Department of Medicine

April 22, 2019

Asia’s diabetes epidemic preferentially kills women, the middle-aged: study

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in Asia and has dramatically increased the risk of premature death, especially among women and middle-aged people, a multinational study led by Vanderbilt University researchers has found.

By Bill Snyder
April 18, 2019

Medical Societies honor multiple Vanderbilt faculty

Several Vanderbilt faculty members were recently honored during the joint annual meeting of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI).

By Bill Snyder
April 18, 2019

MSA proclamation

A retired high school basketball coach from Murfreesboro was honored by the Tennessee State Senate on Thursday, March 21, for his efforts to shine a light on the rare disease that killed his wife six years ago.

By Bill Snyder
From left, Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, Jae Jeong Yang, PhD, Danxia Yu, PhD, and colleagues are studying smoking patterns and associated deaths in Asian countries.
April 18, 2019

Asian nations in early tobacco epidemic: study

Asian countries are in the early stages of a tobacco smoking epidemic with habits mirroring those of the United States from past decades, setting the stage for a spike in future deaths from smoking-related diseases.

By Tom Wilemon
The Vanderbilt team studying histoplasmosis includes (front row, from left, Heidi Chen, PhD, Melinda Aldrich, PhD, MPH, (back row, from left) Stephen Deppen, PhD, Eric Grogan, MD, MPH, and Jeffrey Blume, PhD.
April 18, 2019

Team explores fungal infection quandary in lung cancer screenings

Serving a region that lies within the tobacco belt, clinicians at Vanderbilt Health face challenges distinguishing lung cancer from histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that creates cancer-mimicking lesions in the lungs.

By Tom Wilemon
Research by Robert Coffey, MD, left, Dennis Jeppesen, PhD, and colleagues has revealed a new way cells shed DNA into the bloodstream.
April 11, 2019

Discovery aids search for cancer biomarkers

A report by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has shattered conventional wisdom about how cells, including cancer cells, shed DNA into the bloodstream: they don’t do it by packaging the genetic material in tiny vesicles called exosomes.

By Bill Snyder
April 11, 2019

Study reframes approach to targeted therapy resistance

When a tumor mutates and develops resistance to a targeted therapy, researchers often focus on the acquisition of new mutations within the drug target as they seek an alternative treatment, but a team of Vanderbilt scientists has shown this may not be sufficient.
By Tom Wilemon
April 4, 2019

Harvard’s Gaziano set for April 11 clinical pharmacology lecture

J. Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH, an internationally recognized chronic disease epidemiologist, will deliver the 15th annual Grant R. Wilkinson Distinguished Lectureship in Clinical Pharmacology on Thursday, April 11.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 28, 2019

SCRIPS Symposium

Speakers at the inaugural SCRIPS Spring Symposium (Supporting Careers in Research for Interventional Physicians and Surgeons) last week were, from left, Kelle Moley, MD, senior vice president and chief scientific officer of the March of Dimes; 2018 SCRIPS Scholars Yash Choksi, MD, and Akshitkumar Mistry, MD; and Anil Rustgi, MD.
March 28, 2019

Cancer prevention drug also disables H. pylori bacterium

A medicine currently being tested as a chemoprevention agent for multiple types of cancer has more than one trick in its bag when it comes to preventing stomach cancer, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 28, 2019

Bladder cancer research fund honors mentor’s lasting influence

The Terry Burke Fund for Bladder Cancer Research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is supporting a range of discovery research aimed at improving outcomes for bladder cancer patients, and it is helping train the next generation of bladder cancer physician-scientists.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 14, 2019

Reprogramming cells for kidney repair

Using gene transfer technologies to reprogram adult human kidney cells could lead to novel therapies for chronic kidney disease.
By Kelsey Herbers
March 14, 2019

Cancer Center Ambassadors surpass $1 million in grants

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Ambassadors surpassed the $1 million mark with the awarding of the group’s latest research grants.
By Tom Wilemon