VUMC News and Communications

Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for Research for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Balser, who has served as interim dean since July 2008, becomes only the 11th dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine since its founding in 1875. In addition to his responsibilities as dean, Balser will be associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs, with continued oversight for medical center research.

Watch video of Craig H. Kennedy, PhD, BCBA and chair of the Special Education Department; Professor, Special Education and Pediatrics Director at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Behavior Analysis Clinic Peabody College speaking Oct. 2.

Watch video of Craig H. Kennedy, PhD, BCBA and chair of the Special Education Department; Professor, Special Education and Pediatrics Director at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Behavior Analysis Clinic Peabody College speaking Oct. 2.

Three generations of the family of the late Monroe Carell Jr. have pledged a gift of $20 million to the fundraising effort for a new facility to care for children and mothers. The Campaign for Children and Mothers, with a goal of $45 million, will support the building of a 400,000-square-foot facility, slated to open in 2012, adjacent to and connected with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short distances.

Vanderbilt's emergency physicians are urging the public to take precautions in the extreme heat. Corey Slovis, M.D., chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and medical director for Metro-Nashville Fire Department EMS and Nashville International Airport, said prolonged heat day after day can lead to dehydration. "Having several days of high temperatures can lead to dehydration," Slovis said.