Department of Pediatrics Archive — Page 1 of 56

Alaina Davis, MD
August 12, 2026

Alaina Davis named inaugural recipient of Ripple Effect Award for juvenile arthritis advocacy

The new honor recognizes an individual whose compassion, leadership and dedication have made a lasting impact on the juvenile arthritis community.

kidney stones
August 12, 2026

Study points to new therapeutic target for chronic kidney disease

Researchers showed that blocking the protein cadherin-11 improved survival and kidney function in three kidney injury models.

C. difficile bacteria (image courtesy of CDC/Jennifer Oosthuizen)
August 11, 2026

Vanderbilt Health evaluating vaccine for C. difficile for people 65 and older

“C. diff is one of those infections that turns a routine hospital stay or a course of antibiotics into something far more serious, and older adults bear the brunt of it.”

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt patient Nolan Queener plays with his beads of courage. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
August 7, 2026

One bead at a time, strung together, tells story of pediatric patients’ health journeys

The Beads of Courage Program provides innovative arts-in-medicine programs for children coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them.

August 4, 2026

Cardiomyopathy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy is focus of nearly $2M grant

The project will integrate diverse datasets and advanced quantitative approaches to better define the natural history of cardiomyopathy in Duchenne, identify key biomarkers, and support the development of tools to optimize the design and conduct of clinical trials for candidate drugs.

(photo by Erin O. Smith)
August 3, 2026

Vanderbilt pediatricians Meg Rush and Cristin Fritz recognized with top awards

The Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics honors Rush and Fritz for their advocacy and commitment to improving child health.