Reporter Feb 28 2020

February 28, 2020

VUMC uses novel transplant technique to revive donor hearts that had stopped beating

In the first such procedures in Tennessee, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has successfully used technology to bring two donor hearts that stopped beating back to life before transplanting them into patients.

By Matt Batcheldor
Dan Kula, a volunteer with Vanderbilt Vigil Volunteers, visits with patient Gwenthian Hewitt. The program provides support for seriously ill patients at VUMC who might not have a loved one available to be at their bedside.
February 27, 2020

Vigil Volunteers seeks those with compassion to spare

Dan Kula remembers entering a patient’s room on the Palliative Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and immediately sensing the man’s agitation, which can be a symptom for those who are terminally ill.

By Jill Clendening
Dona Potter was treated with a new immunotherapy that entails re-engineering a patient’s T cells to target cancer.
February 27, 2020

Patient’s cancer treatment includes new immunotherapy

Dona Potter, 87, rode Harleys and drove 18-wheelers back when men dominated the open highways, and she is still defying expectations.

By Tom Wilemon
February 27, 2020

Study finds certain genetic test not useful in predicting heart disease risk

A Polygenic Risk Score — a genetic assessment that doctors have hoped could predict coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients — has been found not to be a useful predictive biomarker for disease risk.

By Matt Batcheldor
February 27, 2020

Breast cancer study may help predict treatment response

Researchers at VUMC are reporting another advance in the understanding and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, which is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat.

By Bill Snyder
Internet sensation Doug the Pug, who recently starred in a Super Bowl commercial, visited patients and families in Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Known for his funny costumes and adventures, the Nashville dog’s videos and photos have been viewed by millions on social media. Shown here, patient John Hawkingberry III, 13, accompanied by his mother, Melissa, pets Doug, being held by his owner, Leslie Moser.
February 27, 2020

Doug the Pug visits

Internet sensation Doug the Pug, who recently starred in a Super Bowl commercial, visited patients and families in Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

By VUMC News and Communications
February 27, 2020

APRN fellowship program receives ANCC accreditation

VUMC's Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner Fellowship has been accredited with distinction as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs.
By Matt Batcheldor
February 27, 2020

Grant bolsters research on subjective cognitive decline

Katherine Gifford, PsyD, MS, assistant professor of Neurology, has been awarded a five-year, $4.3 million research grant from the National Institute on Aging to study what subjective cognitive decline can reveal about underlying pathology.
By Paul Govern
February 27, 2020

REDCap Day 2020

Researchers gathered Feb. 25 in Light Hall for presentations in celebration of VUMC’s fourth annual REDCap Day. REDCap (short for Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases.
By VUMC News and Communications
February 27, 2020

Bordenstein honored by Genetics Society of America

The Genetics Society of America has recognized Seth Bordenstein, PhD, an evolutionary geneticist and microbiologist at Vanderbilt, for an initiative that brings real-world scientific research into middle school, high school and college biology classes.
By VUMC News and Communications
February 27, 2020

Locksley’s Discovery Lecture

Richard Locksley, MD, spoke about his allergic diseases research during his recent Flexner Discovery Lecture. Here, he poses for a photo with VUMC’s Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH.
By VUMC News and Communications
February 27, 2020

Gelbard’s airway disease efforts honored by Triological Society

Alexander Gelbard, MD, associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, was recently awarded The Edmund Prince Fowler Award for his candidate thesis to the Triological Society.
By Kelsey Herbers
February 27, 2020

Multiple Sclerosis Society honors Bagnato

By Paul Govern