Research

Vanderbilt researchers are comparing two types of weight-loss options to determine which is the most effective in helping obese patients reach a more ideal weight before undergoing kidney transplant surgery.

From Vanderbilt Magazine: James Crowe, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, hopes to create a universal flu vaccine--permanently eliminating the problem of ineffective or under-effective annual flu shots.

A new study from researchers at Vanderbilt and Harvard universities, published this week in the journal Health Affairs, uses federal health survey data to evaluate community-based efforts to address smoking, obesity and other health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Craig Lindsley, PhD, co-director of the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (VCNDD), has been named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and elected chair-elect of the Section of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Investigators in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care have launched a pilot study to see if patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) can tolerate the addition of a commonly used antiviral drug to standard IPF treatments. The research team believes the drug may ultimately help slow progression of the chronic and progressive disease or reverse its course.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a role for microtubules — part of the cellular “skeleton” — in organizing the unique sidedness of the epithelial cells that line organs like the intestines.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered imaging features associated with increased risk for aggressive meningiomas (tumors of the brain membranes) that could help guide surgical planning and patient counseling.