Department of Medicine Archive — Page 28 of 127

Tracy Frech, MD, MSCI
July 8, 2024

Tracy Frech named director of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology

Tracy Frech, MD, MSCI, has been named to direct the division of Rheumatology and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and will assume the new role Sept. 1.

Conceptual illustration of a human silhouette composed of colorful molecular structures, surrounded by DNA double helices, chemical formulas, and magnified molecular diagrams on a dark blue background.
July 8, 2024

GeneMAP discovery platform will help define functions for ‘orphan’ metabolic proteins 

The combination of genomics and metabolism identified a long-sought mitochondrial choline transporter.

David Orth and Linda D’Errico pose together in their home pottery studio, surrounded by shelves of ceramic vessels and pottery tools, with several glazed pieces on the worktable.
July 3, 2024

Couple’s legacy of giving results in transformative change in endocrinology at Vanderbilt

“As I worked at Vanderbilt, I became so attached to the division, and when I had the ability to do it, I wanted to give back.”

Large group of Department of Medicine division directors and award recipients posed onstage in Langford Auditorium beneath a projection reading “2023–2024 State of Department Address,” dated June 20, 2024.
June 26, 2024

State of the Department of Medicine address highlights tremendous growth 

Department of Medicine clinicians see patients in 19 counties across Middle Tennessee as well as the surrounding region. There were 86,096 outpatient visits for fiscal year 2024, an increase of more than 25,000 visits over fiscal year 2023.

Illustration comparing normal red blood cells flowing through branching blood vessels with sickle-shaped cells obstructing blood flow. Labels read “Red Blood Cell” and “Sickle Cell Blocking Blood Flow.”
June 25, 2024

International trial introduces another curative option for sickle cell disease 

The therapy, haploidentical bone marrow transplant with thiotepa and posttransplant cyclophosphamide, is as safe and more affordable than the recently FDA-approved myeloablative gene therapy and gene editing treatments.

Two men stand side by side in a bright indoor hallway, smiling at the camera. The man on the left wears a white button-down shirt, and the man on the right wears a plaid button-down shirt.
June 25, 2024

Gene variant may underlie diabetes disparities: study

The study was the largest ancestry-stratified, genetic estimation of the heritability of diabetic retinopathy conducted to date and included an unprecedented number of individuals of non-Hispanic African ancestry — more than 46,000.