Targeting the cytokine IL-22 could be a new therapeutic approach to prevent kidney injury caused by drugs or toxins, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

In a new report, members of the Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center, which is coordinated by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, offers an innovative approach to increasing the HIV workforce: train all manner of health professionals to care for people with HIV.

Monica Joanna Elnekaveh was doing everything she could to learn what was causing her 18-month-old daughter’s developmental issues. Her relentless quest to find answers eventually led her to Vanderbilt investigative neurologist Jing-Qiong (Katty) Kang, MD, PhD.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time have shown that activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential for the development of kidney fibrosis, tissue scarring following injury that can lead to kidney failure.

An undergraduate artist worked with the Vanderbilt researchers to create this oil painting, inspired the research. They are working to better design immune therapies that attack tumors without also attacking healthy normal tissue in patients.

Twelve current investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University are on this year’s list of scientists whose papers have been cited the most frequently by other researchers.