Author

American Association of Physician Assistants

Aug. 27, 2018—Founded in 1968, the American Association of Physician Assistants is the national professional society for PAs. It represents a profession of more than 123,000 PAs across all medical and surgical specialties in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and the uniformed services. AAPA advocates and educates on behalf of the profession and the patients...

AMOS

Aug. 27, 2018—AMOS is a Christian non-profit organization that exists to improve the health of impoverished communities by working alongside them in health, education and development. AMOS Health and Hope seeks to take action to help address the problems of poverty, disease and preventable deaths. The organizations is dedicated to improving the health and well being of...

Axial Healthcare

Aug. 27, 2018—The mission of axialHealthcare is to improve the wellbeing of patients in pain and mitigate opioid misuse, while creating value for our partners. When patients experience an episode of acute or chronic pain, finding the providers most qualified to help with their conditions can be difficult and may leave them suffering with underlying symptoms. When...

Barretos Cancer Hospital

Aug. 27, 2018—Barretos Cancer Hospital is the most advanced oncological hospital in Brazil with 100% assistance through Brazilian Public Health System (SUS), sustained mainly through associates’ donations. Every day, their 380 doctors who work exclusively and full time assist 6,000 people in 1,756 cities across 27 states in Brazil to prevent and diagnose cancer. Their prevention work...

Catholic Medical Mission Board

Aug. 27, 2018—The CMMB is an international, faith-based NGO providing long-term, co-operative, medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare. For over a century, they have worked to strengthen and support communities through healthcare programs and initiatives, the distribution of medicines and medical supplies, and the placement of volunteers. As part...

Curamericas

Aug. 27, 2018—Curamericas Global was founded in 1983 by Duke University and Johns Hopkins alumni Henry Perry III, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H and Alice Weldon, Ph.D. Curamericas Global was created with the goal of establishing primary health care programs that are responsive to the health needs of the community, improving child survival within the community, and building the...

Schaffner and what you need to know about vaccines

Aug. 24, 2018—For something that saves countless lives every day, vaccines face a lot of criticism. William Schaffner, MD, the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, and others explain 40 things that the medical community wishes the public knew about vaccines.

Keohane research explores how dual-eligible beneficiaries spend

Aug. 17, 2018—While there has been much effort to control spending for individuals eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare in the United States, for the first time a team of Vanderbilt health policy researchers have analyzed spending trends for this population over a multiyear period in order to gain a much clearer understanding of exactly how much...

Dusetzina to explore how rising medication costs impact elderly

Aug. 9, 2018—As both drug prices and out-of-pocket expense for prescription medications continue to climb, a team of Health Policy experts at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) have received a grant to determine if these factors are causing older Americans enrolled in Medicare Part D for medication coverage to delay or never fill their prescriptions. Stacie...

Roumie and Grijalva land grant to boost patient-centered outcomes research

Aug. 3, 2018—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a five-year federal grant to train investigators in Learning Healthcare Systems research, aimed at improving patient outcomes and the community’s overall health. The T32 postdoctoral training grant from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will support establishment of the Vanderbilt Patient, pRactice Outcomes and Research in...

Schaffner sheds light on hand, foot, and mouth disease for CNN

Jul. 25, 2018—Hand, foot and mouth disease is an illness commonly seen in children younger than 5. It spreads through contact and attacks exposed adults with fever, sores and skin rash. Hand, foot and mouth is "due to a virus that lives in the intestines, and it is very contagious," said William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist...

Gonzales’ Study Shows Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Increased Care Access

Jul. 20, 2018—Vanderbilt researchers have documented evidence that legalizing same-sex marriage has improved access to health care for gay men in a study released as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper this week. This is one of the first studies to examine the effect legal marriage has on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and...

Patrick Comments on Prescribed Opioid Usage in Children Study

Jul. 19, 2018—More than one in three Americans are prescribed opioids, National Survey on Drug Use and Health data shows. A new study indicates that the trend extended to children, who legally use the drug at as young as 2 years old, to treat pain following minor dental procedures or outpatient surgeries. One in 10 children enrolled in...

