Healthcare Solutions
Research team takes aim at Ebola virus ‘decoy protein’
Aug. 11, 2016—Using an antibody generated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that neutralizes the Ebola virus, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have determined the structure of a “decoy” protein that may enable the virus to evade detection by the immune system.
Timing, teamwork key for young liver transplant patient
Aug. 11, 2016—Antwane Cole Jr., known as “AJ” to friends and family, began his summer playing football and enjoying his favorite superhero, Spiderman.
Study explores low oxygen’s impact on antibody quality
Aug. 11, 2016—Hypoxia (lack of enough oxygen) is bad for the body as a whole, but in the neighborhood where infection-fighting antibodies arise, may be important for keeping proper order.
VUMC to be site for national malnutrition study
May. 19, 2016—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the test site for a nationwide initiative to address the longstanding problem of malnutrition in hospital patients.
Current cancer drug discovery method flawed: VUMC study
May. 5, 2016—The primary method used to test compounds for anti-cancer activity in cells is flawed, Vanderbilt University researchers reported May 2 in Nature Methods.
Improving natural killer cancer therapy
Apr. 29, 2016—A newly discovered mechanism that helps cancer cells avoid destruction by immune system cells may improve immunotherapies.
Investigators explore African ancestry, Alzheimer’s risk
Apr. 28, 2016—Higher genomic levels of African ancestry are associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, a consortium of investigators reported recently in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
Study sheds light on link between autism, GI issues
Apr. 28, 2016—Researchers at Columbia and Vanderbilt universities have made an important discovery in mice that has implications for understanding the gastrointestinal (GI) problems experienced by some children with autism.
Study links COPD with increased bacterial invasion
Apr. 28, 2016—Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common smoking-related lung illness and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Scientists have long believed that inhaling toxic gases and particles from tobacco smoke causes inflammation of the small airways in the lungs, leading to the development of COPD.
Study explores how some breast cancers resist treatment
Apr. 21, 2016—A targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive form of breast cancer, has shown potential promise in a recently published study. TNBC is the only type of breast cancer for which there are no currently approved targeted therapies.
New doctoral track focuses on ‘big’ biomedical data science
Apr. 21, 2016—A new biomedical data science doctoral track at Vanderbilt, designed as an amalgam of biomedical informatics, biostatistics and computer science, is enrolling its first students for admission in the fall.
Study spots possible new approach to prevent obesity
Apr. 14, 2016—An international research team that included scientists from Vanderbilt University Medical Center has found a novel way to counteract obesity in mice — by stimulating the growth of blood vessels in fat tissue.
