Research

March 9, 2021

Pediatric emergency visits, hospitalizations down sharply during pandemic: study

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.

By Christina Echegaray
March 9, 2021

Markers for breast cancer progression

Vanderbilt researchers clarify how a microRNA associated with triple-negative breast cancer survival inhibits cancer progression, suggesting new treatment strategies.

By Sarah E. Glass
Danielle Buchanan, BS, right, and Daniel Claassen, MD, MS, are studying the relationship between clinical research coordinators principal investigators. (photo by Donn Jones)
March 8, 2021

Survey identifies factors in reducing clinical research coordinator turnover

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.

By Holly Fletcher
March 8, 2021

Temperature, newts and a skin-eating fungus

Salamanders are more sensitive to a skin-eating fungus at colder temperatures, pointing to locations of North America where pathogen invasion is most likely.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 4, 2021

Probiotic protection

A probiotic factor given early in life to mice prevented intestinal inflammation in adulthood, providing a rationale for probiotic intervention in individuals at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.

By Anivarya Kumar
March 4, 2021

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

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.

By Bill Snyder
March 4, 2021

Targeting glucagon action in diabetes

Disrupting the action of glucagon — a pancreatic hormone that works to raise blood glucose — restores functional insulin-producing cells in mouse models of type 1 diabetes and may be a promising treatment strategy.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 4, 2021

Chikungunya antibody identified at VUMC moves forward

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.
By Bill Snyder
February 23, 2021

Calcification after severe injury

Vanderbilt researchers have linked bone-related complications of severely injured patients — findings that could help minimize these complications.
By Emily Stembridge
February 22, 2021

MRI view of brain tumor prognosis

In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2021

Genetic clues in eye birth defect

Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2021

Gene variant and glucose metabolism

Genetic variation that impacts glucose- and insulin-related signaling affects responses to type 2 diabetes treatments and warrants further study.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 11, 2021

Vanderbilt, Zambia researchers find delirium in hospitalized patients linked to mortality, disability in Sub-Saharan Africa

Delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, is widespread in critically ill patients in lower resourced hospitals, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.
By Holly Fletcher