Author: Bill Snyder
New trans-institutional program to focus on genetic variations, disease
May. 9, 2019—A new program at Vanderbilt will help researchers determine more precisely how genetic variations contribute to disease and what potentially can be done to put them right.
Researchers putting the brakes on lethal childhood cancer
May. 3, 2019—Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is one of the most aggressive and lethal childhood cancers. Although rare — about 20 to 25 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States — there is no standard effective treatment for the disease, which is driven by loss of an anti-cancer protein called SNF5. The chances are very small that a child will survive a year after MRT diagnosis.
International Society of Nephrology honors Fogo
May. 2, 2019—Agnes Fogo, MD, an internationally known expert in kidney disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has won the 2019 Roscoe Robinson Award from the International Society of Nephrology (ISN).
Immune ‘pruning’ in schizophrenia
Apr. 25, 2019—Ariel Deutch and colleagues have discovered that overactive brain immune cells during adolescence may contribute to schizophrenia.
Health collaborative helps rural hospitals curb operating costs
Apr. 25, 2019—Alomere Health, a 99-bed hospital in rural Alexandria, Minnesota, is bucking a trend — thanks in large measure to its participation in the Vanderbilt Health Purchasing Collaborative (VHPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Asia’s diabetes epidemic preferentially kills women, the middle-aged: study
Apr. 22, 2019—Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in Asia and has dramatically increased the risk of premature death, especially among women and middle-aged people, a multinational study led by Vanderbilt University researchers has found.
Medical Societies honor multiple Vanderbilt faculty
Apr. 18, 2019—Several Vanderbilt faculty members were recently honored during the joint annual meeting of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI).
MSA proclamation
Apr. 18, 2019—A retired high school basketball coach from Murfreesboro was honored by the Tennessee State Senate on Thursday, March 21, for his efforts to shine a light on the rare disease that killed his wife six years ago.
Researchers find high-risk genes for schizophrenia
Apr. 18, 2019—Using a unique computational framework they developed, a team of scientist cyber-sleuths in the Vanderbilt University Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute (VGI) has identified 104 high-risk genes for schizophrenia.
Harvard’s Christine Seidman to receive 2019 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science
Apr. 15, 2019—Christine Seidman, MD, whose lab has identified the genetic causes of several human heart diseases including cardiomyopathy (potentially fatal enlargement of the heart) is the recipient of the 2019 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced today.
Discovery aids search for cancer biomarkers
Apr. 11, 2019—A report by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has shattered conventional wisdom about how cells, including cancer cells, shed DNA into the bloodstream: they don’t do it by packaging the genetic material in tiny vesicles called exosomes.
VUMC-led team ‘sprints’ to develop Zika virus treatment
Apr. 11, 2019—In January scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues in Boston, Seattle and St. Louis were given an audacious goal to develop — in 90 days — a protective antibody-based treatment that potentially will stop the spread of the Zika virus.
