James Nichols, PhD, medical director of Clinical Chemistry and Point-of-Care Testing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has begun a two-year term as president of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.

Glucose metabolism influences the qualities of activated, mature B cells — white blood cells that are required for antibody-mediated immune responses, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity.

Pasteurization of breast milk affects the concentration of osteopontin, a bioactive protein with roles in intestinal, immunological and brain development — suggesting that osteopontin supplementation should be considered when donor milk is provided to preterm infants.

The commensal bacterium Turicibacter sanguinis could be used to protect against severe intestinal infections, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

Vanderbilt researchers are working to better design immune therapies that attack tumors without also attacking healthy normal tissue in patients.