Reporter May 1 2020 Archive — Page 1 of 2

Blue toggle switch between red “ON” and black “OFF” labels.
May 5, 2020

A dual-purpose metabolic switch

John York and colleagues have demonstrated that the protein Vip1 is a rare type of bifunctional enzyme: it can both synthesize and destroy key cellular signaling molecules.

By Leigh MacMillan
White vitamin tablets spilling from an open brown bottle onto a blue surface beside its metal cap.
May 4, 2020

The role of diet in esophageal cancer

New findings suggest that dietary calcium and magnesium affect the risk of esophageal cancer; if confirmed in interventional studies, they could inform dietary modifications to reduce the burden of this cancer.

By Anivarya Kumar
Portrait of Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, wearing glasses, a dark suit, white shirt, and patterned tie.
May 1, 2020

Dr. Jeff Balser on a careful approach to restarting elective services

As public officials begin to lift restrictions due to COVID-19, I want to spend a few minutes today talking about our next steps at VUMC.

By Vanderbilt Health News
Silhouette of a person facing a glowing DNA double helix, overlaid with floating binary digits in a blue-toned digital composition.
April 30, 2020

EHRs, biobanks and Mendelian diseases

Electronic health records and biobanks can be effectively combined to detect and study Mendelian diseases such as cystic fibrosis.

By Leigh MacMillan
Medical laboratory scientist Gladys Garrison, MT, MS, loads reagents to prepare DNA samples for analysis in the VUMC Molecular Diagnostics Lab.
April 30, 2020

PREDICT program expands, opens new Genomics Clinic

A new clinic opening at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will help doctors and patients choose the best drugs for their medical conditions based on the patients’ unique genetic makeup.

By Bill Snyder
Howard Price’s decades-old notebook of diagnostic recipes came in handy when VUMC ran short of a component crucial to COVID-19 testing efforts.
April 30, 2020

Price’s old laboratory recipe book proves to be invaluable

Howard Price has a decades-old green notebook he keeps in his office at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and when a shortage of a critical laboratory supply nearly brought testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to a halt at the Medical Center, the notebook’s contents quickly became invaluable.

By Jill Clendening