VUMC researchers have developed a genetic method that clusters distantly related people to find rare variants that were present in a common ancestor.

The research focused on the very early stages of FPF, a serious progressive lung disease where for unknown reasons scar tissue builds up in the lungs over time.

A real-world learning health system was established at VUMC a decade ago. Now, the National Human Genome Research Institute is awarding two five-year grants totaling $12 million to support VUMC’s participation in, and coordination of, a genomic-enabled learning health system (gLHS) network.

Neighborhoods that were discriminated against, called ‘redlined areas,’ are known to have higher levels of air pollution from industry and vehicles, especially diesel-fueled trucks, buses and cars.

“Understanding the proportion of former players who think they have CTE — and identifying the common symptoms in those who believe they have CTE — is an important step for helping these individuals receive medical and mental health treatment,” said Douglas Terry, PhD, assistant professor and clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Neurological Surgery and co-director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.

The discovery, reported in the journal PLOS Pathogens, could help open the door to the development of effective vaccines and antibody therapies with an “exceptional breadth of pathogen coverage.”

The mechanistic understanding of how cells respond to heat could explain how chronic inflammation contributes to the development of cancer.