Department of Medicine

woman rubbing her throat
July 21, 2022

Difficulty swallowing linked to chronic opioid use: study

Vanderbilt researchers found that chronic use of opioid painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone significantly increases the risk of dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing.

By Bill Snyder
July 21, 2022

VIGH, VICC establish cancer research program in Zambia

Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Zambia (UNZA) are partnering on a program to develop a cadre of researchers and educators to lead cancer epidemiology research and training in Zambia.

By Kristin Centers
The study team included (front row, from left) Kelsey Voss, PhD, Rachel Bonami, PhD, Erin Wilfong, MD, PhD, (back row, from left) Jonathan Irish, PhD, Jeff Rathmell, PhD, and Ivelin Georgiev, PhD.
July 20, 2022

Vanderbilt team tracks cellular and antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccine

In a technical tour de force, a collaborative team of Vanderbilt researchers has characterized the antigen-specific immune response to the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccine.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 15, 2022

Holowatyj named chair of scientific advisory board for ACPMP Research Foundation

Vanderbilt’s Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI, has been named the inaugural chair of the scientific advisory board for the Appendix Cancer Pseudomyxoma Peritonei Research Foundation.

By Tom Wilemon
July 7, 2022

Preempting sudden cardiac death

A technique to characterize all variants in genes associated with arrhythmia could improve the ability to identify and preemptively treat individuals at risk for sudden cardiac death.

By Bill Snyder
Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH, with longtime colleague Quentella Carpenter, patient care programs coordinator at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic.
July 7, 2022

Breaking the stigma of AIDS part of Raffanti’s long legacy

On June 29 Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH, hung up his scrubs at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic for the last time. It was a bittersweet moment for the man who helped lead Nashville out of the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic 30 years ago.

By Bill Snyder
July 7, 2022

Study seeks to disprove cephalosporin allergies

A Vanderbilt study shows that taking a careful history in patients who report allergies to cephalosporins and separating them into risk categories can help identify which patients are at low risk to be truly allergic to these antibiotics.
By Nancy Humphrey
June 29, 2022

Study shows genotype leads to discontinued, decreased medication

By Jill Clendening
June 28, 2022

Smokers have better quit rates with hospital-based interventions than quitline help, but study indicates need for longer follow-up

A health care system model that offered tobacco cessation treatment to smokers being discharged from a hospital produced a higher rate of tobacco abstinence during the three-month program than referral to a state-based telephone quitline, but the advantage disappeared at six months when both treatments produced comparable quit rates, researchers have found.
By Tom Wilemon
June 20, 2022

Ginseng intake and mortality

Regular ginseng intake, particularly over a long duration, is associated with decreased risk of death from all causes, Vanderbilt researchers discovered in a large epidemiological study.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 16, 2022

Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and 23andMe find genetic link to people’s ability to move to a musical beat

Vanderbilt researchers, in collaboration with 23andMe, have made a significant discovery about the biological underpinnings of musical rhythm.  
By Emily Stembridge
June 16, 2022

BMI genetics influence heart function

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that a genetic predisposition to elevated body mass index increases the risk of diastolic dysfunction — a cardiac condition that can lead to heart failure.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 16, 2022

Breast cancer biomarkers of response

Vanderbilt researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers associated with complete responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer.
By Joshua Baker