NIH

A C. diff bacterium (green) with iron particles in red, shown in a reconstructed electron tomogram from STEM-EDS. (image courtesy of James McBride)
November 15, 2023

Novel C. diff structures are required for infection, offer new therapeutic targets

Vanderbilt research discovers that iron storage “spheres” inside the bacterium C. diff — the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections — are important for infection in an animal model and could offer new targets for antibacterial drugs.

By Leigh MacMillan
The study team from VUMC included, from left, Xinmeng Zhang, You Chen, PhD, Bradley Malin, PhD, and Chao Yan, PhD. On the computers are Northwestern Medicine colleagues Abel Kho, MD, and Yuyang Yang. (photo by Donn Jones)
October 10, 2023

Study tracks clinical team engagement with health records by patient race/ethnicity

A review of electronic health record user access logs found that EHRs of adult inpatients from minority racial and ethnic populations on average received lower engagement from health care teams than the records of white adult inpatients.

By Paul Govern
September 14, 2023

Bone metabolism changes with aging

Vanderbilt researchers have detailed how aging alters the metabolism of bone-forming cells, which could contribute to age-related osteoporosis.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 7, 2023

Low-flow cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington’s disease: study

Vanderbilt researchers found reduced net flow of cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington’s disease, which could contribute to mutant protein retention and altered responsiveness to medications delivered via the spinal cord.

By Paul Govern
Heather Pua, MD, PhD, and Neil Sprenkle, PhD, have discovered a protective role for microRNAs in immune cell macrophages during obesity, potentially opening new therapeutic avenues.
September 5, 2023

MicroRNAs in immune cells help protect against metabolic defects in obesity: study

Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 31, 2023

New reference tool supports replication of DNA biobank studies

Vanderbilt researchers created a phenotype-genotype reference map to assess data quality in DNA biobanks.

By Paul Govern
August 24, 2023

Predicting postop opioid use

VUMC study finds that preoperative patient characteristics can predict daily opioid use at six months after surgery, suggesting opportunities for development of electronic risk-stratification algorithms.
By Paul Govern
August 9, 2023

VUMC receives $51 million in NIH grants to improve efficiency of conducting clinical trials across the US

Vanderbilt researchers have been awarded two five-year federal grants totaling $51 million to harness new and existing approaches for boosting recruitment and removing roadblocks to the efficiency of conducting clinical trials throughout the country.
By Bill Snyder
August 2, 2023

Personalizing treatment for sinus syndrome

Understanding the inflammatory characteristics of subtypes of chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps should assist with selection of effective therapies, Vanderbilt researchers report.
By Leigh MacMillan
July 25, 2023

Signaling pathways in liposarcomas

A broad bioinformatics approach revealed that Hedgehog signaling is upregulated in dedifferentiated liposarcoma, suggesting this pathway may be an early indicator of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 27, 2023

Rare disorder sheds light on dysbindin function

A case study of a rare disorder uncovers roles for the protein dysbindin in the adaptive immune response and suggests that mutations may underlie some cases of very early onset inflammatory bowel disease.
By Sarah E. Glass
June 26, 2023

Magnesium deficiency and blood pressure

Dietary magnesium depletion in a mouse model activated inflammatory pathways and molecules that promote hypertension, suggesting that increased magnesium consumption may be beneficial for reducing the prevalence of hypertension.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 22, 2023

Pathways to a healthy liver

Hepatic stellate cells maintain liver mass and function; the signaling factors they use could be exploited therapeutically to promote liver regeneration and inhibit cancerous proliferation, Vanderbilt researchers suggest.
By Bill Snyder
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