Department of Medicine

August 24, 2021

New Clinician Spotlight: Neil Price

Neil Price, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently and specializes in gastroenterology.

By VUMC News and Communications
August 24, 2021

Autoimmunity advance

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a high-throughput screening method to identify and characterize antigen-specific B cells — potential biomarkers for autoimmune disease and targets for new treatments.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 19, 2021

Potential protection from atherosclerosis

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a potential way to reduce atherosclerosis: blocking the modification of an HDL-associated enzyme by reactive molecules called isolevuglandins.

By Bill Snyder
August 19, 2021

Park named to new role as deputy director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, Cornelius Abernathy Professor of Medicine, has been named deputy director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC).

By Tom Wilemon
Osama El Shamy, MD, and Megha Salani, MD, are working to expand VUMC’s Home Dialysis Program.
August 19, 2021

Home Dialysis Program experiencing rapid growth

Osama El Shamy, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, has long been a proponent of the benefits of home dialysis.

By Emily Stembridge
VUMC members of the Quality Improvement Collaborative for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Middle Tennessee Nursing Homes are, from left, Monique George, RN, FNP, Carole Bartoo, MSN, AGNP-BC, Jacy Weems, Mattie Brady, MSN, Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, Sandra Simmons, PhD, Anna Gallion, DNP, APRN, Tara Horr, MD, and April Hanlotxomphou, MSN, FNP. Not pictured are Victor Legner, MD, MS, and Kristina Niehoff, PharmD. (Photo taken by Donn Jones prior to revised mask guidelines)
August 18, 2021

Collaborative helping Midstate nursing homes control COVID-19

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has received a two-year, $1.2 million award from the Tennessee Department of Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide tailored education and coaching to 75 Middle Tennessee nursing homes focused on infection control, quality improvement and other pandemic-related challenges.

By Bill Snyder
August 12, 2021

Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapy

A biomarker that has proven to be a predictor for response to immunotherapies in melanoma patients also has clinical relevance for breast cancer patients, according to a new study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
By Tom Wilemon
August 12, 2021

Wanjalla honored by Doris Duke Foundation

Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, is among 17 recipients of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation 2021 Clinical Scientist Development Award.
By Paul Govern
August 12, 2021

Certain drug exposures correlate with reduced COVID severity: study

Analyzing electronic health records (EHR) of 9,748 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, Cosmin Bejan, PhD, Elizabeth Phillips, MD, and colleagues at Vanderbilt University Medical Center asked whether COVID disease severity correlated with any drugs that happened to be taken by these patients in the months leading up to their diagnosis.
By Paul Govern
August 11, 2021

Aronoff departing VUMC to become chair of the Department of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine

David Aronoff, MD, Addison B. Scoville Jr. Professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, is departing Vanderbilt University Medical Center to become chair of the Department of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.
By Doug Campbell
August 5, 2021

Gene expression in diabetic nephropathy

Vanderbilt researchers are looking to mRNA populations in podocytes — kidney cells that help filter blood — to help identify potential targets for treating diabetic kidney disease.
By Shivani Sharma
August 5, 2021

American Heart Association honors Biaggioni’s research

Italo Biaggioni, MD, professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, has been selected as a Distinguished Scientist of the American Heart Association for his contributions to cardiovascular and stroke research.
By Matt Batcheldor
August 5, 2021

Clinical trial to test immunotherapy for rectal cancer

A new clinical trial seeks to determine whether immunotherapy in combination with short-course radiation followed by surgical resection could be a curative treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer.
By Tom Wilemon