MPH Alumna Wilson Receives Award to Bolster Bipolar Disorders Research

Jul. 19, 2018—Two Vanderbilt University researchers have been awarded Blake A. Jenkins Discovery Awards in support of basic and/or translational research into bipolar disorder and related conditions with an emphasis on early detection, intervention and utilizing brain imaging. The $50,000 grants, awarded to Jo Ellen Wilson, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Brandee...

Gonzales: Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage Not Associated with Improved Health

Jul. 18, 2018—While the legalization of same-sex marriage improved gay men's chances of having both health insurance and access to health care, it didn't translate into better health, a new study suggests. "We found that lesbian, gay or bisexual adults were more likely to get married after having access to legal same-sex marriage," said study co-author Gilbert...

Humans are an Incidental Host of West Nile says MPH’s Schaffner

Jul. 18, 2018—Transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, West Nile is virtually impossible to track in people: In 80% of cases, the virus causes no symptoms. Symptoms are usually mild in the other 20% and include fever and headache, but in less than 1% of infected people, more serious consequences can occur. West Nile virus is most commonly...

In the Washington Post, Stevenson Weighs in on Inadequate Nursing Home Staffing

Jul. 18, 2018—Most nursing homes had fewer nurses and caretaking staff than they had reported to the government, according to new federal data, bolstering the long-held suspicions of many families that staffing levels were often inadequate. The records for the first time reveal frequent and significant fluctuations in day-to-day staffing, with particularly large shortfalls on weekends. On...

MPH Alumna Hartert’s Team Explores Diabetes Drug’s Ability to Treat RSV Infection

Jul. 13, 2018—A drug used to treat diabetes may point to new therapies for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis — inflammation and obstruction of the lungs’ small airways. A multi-disciplinary team of Vanderbilt investigators has demonstrated that liraglutide reduces the inflammatory response to RSV infection in a mouse model of the disease. The findings were reported in...

Patrick: Study Reveals Opioid Patients Face Multiple Barriers to Treatment

Jul. 13, 2018—While the opioid crisis has escalated across the U.S., there has been growing concern that treatment capacity has not kept pace. In 2016, more than 42,000 Americans died of an opioid-related overdose, more than any year on record. Opioid agonist therapies, like buprenorphine and methadone, have been shown to reduce risk of overdose death, and...

Edwards: HPV Vaccine Requires Different Messaging

Jul. 12, 2018—The American Cancer Society is rolling out a public campaign this summer, pledging to eventually eradicate cancers related to HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, through use of the vaccine for adolescents, as well as screenings for adults who came of age before it became available in 2006. Dr. Kathryn Edwards, professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt...

MPH’s Clayton Discusses Ethical Concerns behind DNA Test Results

Jul. 12, 2018—As the tissue samples and DNA of more and more people are shared with researchers, the question of what information buried in those samples to give back is more pressing than ever. Now, a 335-page report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) urges researchers and regulators to return more biological data...

Shrubsole’s team identifies new gene candidates for breast cancer risk

Jul. 10, 2018—An international coalition led by scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Herston, Australia, has identified 48 candidate susceptibility genes for breast cancer risk, including 14 genes at loci (chromosome regions) not yet reported for breast cancer. Their findings, published June 18 in the journal Nature Genetics, provide new insights into the...

Two MPH Alumnae named 2018-2019 Global Health Corps Fellows

Jul. 9, 2018—Two Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnae have been named 2018-2019 Global Health Corps (GHC) Fellows. Grace Umutesi, M.P.H., and Shellese Shemwell, M.P.H., will both work in Rwanda during the upcoming year. Umutesi will serve as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Officer with Health Development Initiative, and Shemwell has been named Integrated NCD Program Quality Improvement Coordinator with...

Dusetzina: Prescription drug ‘gag clauses’ cause consumers to pay more

Jul. 9, 2018—Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are seeking ways to stop a practice that can keep customers from saving money at the drugstore counter. “Gag clauses” buried in the fine print of pharmacy contracts — and imposed by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) — prevent many pharmacists from telling customers when the cash price for a medicine may...

