Department of Thoracic Surgery

March 27, 2023

Improving lung nodule diagnosis

Adding blood and imaging biomarkers to a clinical prediction model could improve diagnostic accuracy for the 1.6 million lung nodules detected each year, many through expanded lung cancer screening programs.

By Leigh MacMillan
Allan Pickens, MD
February 2, 2023

Pickens named chair of VUMC Thoracic Surgery

Allan Pickens, MD, has been named professor and chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Thoracic Surgery.

By Matt Batcheldor
October 20, 2022

Event set to make lung cancer screening more accessible

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is making the lung cancer screening more convenient with weekend appointments from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 12, at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks

By Tom Wilemon
Mervyn Joseph traveled from South Africa to receive his lung transplant at Vanderbilt.
September 29, 2022

Patient journeys from South Africa for lung transplant

Mervyn Joseph, who searched the world over for the best place to be considered for lung transplant, is thankful he found Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Matt Batcheldor
Members of the newly named MASLAB gathered for a portrait on the Medical Center Plaza. The early lung cancer detection research initiative was named in honor of the late Pierre Massion, MD.
September 15, 2022

Lung cancer detection program lands grant renewal

The National Cancer Institute has renewed funding for the Early Detection Research Network Lung Cancer Clinical Validation Center at Vanderbilt- Ingram Cancer Center.

By Tom Wilemon
June 2, 2022

Sister surgeons share a winding road that led to VUMC

From Canada to Florida to VUMC, the “Gillaspie Girls” are building careers after “falling in love with surgery.”

By Jill Clendening
April 25, 2022

Multiple sclerosis, lung cancer, and 50 marathons: Aaron Hawkins about to reach amazing milestone

"He has been a blessing and role model for so many," his doctor Jonathan Nesbitt says.
By Jill Clendening
March 17, 2022

ECMO fellowship program provides lifesaving training

Vanderbilt's extracorporeal life support fellowship gives new doctors two years of hands-on experience with a lifesaving critical care tool, one that has only become more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Matt Batcheldor
February 16, 2022

Multicenter team seeks to create at-home artificial lung system

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is part of a multi-institutional teem seeking to create an artificial lung system that patients with incurable lung disease can use at home.
By Matt Batcheldor
January 24, 2022

Donna Atherton and Karen Pinkard are nurses who have worked together for years. The day Karen’s heart stopped at work, Donna was there to save her life.

A lot of people worked to save her life and help her recover. Thanks to them, Karen Pinkard is back at work.
By Tom Wilemon
October 14, 2021

New Clinician Spotlight: Caitlin Demarest

Caitlin Demarest, MD, PhD, recently joined the Department of Thoracic Surgery as an assistant professor, having been recruited to Vanderbilt by her mentor, Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA.
By VUMC News and Communications
April 1, 2021

COVID recovery included long stay on ECMO, double-lung transplant

Zach Lloyd was only 37 years old with no pre-existing health conditions, but COVID-19 was bringing him within an inch of his life.
By Matt Batcheldor
March 18, 2021

Vanderbilt research played key role in new lung screen guidelines

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has formally recommended two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.
By Tom Wilemon