NIH

premature baby sleeping on mom's chest
March 16, 2017

Premature infants in NICU do better with touch: study

Treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) saves millions of infants born prematurely every year. But treatment is not without cost. Painful procedures such as needle pricks can impact early brain development.

By Bill Snyder
March 16, 2017

Esophageal cancer complexities

New findings that reveal complex interactions in esophageal adenocarcinoma could lead to diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic biomarkers.

By VUMC News and Communications
middle aged african american man outdoors
March 8, 2017

Role for mouth microbes in diabetes?

A higher abundance of certain bacterial species in the mouth appears to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered.

By Leigh MacMillan
electricity arcing in a heart shape between two exposed wires
March 3, 2017

Mutation raises heart block risk

A newly identified genetic risk factor for heart block after surgery may help guide the course of postoperative care.

By Laura Daniel
March 2, 2017

UDN program dedicated to solving medical mysteries

It’s human nature to need answers. Patients with debilitating symptoms need a diagnosis — somewhere to place the blame, a starting point to search for answers.

By Nancy Humphrey
A stack of blue and red
March 2, 2017

Investigators seek new way to define cell identity

Vanderbilt researchers hope their new method to describe cells will be widely adopted and used to generate a “Who’s Who” database of cell types.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 23, 2017

Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication  

DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.”
By Bill Snyder
February 23, 2017

Researchers chart new informatics path in tracking disease risk

In a study in Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, Vanderbilt University’s Jonathan Mosley, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues use genetic correlation to hitch together two unrelated sets of data, one from a longstanding epidemiological cohort and the other from electronic health records.
By Paul Govern
February 23, 2017

A target to heal tiny lungs

The protein beta-catenin may be a good target for therapies to treat lung disease that is a common complication of preterm birth.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 22, 2017

Organ-on-a-chip mimics heart’s biomechanical properties

Scientists at Vanderbilt University have created a three-dimensional organ-on-a-chip that can mimic the heart’s amazing biomechanical properties in order to study cardiac disease, develop heart drugs.
By VUMC News and Communications
February 20, 2017

Improving therapies for GI tumors

A signaling protein overexpressed in upper gastrointestinal cancers is an attractive therapeutic target.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 16, 2017

Team’s study uncovers cellular responses to bird flu vaccine

New research from Vanderbilt University eavesdrops on gene expression in human immune system cells before and after vaccination against bird flu.
By Paul Govern
February 14, 2017

Using the Internet for good

Terrah Foster Akard is helping children facing serious and life-threatening illness create a digital record of their lives, and measuring the impact the practice has on their emotional wellbeing.
By VUMC News and Communications