Reporter Feb 10 2017

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have taken another step toward developing a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the major cause of life-threatening pneumonia in infants worldwide.

The phrase “working twice as hard for half as much” is one that sadly rings true for many patients who have had significant stays in an intensive care unit (ICU). Surviving a lengthy critical care experience can result in depression, weakness, fatigue and other cognitive and physical deficiencies.

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has surpassed its fundraising goal of $40 million in support of a four-floor building expansion that will help advance the size and scope of the hospital’s specialized pediatric health care programs.

When Kathryn Carell Brown volunteered to lead the Growing to New Heights Campaign less than three years ago, she was following in the footsteps of her late parents Monroe Carell Jr. and his wife, Ann Scott Carell.

Social risk factors including income, education and ethnic background influence health outcomes and should be taken into account in Medicare payment models, according to a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspective” titled “Social Risk Factors and Equity in Medicare Payment.”

A major report led by Vanderbilt investigators found that the mere presence of even a small amount of calcified coronary plaque, more commonly referred to as coronary artery calcium (CAC), in people under age 50 — even small amounts — was strongly associated with increased risk of developing clinical coronary heart disease over the ensuing decade.

The 2017 class of Chancellor Faculty Fellows comprises highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from across the university.