Department of Pediatrics

January 28, 2021

Study’s findings may help eventually close the door on COVID-19

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles’ heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics.

January 25, 2021

An interacting factor in leukemia

A blood stem cell protein plays a role in the initiation and progression of leukemia, Vanderbilt researchers have found.

January 12, 2021

Study shows drastic increases in opioid-affected births

The rate of mothers who had an opioid-related diagnosis when delivering their baby increased by 131% from 2010-2017, as the incidence of babies diagnosed with drug withdrawal, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), increased by 82% nationally during that same time period.

December 21, 2020

Tennessee’s uninsured children have doubled since 2019 and 2 in 5 live with food insecurity, poll finds

In fall 2020, 9% of Tennessee children were uninsured, more than twice the level at the same time in 2019, according to a new poll conducted by the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy. Just 4% of children were uninsured in fall 2019, the poll found.

The “orange team,” led by Buddy Creech, MD, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, assembles in the old Clinical Research Center space in Medical Center North on the first day of the phase 3 Moderna vaccine study this summer.
December 16, 2020

Coronavirus ‘crusaders’ spur VUMC research achievements

The development of the vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs that ultimately will defeat COVID-19 wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the unflagging and selfless efforts of a global army of research nurses, laboratory personnel, recruiters and other staff.

Geoffrey Fleming, MD, holds his wife, Amy, surrounded by their three daughters, L-R, Hannah, Virginia and Delaney. Fleming died of cancer Dec. 8.
December 9, 2020

VUMC mourns loss of pediatrician Geoffrey Fleming

Geoffrey Fleming, MD, professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, and Vice President of Vanderbilt University Medical Center Continuous Professional Development, died Dec. 8. He was 50.