He received the award for his pioneering work focusing on leveraging genetic information to enhance health care outcomes.

Akil is an internationally known neuroscientist at the University of Michigan and Michigan Neuroscience Institute whose research has helped reveal the fundamental nature of anxiety, depression, pain and addiction.

Hirschsprung disease is a congenital disorder that occurs in approximately 1 in 5,000 babies. Caused by a lack of ENS neurons in the muscles of the colon, Hirschsprung disease disrupts gut motility, resulting in bowel obstruction.

The video is produced by the research team to explain the results of the study. Findings from the largest genetic analysis of stuttering are published in Nature Genetics; they point to 48 genes associated with stuttering and highlight neurological pathways of risk.

The research characterizes the molecular “cargo” of circulating extracellular vesicles in obesity and links the findings to human genetic approaches to identify potential therapeutic targets for metabolic disease.

The new Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory launched its first phase of testing June 26 and ultimately will fully support clinical testing for the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, the nation’s third busiest transplant center by volume.

The analysis of genetic sequencing data from more than 34,000 people over a 17-year period by researchers at VUMC was published in eClinicalMedicine.