Reporter March 12 2021

Contributors to the COVID-19 microbiome study include (front row, from left) Julie Bastarache, MD, Meghan Shilts, MS, MHS, (middle row, from left) Jodell Jackson, PhD, Suman Das, PhD, Angela Jones, MS, (back row, from left) Jonathan Schmitz, PhD, MD, Simon Mallal, MBBS, and Jordan Best, PhD.

‘Friendly’ bacteria may impact COVID severity

Mar. 11, 2021—The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Vanderbilt University Medical Center a two-year, $3.7-million contract to determine genetic and bacterial factors that may increase the risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19.

Electronic health record study discovers novel hormone deficiency

Mar. 11, 2021—A novel hormone deficiency may exist in humans, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. In an analysis of two decades worth of electronic health records, the researchers found that some patients have unexpectedly low levels of natriuretic peptide hormone in clinical situations that should cause high levels of the hormone.

Genotype looms large in risk for post-op arrhythmia

Mar. 11, 2021—Postoperative atrial fibrillation (PoAF), a form of arrhythmia, complicates 20-40% of cardiac surgical procedures and 10–20% of non-cardiac thoracic operations, cropping up two to four days after surgery to pose risk of stroke, heart attack, mortality, longer hospital stays and greater cost.

HBCU scholars program expanding enrollment

Mar. 11, 2021—The James Puckette Carter Scholars Program, the result of a partnership between Meharry Medical College (MMC), Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF), intended to increase the number of physicians who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in health care, is expanding to double its enrollment capacity.

Discovery Lecture to feature geriatric medicine expert Cassel

Mar. 11, 2021—Christine Cassel, MD, a leading expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics and the quality of care, will deliver the next web-based Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 25, at 4 p.m. via Zoom.

Youth with ASD have higher body mass index: study

Mar. 11, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have concluded that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have higher body mass index (BMI) percentiles when compared to youth with typical development.

The diversity represented at Vanderbilt Heart Murfreesboro includes, from left, Ahmad Abu-Halimah, MD, Murali Kolli, MD, Ravinder Manda, MD, and David Dantzler, MD.

Murfreesboro heart clinic reveals power of diversity

Mar. 10, 2021—In suburban Murfreesboro, just a short drive off Interstate 24, is one of the most diverse practices and clinics in Vanderbilt Health.

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt patient Lochlin Morris is shown here being featured on the jumbotron at a Nashville Predators game in October 2019, prior to social distancing.

Hockey Fights Cancer skates on to support Children’s Hospital

Mar. 10, 2021—Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt patient Lochlin Morris was named Champ of the Game at the Nashville Predators’ Hockey Fights Cancer game on Saturday, March 6. Beginning last season, each home game features a Children’s Hospital patient on the jumbotron as a Vanderbilt Health Champ of the Game.

Study incorporates genetics with smoking history to identify high-risk smokers for lung cancer screening

Mar. 9, 2021—A study by Vanderbilt researchers that analyzed both smoking history and genetic risk variants for lung cancer supports modifying current guidelines to include additional smokers for lung cancer screening.

Johnson to step down as DBMI chair

Mar. 9, 2021—Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI), professor of Pediatrics and Informatician-in-Chief at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will depart the organization on Nov. 1, to join the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and Perelman School of Medicine. He will continue to serve as chair of DBMI as a national search is conducted to identify his successor.

Pediatric emergency visits, hospitalizations down sharply during pandemic: study

Mar. 9, 2021—Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, children’s hospitals across the United States have seen signification reductions in the number of children being treated for common pediatric illnesses like asthma and pneumonia, according to a new multicenter study led by Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Danielle Buchanan, BS, right, and Daniel Claassen, MD, MS, are studying the relationship between clinical research coordinators principal investigators. (photo by Donn Jones)

Survey identifies factors in reducing clinical research coordinator turnover

Mar. 8, 2021—Strong, collaborative relationships with principal investigators are a key factor of longevity in clinical research coordinator positions — an essential, but increasingly transient job in executing treatment-advancing clinical trials, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers found.