Mildred Stahlman Division of Neonatology

Dean Driver at his home in Gallatin, Tennessee. (photo by Susan Urmy)
December 18, 2024

The man who gave Angel 1 its wings

“How much closer to an angel can you get than a little bitty baby struggling for life?” said Dean Driver, 91, who converted a panel truck into VUMC’s first neonatal transport in his driveway.

By Danny Bonvissuto
September 5, 2024

From a bread truck to a fleet: ‘Angel’ transport celebrates 50 years of giving critically ill children a fighting chance

The first of its kind in the region, the Neonatal and Pediatric Transport team launched under the direction of Mildred T. Stahlman, MD, a neonatal medicine pioneer who created the first modern NICU in 1961. The goal: to give babies a fighting chance.

By Christina Echegaray
July 1, 2024

Vanderbilt mourns the loss of neonatal medicine pioneer Mildred Stahlman

Mildred T. Stahlman, MD, who pioneered the treatment of lung disease in premature infants and who was a tireless advocate of children of all ages, died June 29. She was 101.

By Bill Snyder
In this 3D projected still image from a precision cut lung slice, alveolar epithelial cells are labeled green. All other cells are seen in purple.
July 5, 2023

Vanderbilt researchers envision the potential to grow new lungs

Using a four-dimensional microscope that allows them to watch a tissue putting itself together, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have achieved a rare feat in science — they have shattered a long-standing dogma about how the lung develops.

By Bill Snyder
March 2, 2023

Cannula shortage led to more invasive lung support for infants

A Vanderbilt study found that a three-year shortage of a common cannula used in young infants needing lung support forced hospitals across the United States to switch to a more invasive form of lung support,

By Christina Echegaray
From left, Jennifer Herington, PhD, Jeff Reese, MD, Elaine Shelton, PhD, and Shajila Siricilla, PhD, are studying whether drugs given to premature infants in the NICU contribute to patent ductus arteriosus.
August 18, 2022

Study seeks to explore drug link to fetal vessel defect

Vanderbilt researchers have received a grant to study whether drugs given to premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) contribute to a potentially lethal condition called patent ductus arteriosus.

By Bill Snyder
December 20, 2021

“Atlas” of lung development may aid efforts to heal premature lungs

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have constructed a single-cell “atlas” of lung development that tracks multiple cell types over time.
By Bill Snyder
July 22, 2021

Change in respiratory care strategies benefits preterm infants

A decade’s worth of data shows that neonatologists are shifting the type of respiratory support they utilize for preterm infants, a move that could lead to improved health outcomes.
By Christina Echegaray
May 20, 2021

New clue to lung scarring

Vanderbilt neonatology team pinpoints signaling pathways involved in the progressive lung fibrosis that occurs in rare genetic diseases.
By Bill Snyder
April 22, 2021

Study seeks to increase volume-targeted ventilation use

For more than two decades, evidence has accrued that the use of volume-targeted ventilation (VTV) results in better outcomes in neonates who require mechanical ventilation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
By Jessica Pasley
December 3, 2020

Six Vanderbilt faculty elected as 2020 fellows of the AAAS

Six Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected 2020 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
By Marissa Shapiro
November 18, 2020

Why does COVID-19 seem to spare children? Vanderbilt University Medical Center study offers an answer 

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children. 
By Bill Snyder
August 6, 2020

Patrick receives award for children’s health research

Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy, has been awarded the fifth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research.
By Christina Echegaray
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