Department of Pediatrics

December 10, 2015

Kavanaugh-McHugh keeps patients close to her heart

In her office, Ann Kavanaugh-McHugh, M.D., reaches up to a high shelf and pulls down a stack of notebooks. Reminders, she says, of the 4,000 families she has cared for over the course of her nearly 25-year career as a pediatric cardiologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

By VUMC News and Communications
December 3, 2015

Taylor named to federal autism advisory committee

Julie Lounds Taylor, Ph.D., has been appointed to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, (IACC) the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced recently.

By Christina Echegaray
ashtray full of cigarette butts
December 1, 2015

Higher cigarette taxes linked to fewer infant deaths

Higher taxes and prices for cigarettes are strongly associated with lower infant mortality rates in the United States, according to a new study from Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan released Dec. 1 in the journal Pediatrics.

By Christina Echegaray
November 16, 2015

Children, heart disease, and IQ

Treatment for congenital heart disease during infancy may result in cognitive and attentional deficits during adolescence and young adulthood, Vanderbilt researchers have found.

By VUMC News and Communications
October 8, 2015

Creech to direct Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program

Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics, has been named director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program (VVRP) in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

By VUMC News and Communications
flu shot
October 6, 2015

Flu vaccine helps reduce hospitalizations due to influenza pneumonia: study

More than half of hospitalizations due to influenza pneumonia could be prevented by influenza vaccination, according to a study led by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

By Paul Govern
October 1, 2015

Tolerating a transplant

A new genetic model has generated new strategies for promoting tolerance to transplants – and improving long-term transplant outcomes – in the background of autoimmune disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 1, 2015

Infants born with NAS more likely to be readmitted: Study

Infants diagnosed with drug withdrawal symptoms at birth, also known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), are nearly 2.5 times as likely to be readmitted to the hospital in the first month after being discharged compared with full-term infants born without complications, according to new Vanderbilt research released in the journal Hospital Pediatrics.
By Christina Echegaray
September 17, 2015

Nashville Lifestyles honors Children’s Hospital’s Rush

Meg Rush, M.D., executive medical director and chief of staff for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, was recently named among Nashville Lifestyles’ Top 10 Women in Business for 2015.
By Christina Echegaray
September 10, 2015

Diabetes trial targets body’s ability to produce insulin

Kiersten Eaddy had long looked forward to her high school graduation day and joining her classmates to celebrate the accomplishment.
By VUMC News and Communications
September 10, 2015

Teamwork, mission focus key to Pediatrics’ success: Webber

Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, delivered the annual State of the Department of Pediatrics Address Tuesday to faculty, staff and trainees, focusing on the interconnectedness of three mission areas — research, clinical care and education — as the underpinnings of the department’s continued success.
By Christina Echegaray
August 13, 2015

New TRIAD roles allow for expanded autism services

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) is changing its leadership structure to keep pace with its rapidly expanding portfolio of autism training, services and research.
By Courtney Taylor
August 13, 2015

Simmons strives to make a difference in children’s lives

Jill Simmons, M.D., encounters medical mysteries that have the makings of a science fiction film or novel.
By Christina Echegaray