Bick will succeed Nancy Cox, PhD, who has led Genetic Medicine since she came to VUMC in 2015. Genetic Medicine is one of 13 divisions in the Department of Medicine.

Aldrich uses population-based cohorts and biobanks to investigate lung cancer; her research informed guidelines for lung cancer screening.

VUMC researchers found that peptides modified by highly reactive compounds called isolevuglandins activated T cells and promoted hypertension in mice. Their first-ever isolation of such peptides is a step toward potentially intervening in this pathologic process.

Making innovative use of observational data, researchers hope to gain new understanding of patient risk and identify existing drugs to lower risk.

The combination of genomics and metabolism identified a long-sought mitochondrial choline transporter.

Roughly 1 in 10 people over age 70 will develop CHIP, an explosive, clonal growth of abnormal blood cells that increases risk of blood cancers and death from cardiovascular, lung and liver disease.

People whose white blood cell levels are near the edge of the “healthy” reference range will hit a clinical decision point that has consequences such as diagnostic procedures and altered treatments.