Reporter July 31 2020

July 30, 2020

Hartmann named first Vice President for Research Integration

Katherine Hartmann, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development, has been named Vice President for Research Integration for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Leigh MacMillan
Shawn Drumgoole greets neighbors and fellow walkers at his 30th birthday walk.
July 30, 2020

Walk celebrates patient’s ECMO journey 30 years ago

Thirty years ago, Shawn Drumgoole took a life-saving ride to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to be placed on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO).

By Jessica Pasley
Heart patient Ronnie Kreis is monitored by VHVI doctors while he’s at his home in East Tennessee.
July 30, 2020

Device allows VHVI doctors to monitor heart patients remotely

In 2018, Ronnie Kreis began to develop severe heart failure. After being hospitalized multiple times that year near his home in Oliver Springs in East Tennessee, he was told that nothing else could be done.

By Matt Batcheldor
Marcela Brissova, PhD, and MD/PhD student John “Jack” Walker are part of the research team that developed a pseudoislet system for integrated studies of human islet function.
July 30, 2020

Pseudoislet system expected to advance pancreas and diabetes research

The multicellular, 3-D structure of human pancreatic islets — the areas of the pancreas containing hormone-producing or endocrine cells — has presented challenges to researchers as they study and manipulate these cells’ function, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have now developed a pseudoislet system that allows for much easier study of islet function.

By Jill Clendening
July 30, 2020

Protein study may be key to treating fibrotic diseases

A protein linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, may be a key to treating fibrotic disease of the kidneys and other organs, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported recently.

By Bill Snyder
July 30, 2020

Memory complaints linked to changes in brain structure in postmenopausal women

Memory complaints in younger postmenopausal women are associated with differences in brain structure and may serve as an early marker for risk of future cognitive decline, according to a study published June 22 in Menopause by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.

By Kelsey Herbers
July 30, 2020

Iams honored by National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Wade Iams, MD, MSCI, assistant professor of Medicine, is the recipient of a National Comprehensive Cancer Network Foundation Young Investigator Award.
By Tom Wilemon
July 29, 2020

Study finds patients defer routine health care during pandemic

During February and March at two large academic medical centers in Nashville and Boston, screening for high cholesterol and high blood sugar dropped 81-90% and initiation of drug therapy for these conditions dropped 52-60%.
By Paul Govern
July 29, 2020

Kirabo receives award from American Heart Association

Annet Kirabo, DVM, MSc, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, is receiving the 2020 Harry Goldblatt Award for Early Career Investigators from the American Heart Association (AHA).
By Matt Batcheldor
July 29, 2020

Vanderbilt students recognized for support of Children’s Hospital

Vanderbilt University was recently awarded the 2020 Community Service Award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the Fiesta Bowl for its Dancing Dores program and Dance Marathon. Both programs raise funds for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
By VUMC News and Communications
July 28, 2020

Study challenges idea that lower BMI shields smokers from fat-associated health risks

While some smokers might rationalize continuing to smoke because of the lower weight often associated with the habit, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined that even with a lower body mass index (BMI), smokers have a higher risk of depositing fat in and around organs and tissues compared to those who never smoked.
By Jill Clendening