Research

Nancy Cox, PhD, receives the American Society of Human Genetics Leadership Award from ASHG president Brendan Lee, MD, PhD. Photo courtesy of ASHG.

After 40 years, genetics still surprises VUMC’s Nancy Cox

As she looks back on her 40-plus year career, what surprises Nancy Cox, PhD, an internationally known geneticist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is how much progress has been made, and yet how much more there is to learn about the role genetic variation plays in human disease.

Children’s antibodies highly potent against COVID-19: study

Reporting Nov. 6 in Cell Reports Medicine, Ivelin Georgiev, PhD, and colleagues demonstrated that antibodies isolated from children’s blood samples displayed high levels of neutralization and potency against variants of the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, even when the children had not previously been exposed to or vaccinated against those variants.

Jordan Wright, MD, PhD, left, and Adel Eskaros, MBBS, PhD, are lead authors of the report on pancreatic exocrine-endocrine “crosstalk.” (photo by Susan Urmy)

Pancreas “crosstalk” may influence course of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

In the largest study of its kind, researchers at Vanderbilt have identified unexpected alterations in the exocrine tissues of the pancreas that occur in the two major forms of diabetes, and with aging and obesity.

Polygenic ‘scores’ may improve cancer screening

Accounting for genetic variability in biomarkers not associated with cancer risk could avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures, Vanderbilt researchers found.

Crowe, Osheroff honored by AAMC

Vanderbilt’s James E. Crowe, Jr, MD, and Neil Osheroff, PhD, are among 12 individuals honored by the Association of American Medical Colleges during its 2023 Awards Recognition Event.

Randika “Randy” Perera, PhD, left, Wenhan Zhu, PhD, Walter Chazin, PhD, Luisella Spiga, PhD, Ryan Fansler and colleagues discovered that beneficial bacteria in the gut impact the competition that occurs between host cells and pathogens for the essential nutrient iron. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

Study discovers role for gut bacteria in host-pathogen competition for nutrients

Vanderbilt research shows that commensal gut microbes impact the host-pathogen competition for iron and has implications for therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing pathogens from acquiring essential nutrients.

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