Department of Medicine

March 26, 2020

Questions and answers on epidemiology of COVID-19

Though he specializes in chronic disease, epidemiologist Qi Dai, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine, has been closely following the international scientific literature on SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).

By Paul Govern
March 23, 2020

Study reveals an inherited origin of prostate cancer in families

Vanderbilt researchers have identified haplotypes, ancestral fragments of DNA, that are associated with hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) in a first-of-its-kind genomic study made possible by the study of prostate cancer patients with family histories of the disease.

By Tom Wilemon
March 19, 2020

Race, hormones and diabetes risk

Variation in the levels of hormones called natriuretic peptides may contribute to racial differences in susceptibility to diabetes, suggesting that this hormone system may be a target for reducing risk of the disease.

By VUMC News and Communications
March 12, 2020

Clinical investigation society lauds Vanderbilt scientists

Five faculty members of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine are among 80 physician-scientists who will be inducted this year into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an elite honor society of physician-scientists from the upper ranks of academic medicine and industry. They are:

By Bill Snyder
red and blue boxing gloves
March 5, 2020

One-two punch for cancer

A drug combination effectively killed aggressive blood cancers in cell and animal models; now it’s being tested in patients.

By Sanjay Mishra
February 27, 2020

Study finds certain genetic test not useful in predicting heart disease risk

A Polygenic Risk Score — a genetic assessment that doctors have hoped could predict coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients — has been found not to be a useful predictive biomarker for disease risk.

By Matt Batcheldor
February 20, 2020

Post-transplant diabetes may be reversible: study

Post-transplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM), a common complication of immunosuppressive drugs that are given to prevent transplant rejection, may be reversible and at least partially preventable, researchers at VUMC report.
By Bill Snyder
February 19, 2020

Vanderbilt University Medical Center among top 100 proposals for MacArthur Foundation $100 million grant

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today unveiled a grant proposal from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) as one of the highest-scoring proposals, designated as the “Top 100,” in its 100&Change competition for a single $100 million grant to help solve one of the world’s most critical societal challenges.
By Bill Snyder
February 18, 2020

Barbershops targeted to improve health of black men

Black men with high blood pressure could benefit from a research study beginning this month to check their vitals while they are getting a haircut at a barbershop.
By Kelsey Herbers
February 13, 2020

Advocacy group’s gift boosts lung cancer research efforts

An advocacy group for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive lung cancer has awarded a $500,000 grant dedicated to overcoming treatment resistance to the cancer.
By Tom Wilemon
February 13, 2020

Nashville VA dialysis unit named in Stone’s honor

The Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center has dedicated its dialysis unit to William Stone, MD, a nephrologist and professor of Medicine at VUMC
By Kelsey Herbers
February 6, 2020

Team tracks integrin’s role in lung function

Beta-1 integrin, a critical component of epithelial extracellular matrix receptors, is essential for normal lung function in adulthood, researchers at VUMC have discovered.
By Bill Snyder
February 5, 2020

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers included in ASCO annual report

Two researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) are featured in Clinical Cancer Advances 2020: ASCO’s Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer.
By Tom Wilemon