Last month’s announcement to restructure Vanderbilt University Medical Center as a “financially distinct” entity from Vanderbilt University will give the Medical Center more flexibility and allow it to access capital as it continues to build the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network, now close to 45 affiliated hospitals strong, and invest in programs and facilities on the main campus in ways that will positively impact clinical programs as well as the research and educational missions, Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said during Wednesday’s Winter 2014 Clinical Enterprise Leadership Assembly.

Vanderbilt Diabetes Day, an annual research symposium, this year featured talks by nationally known researchers and by winners of the Diabetes Scholar awards.

Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of protein folding at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the recipient of the 2014 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, Vanderbilt University officials announced this week.

Replenishing the supply of a molecule that normally activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana.

Twelve members of Vanderbilt's faculty have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”

A receptor in the brain that regulates appetite and body weight has now been found in L cells, key regulatory cells in the gut, providing the pharmaceutical industry with a novel drug target for both obesity and diabetes, a Vanderbilt University-led research team reported this week.