Health and Medicine

Tailoring treatment for heart defect

Sep. 23, 2019—By defining the clinical and genetic factors that predict treatment response, Vanderbilt investigators aim to personalize therapy for a common heart complication in preterm infants.

array of test tubes with pipette dropping fluid into one

Guengerich, Sanders-Bush named ASPET fellows

Sep. 20, 2019—Vanderbilt University’s F. Peter (Fred) Guengerich, PhD, and Elaine Sanders-Bush, PhD, are among 22 prominent scientists named this week to the inaugural class of fellows of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

Microvilli in motion

Sep. 19, 2019—Live cell imaging studies have revealed that microvilli — finger-like protrusions on the surface of epithelial cells — move and collide as they form the brush border.

Gamazon receives NIH Genomic Innovator Award

Sep. 19, 2019—VUMC's Eric Gamazon is one of only six investigators to receive an inaugural Genomic Innovator Award from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the NIH.

Potential prostate cancer biomarkers

Sep. 19, 2019—An analysis of more than 140,000 people of European ancestry has identified blood protein biomarkers associated with prostate cancer risk.

All-in-one pill helps reduce blood pressure, cholesterol

Sep. 19, 2019—A single pill containing low doses of three medications to treat high blood pressure and one to lower cholesterol reduced the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease by 25%, according to a VUMC study.

From left, Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, VUMC Executive Vice President for Research, Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science recipient Christine Seidman, MD, Vanderbilt Prize Scholar Megan Rasmussen and Lawrence Marnett, PhD, Dean of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine.

Genetics key to treating heart muscle disorders: Vanderbilt Prize lecturer

Sep. 19, 2019—Advances in genetics are leading to new ways to treat cardiomyopathies — devastating heart muscle disorders that lead to heart failure.

Relational memory in early psychosis

Sep. 10, 2019—Studies of relational memory function may reveal novel mechanisms for therapeutic intervention for patients in the early stages of psychosis.

Scott Pearson, MD, professor of Surgery (back row with tie), and James Patton, PhD, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences (on Pearson’s left), celebrate year two of the Master’s Program in Biomedical Sciences they co-direct with the 16 students enrolled this year plus some of the 10 students from last year’s class. The program prepares students for a broad array of health professional careers. Patton directs the Vanderbilt University Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. Pearson is a core faculty member of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. For more information, visit https://gradschool.vanderbilt.edu/postbac.

Year two for Master’s Program in Biomedical Sciences

Sep. 9, 2019—Vanderbilt's Master’s Program in Biomedical Sciences prepares students for a broad array of health professional careers.

Astrocytes and epilepsy

Sep. 9, 2019—A protein with important functions in astrocytes — star-shaped brain support cells — may alter neuronal excitability and contribute to seizure activity, Vanderbilt researchers report.

How salt increases blood pressure

Sep. 5, 2019—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that a protein called SGK1 in immune cells is activated by sodium, leading to the development of salt-sensitive hypertension.

Catie Chang, PhD, MS, Dario Englot, MD, PhD, and colleagues are studying brain networks related to cognitive deficits in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Team explores epilepsy-related brain disturbances

Sep. 5, 2019—A team led by a neurosurgeon-scientist and an engineering professor who specializes in techniques for analyzing functional neuroimaging data has received a $3 million grant to study disturbances in brain networks related to attention lapses and cognitive deficits in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

VUMC Reporter