Genetics & Genomics

March 11, 2021

Genotype looms large in risk for post-op arrhythmia

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (PoAF), a form of arrhythmia, complicates 20-40% of cardiac surgical procedures and 10–20% of non-cardiac thoracic operations, cropping up two to four days after surgery to pose risk of stroke, heart attack, mortality, longer hospital stays and greater cost.

By Paul Govern
March 9, 2021

Study incorporates genetics with smoking history to identify high-risk smokers for lung cancer screening

A study by Vanderbilt researchers that analyzed both smoking history and genetic risk variants for lung cancer supports modifying current guidelines to include additional smokers for lung cancer screening.

By Tom Wilemon
Pneumonia bacteria
January 21, 2021

Study finds genetic clues to pneumonia risk and COVID-19 disparities

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have identified genetic factors that increase the risk for developing pneumonia and its severe, life-threatening consequences.

By Bill Snyder
October 22, 2020

New tool to probe genetic mechanisms of disease

Vanderbilt Genetics Institute investigators have added a new method to the computational genetics toolbox. Their approach, described in the journal Nature Genetics, integrates vast genomics datasets to predict gene expression and facilitate discovery of genetic mechanisms underlying human diseases.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 1, 2020

Genes spell penicillin allergy risk

Studies using large DNA biobanks revealed genetic variants associated with penicillin allergy, the most common type of drug-induced allergic reaction.

By Paul Govern
September 17, 2020

Grant from Google to support COVID gene expression study

Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill have been awarded $500,000 by Google’s philanthropy, Google.org, to study how COVID-19 alters gene expression in some people in ways that may be linked to their risk of severe illness and death.

By Bill Snyder
September 10, 2020

Award supports integration of genomic data, electronic health records

Eric Gamazon, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop novel computational tools that integrate functional genomic data and electronic health records.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 7, 2020

Possible key to COVID-19 infectivity

New findings demonstrate how genetic variations in the receptor that binds SARS-CoV-2 impact virus recognition and infectivity and offer insights to COVID-19 susceptibility and treatment.
By Sarah E. Glass
August 10, 2020

A step toward cancer prevention

A computational technique that combines the effect of multiple genomic variants has the potential to identify high-risk individuals for cancer prevention.
By Bill Snyder
July 1, 2020

VUMC-led network to focus on polygenic risk for common diseases

With the aid of a $75 million, five-year grant renewal, the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network (eMERGE) will venture beyond its current focus on monogenic disease to scoring research participants’ relative risk for complex heritable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.
By Paul Govern
June 12, 2020

Robotic technology speeds arrhythmia gene classification

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have used high-throughput robotic technology to rapidly study and classify variations in a gene linked to heart rhythm disorders and cardiac conditions.
By Leigh MacMillan
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
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