Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition

Ashley Spann, MD, MSACI
February 20, 2024

Liver disease specialist Ashley Spann receives two career development awards

Vanderbilt’s Ashley Spann, MD, MSACI, is the inaugural recipient of the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Hepatology Award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 6, 2023

A ‘supermere’ method for biomarker discovery

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a method for isolating extracellular vesicles and nanoparticles — a complex transport system involved in health and disease — which will improve biomarker discovery and the identification of therapeutic targets.

By Bill Snyder
Sara Horst, MD, MPH
October 13, 2022

Horst takes on new roles in advancing digital health

Sara Horst, MD, MPH, has been named associate vice chair for Digital Health Operations for Vanderbilt’s Department of Medicine and assistant chief for Clinical Informatics for the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

By Leigh MacMillan
A Vanderbilt study shows that reducing consumption of simple sugars helped improve gastroesophageal reflux disease.
October 6, 2022

Study finds that reducing intake of simple sugars improves GERD

A Vanderbilt study found that reducing dietary carbohydrates improved both symptoms and objective measurements of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in a randomized controlled trial.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 28, 2022

Video vital for telehealth visits

Vanderbilt study of 18,130 telehealth visits at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic defines risk factors associated with telehealth access and suggests how health systems can improve access.

By Bill Snyder
x-ray of stomach
April 7, 2022

New prognosis predictor and target for gastric cancer

The protein CGA — a subunit of glycoprotein hormones — is a biomarker that predicts chemoresistance in gastric cancer and could be targeted along with EGFR to restore chemosensitivity.

By Sarah E. Glass
September 21, 2021

The role of polarity in early cancer

Mutations in the protein epiregulin, an EGF receptor ligand, affect larger epithelial cell reorganization and may contribute to early cancer development, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.
By VUMC News and Communications
March 4, 2021

Probiotic protection

A probiotic factor given early in life to mice prevented intestinal inflammation in adulthood, providing a rationale for probiotic intervention in individuals at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.
By Anivarya Kumar
May 4, 2020

The role of diet in esophageal cancer

New findings suggest that dietary calcium and magnesium affect the risk of esophageal cancer; if confirmed in interventional studies, they could inform dietary modifications to reduce the burden of this cancer.
By Anivarya Kumar
February 26, 2020

Potential new heartburn drug studied at VUMC

An investigational drug that binds bile acids in the stomach can reduce the severity of heartburn symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) when combined with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a new study suggests.
By Bill Snyder
February 22, 2018

Initiative seeks to address malnutrition among adult patients

It is estimated that nearly one out of five pediatric patients and one of three adult patients age 60 and older are malnourished and will experience a decline in their nutritional status during their hospital stay.
By VUMC News and Communications
January 19, 2017

Digestive Disease Research Center lands major grant

The Vanderbilt Digestive Disease Research Center (VDDRC) celebrates its 15th anniversary this year with a third consecutive five-year renewal of its federal research grant.
By Jill Clendening
December 8, 2016

Patient’s liver transplant opens door to new life

Erin Morris, 29, has much to be thankful for this holiday season, and at the top of her list is Roman Perri, M.D., assistant professor, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
By Jessica Pasley
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