When David Robertson, MD, sorted through 39 years’ worth of textbooks, journals and framed photographs in Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) Clinical Research Center (CRC) recently as he prepared for retirement, the memory that brought him to tears was a 30-year-old embroidery piece by his daughter, Rose Robertson Pink.

Kevin Niswender, MD, PhD, whose work has helped advance understanding of the neural underpinnings of obesity and metabolic syndrome, has been named director of the Clinical Research Center (CRC) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

Diarrhea has many causes, and when there are prolonged or severe symptoms clinicians sometimes consider lab testing to help guide treatment. But sometimes they stray from published guidelines in the direction of overtesting.

In childhood, asthma is more common in boys than girls. But around the time of puberty, that picture reverses. By mid-life women are twice as likely as men to have asthma.

Infectious disease experts are warning that flu can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and disability in elderly patients for months after they have recovered from their illness.

Fifteen Vanderbilt faculty members conducting a range of biomedical and clinical research have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Six of the 15 have received funding through the university’s Trans-Institutional Programs initiative, which facilitates research and teaching collaborations across disciplines and are a core pillar of the university’s Academic Strategic Plan.

A simple blood test is allowing Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers to determine which patients should be prescribed varenicline (Chantix) to stop smoking and which patients could do just as well, and avoid side effects, by using a nicotine patch.