Department of Veterans Affairs Archives

Switching breast cancer off

Apr. 14, 2016—Signaling by a receptor that is overexpressed in aggressive forms of breast cancer has been linked to glutamine metabolism, suggesting new anti-cancer therapeutic targets.

Apr. 5, 2016—Vanderbilt researchers show that a certain factor negatively impacts the first-line responder cells in the lungs, providing one explanation for why patients with asthma are at greater risk for invasive bacterial disease.

Powers receives award from Nutrition and Dietetics association

Mar. 31, 2016—James Powers, M.D., associate professor of Medicine and chief of Geriatric Medicine at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center, was recently named to receive the Iris Award from the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Readmission prediction face-off

Mar. 23, 2016—Using patients’ health records to assess preparedness for hospital discharge is more effective at predicting readmission or death than commonly used questionnaires.

Study suggests cancer’s ‘clock’ can be rewound

Mar. 17, 2016—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have “turned back the clock” in a mouse model of metaplasia — precancerous stomach lesions — raising hopes that gastric cancer, a worldwide scourge that’s rising in the United States, can be prevented.

Combining treatments for melanoma

Feb. 18, 2016—Combining therapies for melanoma that induce cell senescence and that activate the immune response may improve outcomes for patients.

Wound-healing scaffolds

Jan. 27, 2016—The elasticity of a scaffold used for healing skin wounds is a key factor in promoting regeneration versus scarring.

DISSECTing cell signaling networks

Dec. 14, 2015—Vanderbilt researchers have developed a new method to study cell signaling networks at single-cell resolution.

Microtubules act as cellular ‘rheostat’ to control insulin secretion

Dec. 3, 2015—Microtubules — cellular “highways” that deliver cargo to the cell membrane for secretion — have a surprising role in pancreatic beta cells. Instead of facilitating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, they limit it, a team of Vanderbilt investigators reported recently in Developmental Cell.