Department of Medicine

Honoring Robertson

David Robertson, MD, second from left, poses with three longtime colleagues who spoke during last week’s symposium honoring his scientific legacy.

Grant bolsters kidney cancer immunotherapy research

W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Cornelius Abernathy Craig Professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), has received a grant to research the role of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment for kidney cancer.

By Doug Campbell

Records point to drug-drug interaction

Patients who take a cholesterol-lowering statin drug while taking the antibiotic daptomycin have increased risk of developing muscle weakness or a more severe form of muscle damage.

New breast cancer targets

A special genetic analysis has revealed candidate genes associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

Understanding HDL structure

Structural features of newly formed HDL particles will help guide understanding of “good cholesterol” and its function.

By Leigh MacMillan

Six Vanderbilt physicians honored by medical societies

Four faculty members of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine were among 78 physician-scientists inducted 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:

May 3, 2018

LEAP Fellowship bolsters Staub’s antimicrobial stewardship research

Infectious Disease fellow Milner Staub, MD, is among the first awardees of the Leadership in Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Public health (LEAP) Fellowship.

By Kathy Whitney

April 26, 2018

Ware elected VP of clinical investigation society

With last week’s election of Lorraine Ware, MD, as vice president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), two faculty members of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine are among the current officers of the elite physician-scientist honor society.

By Bill Snyder

April 19, 2018

Former FDA official explores big data’s impact on healthcare

“Big data” can help reverse the alarming decline in life expectancy in the United States — if universities and academic medical centers take the lead, former U.S. Food and Drug Administrator Robert Califf, MD, told a Vanderbilt audience last week.

By Bill Snyder

April 19, 2018

Symposium to honor Robertson’s research contributions

David Robertson, MD, internationally known for his groundbreaking work in defining and treating often-debilitating neurological disorders of blood pressure regulation, will be honored with a two-day symposium May 3-4 at Langford Auditorium.

By Bill Snyder

April 12, 2018

Initiative stresses importance of advance directives

While many might prefer to not think about dying, healthcare professionals throughout the United States are encouraging patients and their families to do just that during a national awareness campaign April 16-22 that promotes the importance of completing an advance directive for healthcare.

By Jill Clendening

April 12, 2018

Alpha-gal found to be both a medication and red meat allergy

Alpha-gal allergy has commonly been referred to as “the red meat” allergy, but doctors at the Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus and Allergy Program (ASAP) helped uncover that not only red meat, but some medications, can contain alpha-gal.

April 10, 2018

Vanderbilt scientists test potential new way to treat anemia

Treatment of anemia caused by chronic kidney disease or other diseases often requires repeated — and costly — injections or infusions of an artificial form of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates production of red blood cells.

By Bill Snyder