Reporter July 31 2015

Joint Commission survey highlights VUMC’s strengths

Thirteen surveyors from The Joint Commission (TJC), the independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,500 health care organizations and programs in the United States, visited Vanderbilt University Medical Center last week for an unannounced survey.

Illustration of human intestinal tract

Study sheds light on human gut’s ‘pacemaker’ cells

The gut has its own built-in pacemakers, populations of specialized cells that control smooth muscle contraction in the stomach, small intestine and colon.

Dill named VUMC entertainment industry liaison

Stuart Dill, a 30-year veteran as an artist manager on Nashville’s Music Row, has been named Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s liaison with the entertainment industry, effective Aug. 4.

Brown to head cancer registry for Y-90 tumor treatments

Dan Brown, M.D., professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and chief of Interventional Oncology, will spearhead a national Vanderbilt-led research registry that tracks cancer patients whose tumors are treated with Yttrium-90 (Y-90), a radioactive isotope.

Worldwide Cancer Research lauds Macara’s contributions

Ian Macara, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, recently returned from Scotland, where he received this year’s Colin Thomson Memorial Medal for his contributions to cancer research.

model of DNA double helix

Study sheds light on crucial DNA binding protein

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have established the molecular basis for the function of Replication Protein A (RPA), a DNA binding protein that is a crucial “scaffold” for genome replication, response to damage and repair.

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