Division of Genetic Medicine

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June 23, 2025

Low blood cell counts drive cancer in explosive blood disorder: study

The analysis of genetic sequencing data from more than 34,000 people over a 17-year period by researchers at VUMC was published in eClinicalMedicine.

From left, graduate student Taylor Nagai, Ela Knapik, MD, senior research scientist Dharmendra Choudhary, PhD, and research assistant Cory Guthrie in Knapik’s lab surrounded by tanks of zebrafish, the model organism that drives their research. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
June 12, 2025

Tiny zebrafish aid discovery of rare, fatal genetic disease

The children were born in Turkey with a smaller-than-normal head size, cataracts, severe developmental delay, intellectual disability and epilepsy.

April 2, 2025

New gene discoveries target uterine fibroids

The research is another step toward development of targeted therapies aimed at reducing the incidence and medical burden of this common condition.

April 1, 2025

Integrative approach reveals key inflammatory drivers of severe obesity

Severe obesity — a condition of being 100 pounds or more overweight — has doubled in the United States over the past two decades to 9.2%, with the greatest increases among women and Latino populations.

Jennifer (Piper) Below, PhD. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
March 19, 2025

Jennifer Below named director of Vanderbilt Genetics Institute

The Vanderbilt Genetics Institute is the intellectual hub for genomics research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

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January 28, 2025

Inherited gene elevates prostate cancer risk in affected families

The inherited mutated gene WNT9B, which functions normally in embryonic prostate development, increases risk of adult prostate cancer.