News Releases

Recent and archived press releases with clinical and research news

January 12, 2021

VUMC now leads world in heart transplantation

Vanderbilt University Medical Center performed more heart transplants in 2020 than any other center in the world — 124 adult hearts, 23 pediatric hearts and VUMC’s first heart-lung transplant since 2006.

By Matt Batcheldor
The Liver Transplant Anesthesia team includes, from left, Clayne Benson, MD, Kevin Furman, MD, Philip Leisy, MD, and Kara Siegrist, MD.
December 10, 2020

New approach helps conserve blood products for liver transplant patients

Liver transplants have traditionally required a high volume of transfusions of blood products, which comes with several downsides. The products are costly to patients — as high as $15,000 on top of the expense of a transplant. And they are sometimes not well accepted in patients because they degrade over time and are derived from multiple patients.

By Matt Batcheldor
December 8, 2020

Poll shows fewer than 6 in 10 Tennessee parents report wearing masks all the time, nearly half won’t vaccinate their children for COVID-19

Many Tennessee parents are not wearing masks consistently to control community spread of COVID-19, despite recommendations from public health officials, according to new a poll conducted by the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.

By Jake Lowary
December 3, 2020

JAMA Health Forum to become full-fledged journal in 2021

Just a year after its founding as an online channel of information, the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA’s) Health Forum will become a full-fledged journal in January 2021.

By Jake Lowary
November 10, 2020

Tennessee areas without mask requirements have higher death toll per capita

Tennessee areas where mask requirements were instituted over the summer have substantially lower death rates due to COVID-19 as compared to areas without mask requirements, according to a new analysis by Vanderbilt Department of Health Policy researchers.

By Jake Lowary
October 30, 2020

VUMC study finds faster, wider spread of COVID-19 in U.S. households

COVID-19 spreads faster and more widely throughout U.S. households than previously reported, according to new preliminary research from a multicenter study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers and published in, a weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

By Jake Lowary
October 27, 2020

Study finds areas without mask requirements have larger increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations

All areas of Tennessee have seen a resurgence in hospitalized COVID-19 patients since early October, but hospitals that draw patients from counties without masking requirements are experiencing much sharper increases, according to a new analysis from researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
By Jake Lowary
October 15, 2020

Living liver donor program performs first transplant

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center's newly launched living liver donor program allows relatives to donate part of their liver to their loved one, something only possible at select centers in the country.
By Matt Batcheldor
October 8, 2020

COVID patient’s heart-lung transplant is world’s first

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has performed the world’s first dual heart-lung transplant of a COVID-19 patient.
By Matt Batcheldor
October 1, 2020

Transplant program reaches milestone 10,000th procedure

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has completed its 10,000th organ transplant, a monumental achievement representing nearly 60 years of life-saving work.
By Matt Batcheldor
September 17, 2020

HIV prevention medication not being prescribed routinely: study

Only about 54% of medical practitioners surveyed say they have prescribed pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to HIV-vulnerable patients, according to a new study by a Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigator.
By Jake Lowary
September 10, 2020

Roumie to direct Master of Public Health program

Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, has been named director of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health program, a two-year interdisciplinary program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.
By Jake Lowary
September 3, 2020

MPH students dive in to support COVID-19 response

Graduates from Vanderbilt’s Master in Public Health (MPH) program didn’t plan to become front-line soldiers against the COVID-19 global pandemic, but several have found themselves putting their training — and their career goals — front and center.
By Jake Lowary
1 … 25 26 27 28 29 … 32