Reporter Feb 28 2020

VUMC uses novel transplant technique to revive donor hearts that had stopped beating

Feb. 28, 2020—In the first such procedures in Tennessee, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has successfully used technology to bring two donor hearts that stopped beating back to life before transplanting them into patients.

Dan Kula, a volunteer with Vanderbilt Vigil Volunteers, visits with patient Gwenthian Hewitt. The program provides support for seriously ill patients at VUMC who might not have a loved one available to be at their bedside.

Vigil Volunteers seeks those with compassion to spare

Feb. 27, 2020—Dan Kula remembers entering a patient’s room on the Palliative Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and immediately sensing the man’s agitation, which can be a symptom for those who are terminally ill.

Dona Potter was treated with a new immunotherapy that entails re-engineering a patient’s T cells to target cancer.

Patient’s cancer treatment includes new immunotherapy

Feb. 27, 2020—Dona Potter, 87, rode Harleys and drove 18-wheelers back when men dominated the open highways, and she is still defying expectations.

Study finds certain genetic test not useful in predicting heart disease risk

Feb. 27, 2020—A Polygenic Risk Score — a genetic assessment that doctors have hoped could predict coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients — has been found not to be a useful predictive biomarker for disease risk.

Breast cancer study may help predict treatment response

Feb. 27, 2020—Researchers at VUMC are reporting another advance in the understanding and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, which is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat.

Internet sensation Doug the Pug, who recently starred in a Super Bowl commercial, visited patients and families in Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Known for his funny costumes and adventures, the Nashville dog’s videos and photos have been viewed by millions on social media. Shown here, patient John Hawkingberry III, 13, accompanied by his mother, Melissa, pets Doug, being held by his owner, Leslie Moser.

Doug the Pug visits

Feb. 27, 2020—Internet sensation Doug the Pug, who recently starred in a Super Bowl commercial, visited patients and families in Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

APRN fellowship program receives ANCC accreditation

Feb. 27, 2020—VUMC's Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner Fellowship has been accredited with distinction as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs.

Grant bolsters research on subjective cognitive decline

Feb. 27, 2020—Katherine Gifford, PsyD, MS, assistant professor of Neurology, has been awarded a five-year, $4.3 million research grant from the National Institute on Aging to study what subjective cognitive decline can reveal about underlying pathology.

Researchers gathered Feb. 25 in Light Hall for presentations in celebration of VUMC’s fourth annual REDCap Day. REDCap (short for Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. It’s specifically geared to support online or offline data capture for research studies and operations. Developed at VUMC by Paul Harris, PhD, MS, (shown above) and released in 2004, REDCap has 1.2 million users in 135 countries. For more information visit projectredcap.org.

REDCap Day 2020

Feb. 27, 2020—Researchers gathered Feb. 25 in Light Hall for presentations in celebration of VUMC’s fourth annual REDCap Day. REDCap (short for Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases.

Bordenstein honored by Genetics Society of America

Feb. 27, 2020—The Genetics Society of America has recognized Seth Bordenstein, PhD, an evolutionary geneticist and microbiologist at Vanderbilt, for an initiative that brings real-world scientific research into middle school, high school and college biology classes.

Richard Locksley, MD, right, spoke about his allergic diseases research during his recent Flexner Discovery Lecture. Here, he poses for a photo with VUMC’s Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH.

Locksley’s Discovery Lecture

Feb. 27, 2020—Richard Locksley, MD, spoke about his allergic diseases research during his recent Flexner Discovery Lecture. Here, he poses for a photo with VUMC’s Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH.

Gelbard’s airway disease efforts honored by Triological Society

Feb. 27, 2020—Alexander Gelbard, MD, associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, was recently awarded The Edmund Prince Fowler Award for his candidate thesis to the Triological Society.