NIDDK Archive — Page 1 of 22

Three-dimensional illustration of a coronavirus particle with a textured gray spherical surface, red spike proteins, and smaller yellow surface structures; blurred particles appear in the background.
August 2, 2023

VUMC receives $28 million to lead national study of COVID-diabetes link

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have received a four-year, $28 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to study the relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes.

A speaker stands at a Vanderbilt University podium, gesturing beside a laptop while an audience watches in the foreground.
August 2, 2023

The urgency of research

Griffin Rodgers, MD, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, described the urgency of the nation’s diabetes epidemic July 26 during a symposium of the NIDDK Medical Student Research Program in Diabetes and Obesity hosted by Vanderbilt University.

May 8, 2023

Improved imaging for kidney disease

Vanderbilt researchers identified optimal MRI parameters for estimating the severity of polycystic kidney disease, a common inherited disorder that can lead to end-stage renal failure.

Person sitting cross-legged on a bed and holding their lower abdomen, with a red glow highlighting the abdominal area.
April 20, 2023

Overactive bladder and anxiety

Anxiety and psychological stress impact hypersensitivity mechanisms in women that could contribute to overactive bladder — a frequent and sudden urge to urinate that is difficult to control.

Silhouette of a person facing a glowing DNA double helix, overlaid with floating binary digits in a blue-toned digital composition.
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.

Illustration of several orange, rod-shaped bacteria with numerous hairlike flagella against a dark reddish, blurred background.
March 23, 2023

E. coli uses serine to abide acidity

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered another acid resistance mechanism for UTI-causing E. coli, laying the foundation for targeted antibacterial therapies.