Department of Pediatrics

February 14, 2019

Study finds children with autism more likely to face maltreatment

A recent study by Vanderbilt researchers of 11 counties in Middle Tennessee revealed that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were nearly 2.5 times more likely than children without ASD to be reported to the Child Abuse Hotline by the age of 8.

By Kelsey Herbers
February 14, 2019

Patrick’s work lauded by Society for Pediatric Research

Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, has been named to receive the Society for Pediatric Research 2019 Young Investigator Award, an honor bestowed upon a young physician who has embarked on a career in investigative pediatrics.

By Christina Echegaray
Lisa Bastarache, MS, Josh Denny, MD, MS, and colleagues are helping researchers study associations among de-identified genotype data and electronic health records data. (photo by John Russell)
February 7, 2019

PheWAS Core helps researchers make sense of electronic health record data

Some biomedical researchers may be unsure about routine electronic health record (EHR) data and how useful it ultimately may prove for drawing meaningful, actionable associations that warrant changes to clinical practice and lead to improved clinical outcomes.

By Paul Govern
The launch of ‘A Campaign Against Childhood Cancer’ will help Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt make strides for more patients like Jurnee Scantling, here embracing her mother, Erika Scivally.
February 7, 2019

‘A Campaign Against Childhood Cancer’ launched

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt publicly launched a $15 million childhood cancer campaign this week.

By Christina Echegaray
January 29, 2019

Long-term unemployment linked to increase in babies born with drug withdrawal

Babies born after being exposed to opioids before birth are more likely to be delivered in regions of the U.S. with high rates of long-term unemployment and lower levels of mental health services, according to a study from researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the RAND Corporation.

By Holly Fletcher
Man holds his hand over his mouth while coughing into it
January 28, 2019

Nasal whooping cough vaccine trial underway at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt vaccine researchers are enrolling adult volunteers in a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored Phase II clinical trial that will study a next generation pertussis vaccine that may protect people from whooping cough.

By Craig Boerner
December 11, 2018

Tim McGraw stars in fundraising ad for Children’s Hospital NICU

Country music star Tim McGraw has teamed up with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to promote the hospital’s Give to the Next Breath initiative, a philanthropic marketing effort to support the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
By Paige Turner
November 15, 2018

My Special Aflac Duck engages and comforts children

Patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt were surprised with their very own My Special Aflac Duck, a high-tech robot that uses medical play, lifelike movement and emotions to engage and help comfort children during their cancer care.
By Jessica Pasley
November 1, 2018

Team seeks to identify immune response to influenza

Vanderbilt researchers, as part of the International Human Vaccines Project, are searching for the key to lasting protection against influenza by examining naturally protecting cells found in bone marrow.
By Craig Boerner
October 25, 2018

Grant to help explore critical issues in Down syndrome

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) has received a one-year $604,000 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to use Vanderbilt University Medical Center electronic medical record information and biological samples to develop a deeper understanding of critical issues in Down syndrome and to provide an infrastructure for future analyses.
By Jan Rosemergy
October 16, 2018

An approaching hurricane. A critically ill baby. A Vanderbilt team flies in to help.

"The mother was so grateful that we were able to get her baby to a safe place.”
By Jessica Pasley
September 27, 2018

VUMC’s Undiagnosed Diseases Network site gains NIH renewal

By Nancy Humphrey
September 27, 2018

Innovative strategies crucial in opioid epidemic response

Reining in the nation’s opioid epidemic will require diverse and innovative strategies ranging from drug discovery to “policy translation,” according to speakers at a recent Vanderbilt Faculty Cutting-edge Discovery Lecture.
By Bill Snyder