Health and Medicine

Vivian Weiss, MD, PhD, center, George Xu, left, and Matthew Loberg led a multidisciplinary study that identified a molecular signature for aggressive thyroid cancer, which could help guide treatment approaches for patients. (photo by Susan Urmy)

Researchers discover molecular signature for aggressive thyroid cancer

Sep. 25, 2023—A Vanderbilt study found that a molecular signature that predicts aggressive thyroid cancer could help guide treatment approaches for patients.

Nominations sought for Research Staff Awards

Sep. 22, 2023—Nominations for the 2023 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Research Staff Awards are now being accepted. The nomination deadline is Oct. 20.

Martin Douglass, PhD, is studying how Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), a bacterium that causes diarrhea and colitis, inflammation of the colon, responds to host-mediated immune responses.

VUMC postdoctoral researcher selected as HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow

Sep. 21, 2023—Vanderbilt postdoctoral researcher Martin Douglass, PhD, has been named a 2023 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Frank Mason, PhD, left, Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, and their colleagues have identified an early event in the development of cancer, one that could lead to new ways to prevent it. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

VUMC study reveals critical first steps to cancer

Sep. 20, 2023—A new study by Vanderbilt researchers provides a remarkably detailed view of the earliest events leading to the development of cancer, and of potential new ways to prevent it.

ELVIS team leaders include, from left, Jane Freedman, MD, project leader Suman Das, PhD, Simon Mallal, MBBS, Ravi Shah, MD, John McLean, PhD. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

$51 million NIH grant brings ELVIS to VUMC

Sep. 19, 2023—Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists are launching a research platform called ELVIS that is devoted to molecular underpinnings of early-childhood determinants of health.

New graduate student Kaitlyn Gallagher, right, is all smiles after Kathy Gould, PhD, senior associate dean for Biomedical Research Education and Training, helps her into her lab coat. Admitted to the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (IGP) in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Gallagher was among 117 new PhD students welcomed during the recent ceremony in Langford Auditorium. (All photos by Erin O. Smith)

‘Simple Beginnings’ ceremony wecomes doctoral students

Sep. 15, 2023—“Simple Beginnings” is Vanderbilt University’s annual ceremony that welcomes each new class of doctoral students in the biomedical and biological sciences.

Bone metabolism changes with aging

Sep. 14, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers have detailed how aging alters the metabolism of bone-forming cells, which could contribute to age-related osteoporosis.

Study suggests way to relieve cognitive deficits caused by Parkinson’s disease

Sep. 14, 2023—Vanderbilt research raises the possibility of using DBS to slow the decline of cognitive function, a major source of disability, diminished quality of life, and death in more than three-quarters of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

James Crowe’s antibody research lands American Society for Microbiology Award

Sep. 13, 2023—Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s James Crowe Jr., MD, has been named to receive the 2024 American Society for Microbiology Award for Applied and Biotechnological Research.

Discovery lecture features computational cancer biologist Pe’er

Sep. 12, 2023—Dana Pe’er, PhD, a pioneer in using machine learning approaches to explore cell identities and interactions, will deliver the next Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 21.

Dame Frances Ashcroft Discovery Lecture postponed

Sep. 12, 2023—The Vanderbilt Prize Discovery Lecture featuring Professor Dame Frances Ashcroft, which was scheduled for Thursday, September 14, has been postponed until the spring of 2024. Details will be shared soon. Check the Discovery Lecture website at https://www.vumc.org/discovery-lecture-series/upcoming-lectures.

Low-flow cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington’s disease: study

Sep. 7, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers found reduced net flow of cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington’s disease, which could contribute to mutant protein retention and altered responsiveness to medications delivered via the spinal cord.