Reporter Dec 11 2020

Liver transplants have traditionally required a high volume of transfusions of blood products, which comes with several downsides. The products are costly to patients — as high as $15,000 on top of the expense of a transplant. And they are sometimes not well accepted in patients because they degrade over time and are derived from multiple patients.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis.

Eunice Huang, MD, MS, has joined Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as associate surgeon-in-chief and chief surgical quality and innovations officer. She is also professor and vice chair of Clinical Services in the Department of Pediatric Surgery.

The Nashville Predators hockey team, longtime supporters of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and its programs, recently presented the hospital with the proceeds raised throughout the year from the team’s 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund presented by Twice Daily.

Robin Steaban, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer at Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital (VUAH), has been honored by Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) with the school’s Honorary Alumna distinction. The award was presented during a virtual celebration on Oct. 20.

Six years ago, in Nigeria, funding cutbacks for HIV treatment and the consequent introduction of patient fees were associated with sharp declines in new HIV clinic enrollments and patient adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Two Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute researchers are receiving awards from the American Heart Association.