Research Archives

Physician-scientists Aliyu, Tindle elected to ASCI

Mar. 31, 2021—Vanderbilt’s Muktar Aliyu, MBBS, MPH, DrPH, and Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, will be inducted this year into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an elite honor society of physician-scientists from the upper ranks of academic medicine and industry.

NYU’s Tsien to discuss brain plasticity at next Discovery Lecture

Mar. 29, 2021—Richard Tsien, PhD, director of the Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, will deliver the next web-based Discovery Lecture.

Allison Norlander, PhD, R. Stokes Peebles, MD, and colleagues are studying an approved drug that enhances immune cells and might be useful for treating inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Team studies new use for pulmonary hypertension drug

Mar. 25, 2021—An FDA-approved medication enhances the function of T regulatory cells (Treg), a class of immune cells that restrains the immune response, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered.

Study to assess allergic reactions to COVID vaccines

Mar. 18, 2021—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is recruiting volunteers for a randomized controlled phase 2 clinical trial to help determine the prevalence of systemic allergic reactions (SARS) to the two-dose COVID-19 mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Vanderbilt research played key role in new lung screen guidelines

Mar. 18, 2021—The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has formally recommended two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.

Artificial intelligence calculates suicide attempt risk at VUMC

Mar. 15, 2021—A machine learning algorithm that predicts suicide attempt recently underwent a prospective trial at the institution where it was developed, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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.

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.

Monoclonal antibody “cocktail” blocks COVID-19 variants: study

Mar. 4, 2021—A monoclonal antibody “cocktail” developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to neutralize the COVID-19 virus is effective against all known strains, or variants, of the virus, according to a report published today in the journal Nature Medicine.

Biostatistician DeMets set for next Discovery Lecture

Mar. 4, 2021—David DeMets, PhD, known for his work on statistical methods to monitor interim clinical trial data for early evidence of benefit or harm, will deliver the next web-based Discovery Lecture.

Chikungunya antibody identified at VUMC moves forward

Mar. 4, 2021—Evotec, a drug company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has begun a phase 1 clinical trial of a monoclonal antibody against the chikungunya virus that was identified at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.