Alvin C. Powers, MD, has announced plans to step down effective July 1, 2024, as director of the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center, director of the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center, and chief of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism.

A Vanderbilt research team is conducting the first phase 1 clinical trial of a magnetic, flexible endoscope that has the potential to provide a safer alternative to standard colonoscopy, particularly for individuals with inflammatory bowel disease.

A Vanderbilt clinical trial evaluating the injectable prescription medication tirzepatide, showed an additional 21.1% weight loss after intensive lifestyle intervention in adults with obesity or who were overweight with weight-related comorbidities, excluding Type 2 diabetes.

A Vanderbilt study found that two antibiotics thought to cause kidney failure in ICU patients with a severe bacterial infection, especially when combined with another antibiotic, may be safer for the kidneys than previously reported.

A Vanderbilt study found no difference in one-year survival and other outcomes among heart transplant patients who received their new organs from from donation after circulatory death and donation after brain death.

Shane Stenner, MD, MS, and Chase Webber, DO, and a collaborative team of experts at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center were recently named to receive the American Medical Association’s ChangeMedEd Innovation grant. 

African Americans have long been known to be at increased risk of kidney disease due to a dangerous genetic mutation that creates a hole in the kidney cells, but Vanderbilt researchers have now discovered a protective genetic mutation that covers the hole to eliminate the risk.