After surgical removal of a rare tumor left a sizable hole inside Nick Schrock’s mouth, he could only speak in a muffled, lispy whisper. Tyler Ames, a dentist at VUMC, fashioned a prosthetic device to close the hole and allow Schrock to speak more clearly.

Seibert was officially reappointed to Nashville General in October.

With more than 2,400 members, the NAM (formerly the Institute of Medicine) collaborates closely with its peer academies, the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, to provide independent and authoritative advice on matters of science, technology and health nationally and globally.

Awards were presented during the 24th annual Levi Watkins Jr., MD Lecture.

PET-CT combines the functional information gained through PET with the structural details gained by a CT scan, aiding in early detection of recurrent disease.

Evidence showed that deficiency in musical rhythm perception is a “modest but consistent risk factor for developmental speech, language and reading disorders.”

The technology will allow surgeons to rely less on a fallible mental construction of the resection plane, thereby reducing the risk of human error affecting the procedure.