Reporter March 4 2016
Eye of a cytokine storm
Mar. 9, 2016—A new animal model can be used to “dissect” the inflammatory response to infection.
Fat hormone’s role in zebrafish
Mar. 8, 2016—The hormone leptin regulates glucose balance, but not fat stores, in zebrafish.
A clue to cell cleavage
Mar. 7, 2016—Actin and microtubule cytoskeletons are coordinated during cytokinesis – the process that separates one cell into two and is linked to events underlying cancer.
Melanoma response to immune therapy
Mar. 3, 2016—Melanoma-specific expression of a certain protein identifies tumors that are more responsive to an immune therapy.
Study reveals possible ‘dimmer switch’ drug for Rett syndrome
Mar. 3, 2016—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have relieved symptoms in a mouse model of Rett syndrome with a drug-like compound that works like the dimmer switch in an electrical circuit.
First VICC cancer patient treated with new immunotherapy
Mar. 3, 2016—For the first time, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators have used a cancer patient’s own re-engineered immune cells to treat a form of blood cancer by stimulating the immune system.
Association of Academic Physiatrists honors Jain
Mar. 3, 2016—Nitin Jain, M.D., MSPH, received the 2016 Young Academician Award at the recent annual meeting of the Association of Academic Physiatrists.
Study seeks to ease pediatric HIV infection rates in Africa
Mar. 3, 2016—Mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, is still a major problem in resource-limited, rural areas of the world where health care providers are scarce.
Making their day
Mar. 3, 2016—Joe Don Rooney of the group Rascal Flatts came the closest to a hole-in-one at the inaugural Million Dollar Hole-in-One for Charity event at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Feb. 11 in California. Rooney chose Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as the beneficiary of his $50,000 prize.
Anesthesiology debuts new patient outcomes system
Mar. 3, 2016—The Vanderbilt Anesthesiology and Perioperative Informatics Research (VAPIR) Division has launched a novel system that connects clinicians in the Department of Anesthesiology to their patients’ outcomes.
Meeting highlights growth of VUMC’s social media efforts
Mar. 3, 2016—Leaders of social media programs at 15 major hospitals and health systems gathered in Nashville last week as Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) hosted the “founders meeting” of a new national organization.
Happy anniversary
Mar. 3, 2016—A special event was held last week celebrating the 25th anniversary of Vanderbilt’s liver transplant program.
