Suman Das

Clostridium difficile bacterium, 3D illustration
January 28, 2026

Gut microbiome differs according to C. diff symptom status

In a study of children with symptomatic or asymptomatic C. diff, symptom status loomed as the strongest association with differences in gut microbial abundance and diversity.

By Paul Govern
(iStock)
January 23, 2025

$20 million grant supports sweeping study of human viruses

Most of the more than 200 species of viruses known to reside in humans remain poorly understood, and new ones are being discovered every few months.

By Paul Govern
ELVIS team leaders include, from left, Jane Freedman, MD, project leader Suman Das, PhD, Simon Mallal, MBBS, Ravi Shah, MD, John McLean, PhD. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
September 19, 2023

$51 million NIH grant brings ELVIS to VUMC

Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists are launching a research platform called ELVIS that is devoted to molecular underpinnings of early-childhood determinants of health.

By Paul Govern
April 25, 2023

COVID alters respiratory microbiota

COVID-19 infection alters the microbes of the upper respiratory tract for at least several weeks, and such disturbances could impact disease severity and be targets for therapeutic interventions.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 9, 2023

Study finds RSV may evade vaccines via rapid mutation

A Vanderbilt study concluded that RSV’s ability to mutate rapidly to escape detection by the body’s immune system makes it more challenging to design and develop vaccines that can stop it from spreading.

By Bill Snyder
February 2, 2023

COVID-19 battle begins in the nose

A high upper airway concentration of the virus that causes COVID-19 was associated with changes in gene expression that could impact disease progression, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

By Sarah E. Glass
March 14, 2022

Microbiome reflects COVID-19 severity

Characterization of the upper respiratory tract microbiome could help predict outcomes for COVID-19 infection, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
By Elliot Jaffe 
November 15, 2021

Who’s who in the respiratory landscape

A metatranscriptomics method developed by Vanderbilt researchers simultaneously characterizes viruses, microbiome and host response in nasal swabs, opening opportunities to explore molecular interactions directly in clinical samples.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 11, 2021

‘Friendly’ bacteria may impact COVID severity

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.
By Bill Snyder
November 14, 2019

RSV transmission in the Middle East

Understanding how RSV is transmitted, which strains dominate and how new strains emerge around the globe will guide better vaccine and anti-viral drug design.
By Laura Powell
June 13, 2019

Study seeks to expand treatment options for rare airway disease

Armed with $1.2 million in funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are searching to understand the cause of a rare airway disease in hopes of developing better treatments.
By Kelsey Herbers
May 23, 2018

Evolution of a deadly virus

Genomic sequences have revealed that Florida is a major source of a mosquito-borne virus that causes disease in horses and humans.
By Leigh MacMillan