Department of Medicine Archives
Study suggests new threshold for diagnosing PAH
Aug. 13, 2020—Doctors diagnosing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — elevated pulmonary pressure due to an issue in the small vessels of the lung — rely on a hemodynamic threshold set in the early 1970s to determine whether patients would be candidates for pulmonary vasodilator therapy.
Congenital heart patient receives unexpected transplant
Aug. 12, 2020—For years, doctors told Piper Davis it was impossible to have a heart transplant. She was born with just one ventricle, or pumping chamber, instead of two. A generation ago, such patients didn’t survive into adulthood.
A step toward cancer prevention
Aug. 10, 2020—A computational technique that combines the effect of multiple genomic variants has the potential to identify high-risk individuals for cancer prevention.
Appendix cancer survival in young patients varies by race: study
Aug. 6, 2020—The first study of appendiceal cancer patterns and survival by race/ethnicity among patients younger than 50 in the U.S. showed survival disparities.
Study gauges specific site stomach cancer risks among ethnic groups
Aug. 6, 2020—Non-white Americans, especially Asian Americans, are at disproportionately higher risk for gastric cancer compared to non-Hispanic white Americans. A new study breaks down this risk according to specific ethnicities and locations within the stomach.
Davis named senior medical director for VICC Cancer Care Network and Strategy
Aug. 6, 2020—Nancy Davis, MD, has been named senior medical director for VICC Cancer Care Network and Strategy, a new leadership position at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center responsible for expanding cancer clinics within and beyond the Middle Tennessee catchment area.
Hartmann named first Vice President for Research Integration
Jul. 30, 2020—Katherine Hartmann, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development, has been named Vice President for Research Integration for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Device allows VHVI doctors to monitor heart patients remotely
Jul. 30, 2020—In 2018, Ronnie Kreis began to develop severe heart failure. After being hospitalized multiple times that year near his home in Oliver Springs in East Tennessee, he was told that nothing else could be done.
Pseudoislet system expected to advance pancreas and diabetes research
Jul. 30, 2020—The multicellular, 3-D structure of human pancreatic islets — the areas of the pancreas containing hormone-producing or endocrine cells — has presented challenges to researchers as they study and manipulate these cells’ function, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have now developed a pseudoislet system that allows for much easier study of islet function.
Protein study may be key to treating fibrotic diseases
Jul. 30, 2020—A protein linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, may be a key to treating fibrotic disease of the kidneys and other organs, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported recently.
Iams honored by National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Jul. 30, 2020—Wade Iams, MD, MSCI, assistant professor of Medicine, is the recipient of a National Comprehensive Cancer Network Foundation Young Investigator Award.
Kirabo receives award from American Heart Association
Jul. 29, 2020—Annet Kirabo, DVM, MSc, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, is receiving the 2020 Harry Goldblatt Award for Early Career Investigators from the American Heart Association (AHA).
