yoga and walking to lower blood sugar in Type 2 diabetes patients. 

Washington Post reporter Teddy Amenabar interviewed Beth Malow, MD, professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, for a story about melatonin dosing.

Recent stories on federal vaccine policy in STAT and KFF Health News quote Kathryn Edwards, MD, professor of Pediatrics, emerita.

Shabnam Sarker, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, was quoted in a HuffPost piece headlined, “I’m a gastro doctor. Here’s the 1 thing I’d never do if I had stomach pain.” That one thing? Ignore it.

The American Association of Immunologists’ News and Views reporter Katherine Palmer interviewed Rachel Bonami, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, for a story about her ImmunoHorizons paper on characterizing autoreactive B cells in Type 1 diabetes.