Division of Genetic Medicine

March 8, 2024

Douglas Ruderfer to direct new Center for Digital Genomic Medicine

Douglas Ruderfer, PhD, whose research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center explores the intersection of genomics, biomedical informatics and psychiatry, has been named director of a newly established Center for Digital Genomic Medicine.

By Bill Snyder
March 7, 2024

Blood mutations increase risk for acute kidney injury: study

A U.S.-Canadian research collaboration led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center has identified common, age-associated changes in the blood as a risk factor for acute kidney injury, which occurs in more than 1 in 5 hospitalized adults worldwide.

By Bill Snyder
February 21, 2024

Large, diverse genetic study of glaucoma implicates vascular and cancer-related genes

An international genetic study using multiancestry biobanks has identified novel genetic locations associated with primary open-angle glaucoma, the most common type of glaucoma and the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally.

By Leigh MacMillan
December 4, 2023

Study links gene network and pancreatic beta cell defects to Type 2 diabetes

A comprehensive study that integrates multiple analytic approaches has linked a regulatory gene network and functional defects in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells to Type 2 diabetes.

By Leigh MacMillan and Jill Clendening
Nancy Cox, PhD, receives the American Society of Human Genetics Leadership Award from ASHG president Brendan Lee, MD, PhD. Photo courtesy of ASHG.
November 10, 2023

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.

By Bill Snyder
October 5, 2023

Kidney disease gene also has a protective mutation

African Americans have long been known to be at increased risk of kidney disease due to a dangerous genetic mutation that creates a hole in the kidney cells, but Vanderbilt researchers have now discovered a protective genetic mutation that covers the hole to eliminate the risk.

By Craig Boerner
October 3, 2023

Research fellowship for genetic counselors established at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine has received a grant to establish a research fellowship for genetic counselors that will prepare them to contribute more fully to the advancement of personalized medicine.
By Bill Snyder
July 26, 2023

Nancy Cox receives American Society of Human Genetics Leadership Award

Nancy Cox, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, is the recipient of the 2023 ASHG Leadership Award from the American Society of Human Genetics.
By Bill Snyder
May 18, 2023

New view of mutations informs disease risk, treatment response

A transcontinental research effort led by scientists from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Michigan has upended some long-standing assumptions about mutations — how often they occur, what causes them and what they do.
By Bill Snyder
May 9, 2023

Neural networks probe proteins

A machine learning method based on neural networks outperformed a mutational scanning model at identifying disease-causing mutations in an Alzheimer’s disease protein, suggesting the method could be useful for facilitating therapeutic design.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 20, 2023

Genetics and chronic pain

Polygenic risk scores — scores that reflect the influence of common genetic variants — could be used to predict the likelihood of developing chronic overlapping pain conditions and guide biomarker and targeted prevention efforts.
By Bill Snyder
April 12, 2023

Research identifies new target that may prevent blood cancer

An international coalition of biomedical researchers co-led by Vanderbilt's Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, has determined a new way to measure the growth rate of precancerous clones of blood stem cells that one day could help doctors lower their patients’ risk of blood cancer.
By Bill Snyder
March 28, 2023

Inflammation implicated in exfoliation syndrome

Computational genetics tools have implicated inflammatory pathways in exfoliation syndrome, the most common cause of secondary glaucoma, which can result in blindness.
By Leigh MacMillan
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