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William “Bill” Stead, MD, is stepping down from his role as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Chief Strategy Officer.

Stead to step down from Chief Strategy Officer role after decades of remarkable contributions

Sep. 17, 2020—Visionary — someone who thinks about the future or advancements in a creative and imaginative way, a person who is ahead of her or his time and who has a powerful plan for change in the future. Such a person is William “Bill” Stead, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Chief Strategy Officer, McKesson Foundation Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Professor of Medicine.

Center for Genetic Privacy lands major grant renewal

Sep. 17, 2020—The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has awarded a four-year, $4 million grant renewal to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Center for Genetic Privacy and Identity in Community Settings (GetPreCiSe).

Sourav Panja, PhD, underwent a complicated procedure at VUMC to treat his relatively rare form of pulmonary hypertension.

Technique helped treat patient’s rare pulmonary disorder

Sep. 10, 2020—Sourav Panja, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was working in his lab one evening last year when he began coughing up blood. Even breathing was becoming difficult.

Christin Giordano McAuliffe, MD, and fellow VUMC medical residents played a key role creating more flexible leave policies for physicians-in-training across the country.

Medical residents help craft national leave policy

Sep. 10, 2020—The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which oversees physician certification in the United States, announced the adoption of a “progressive leave policy that will offer residents and fellows more flexibility, reduce stress and increase autonomy in making life decisions, especially with regard to family and parental leave.”

Rene Gifford, PhD, works with patient Davy Hillis to program his cochlear implant.

Global recommendations for cochlear implants outlined

Sep. 10, 2020—More than 432 million adults across the globe live with a disabling hearing loss, but of those who are candidates for cochlear implants, only 4-5% receive one.

AED training plays key role in reviving young athlete

Sep. 9, 2020—A one-hour training session helped give Taylor Frost, 16, a lifetime of possibilities. On Aug. 12, Frost, a member of the Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy cross country team, collapsed. Within minutes his coach and other responders from the Nashville school went into action.

David Haas, MD, and Beverly Woodward, MSN, RN, are shown in a procedure room in VUMC’s Communicable Disease Response Unit. The room contains state-of-the-art infection prevention features and opens directly to the outside.

VUMC launches clinical trial of outpatient treatments for COVID-19

Sep. 2, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is now enrolling volunteers for a clinical trial of promising treatments for COVID-19 in the outpatient setting.

When it opens Aug. 31, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Wilson County Hospital will be a full-fledged multidisciplinary facility equipped with the latest cancer treatment technologies.

Vanderbilt-Ingram opens cancer center in Wilson County

Aug. 27, 2020—Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Wilson County is slated to open Aug. 31 with a full array of highly specialized services, including diagnostic assessments, medical oncology and radiation oncology.

Patient Clearissa Griggs gets a pre-surgical check from Caroline Wilburn, RN, BSN, and attending anesthesiologist Chris Canlas, MD, during Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s “Touching Hands” Outreach Day.

Event continues VUMC tradition of providing free hand surgeries

Aug. 24, 2020—For the fourth straight year, VUMC surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and support staff provided free surgeries for underinsured individuals with chronic upper extremity conditions such as carpel tunnel syndrome and cysts.

From left, Huan Tao, MD, PhD, Sean Davies, PhD, Jiansheng Huang, PhD, and MacRae Linton, MD, led the study that identified a potential new treatment for atherosclerosis.

‘Scavenger’ molecule may point to new atherosclerosis treatment

Aug. 20, 2020—A small-molecule “scavenger” that reduces inflammation and formation of atherosclerotic plaque in blood vessels in mice potentially could lead to a new approach for treating atherosclerosis in humans, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Hope On Wheels grant to enhance retinoblastoma research

Aug. 20, 2020—Anthony Daniels, MD, MSc, has been awarded a $300,000 Hyundai Hope On Wheels Scholar Grant to study the design of more precise drugs to treat retinoblastoma, the most common ocular cancer in children.

Flu shots available beginning week of Sept. 7

Aug. 18, 2020—This year’s effort by Vanderbilt University Medical Center to protect its people from influenza will be the most important in a century. With COVID-19 already prevalent, consuming precious health care resources, endangering lives, and so far, killing more than 170,000 Americans, this is not the year to shun getting a flu vaccine.

VUMC Reporter