Stevenson: Nursing Home Staffing is Lower than Previously Reported causing Gaps in Care

Jul. 7, 2018—Most nursing homes had fewer nurses and caretaking staff than they had reported to the government for years, according to new federal data, bolstering the long-held suspicions of many families that staffing levels were often inadequate. The data, analyzed by Kaiser Health News, come from daily payroll records Medicare only recently began gathering and publishing...

IHI National Forum: Buntin discusses Social Determinants of Health

Jul. 3, 2018—Melinda J. Beeuwkes Buntin, Ph.D., Professor and Mike Curb Chair, Department of Health Policy, discusses social determinants of health and innovation and experimentation in times of uncertainty at IHI National Forum. Signal or Noise? Navigating Health Care Policy — Part 1 Signal or Noise? Navigating Health Care Policy — Part 2

Buntin testifies at Senate HELP Committee hearing about health care costs in America

Jul. 2, 2018—Health care cost surges might be shrunk by curbing out-of-network charges and consolidation in hospitals, experts suggested to Congress last week. “Research has consistently shown provider consolidation in the health care industry raises prices,” Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Health Policy Department Chair Melinda Buntin told the Senate Health Committee. Health care cost growth has...

In Science: Aliyu weighs in on Nigeria’s response to the HIV epidemic

Jun. 13, 2018—Mother-to-child transmission is only one part of Nigeria’s HIV epidemic, but that route of transmission epitomizes the country’s faltering response to the crisis. Muktar Aliyu, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., associate director for research in the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, is quoted.

Leveraging Quality Improvement Efforts to Increase HPV Vaccination Rates in TN

May. 31, 2018—Kelsey Minix, a Masters of Public Health (MPH) student funded by the HPV ACTIVE project, conducted an analysis of the relationship between urbanicity and HPV vaccination.

Four MPH faculty awarded grants through VU’s Trans-Institutional Programs initiative

May. 24, 2018—Among the seven interdisciplinary projects awarded grants through Vanderbilt University’s transformational Trans-Institutional Programs initiative in 2018, two are from Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty members and graduates. The grants are meant to seed and expand research and teaching collaborations across disciplines. The awards also support projects and groups that collectively aim to answer big questions and address grand challenges. Vanderbilt...

U.S. Surgeon General Adams addresses the opioid crisis

May. 24, 2018—U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., recently visited Vanderbilt University to speak at the spring Health Policy Grand Rounds.

Diamond partners with TN Dept. of Health to launch first youth sports safety rating system in US

May. 24, 2018—MPH alumnus Alex Diamond, D.O., M.P.H., professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and Pediatrics and director of the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, collaborated with the Tennessee Department of Health to launch a new rating system that allows parents to check if youth sports leagues in Tennessee...

Williams’ study finds sharp rise in suicide risk for children

May. 21, 2018—The number of school-age children and adolescents hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or attempts has more than doubled since 2008, according to a new Vanderbilt-led study published in Pediatrics. MPH graduate Derek Williams, M.D.,M.P.H., assistant professor of Pediatrics, is among the authors on the study.

MPH faculty find early discharge of NAS infants prolongs treatment

May. 21, 2018—Infants who are diagnosed with drug withdrawal after birth who are treated with medication as outpatients at home are treated three times longer than infants treated solely as inpatients, according to a new Vanderbilt study. The findings were published in The Journal of Pediatrics with senior author Stephen Patrick, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child...

McKernan uses novel approach in treatment of interstitial cystitis

May. 21, 2018—MPH student Lindsey McKernan, Ph.D., assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, uses novel four-pronged approach — medical management, stress management, nutrition and physical therapy — in treatment of interstitial cystitis (IC).

NYT: MPH’s Patrick and the Children of the Opioid Epidemic

May. 11, 2018—In the midst of a national crisis, mothers addicted to drugs struggle to get off them — for their babies’ sake, and their own. The standard of care for a pregnant women addicted to opioids is medication-assisted treatment: a long-acting opioid substitute — traditionally methadone — that binds to the body’s opioid receptors to prevent...

MPH alumni Harris and Talbot: Records point to drug-drug interaction

May. 11, 2018—Daptomycin is an antibiotic used to treat serious bacterial infections. Statins are drugs prescribed on a long-term basis to prevent or reduce cardiovascular disease by lowering LDL-cholesterol. In a retrospective study, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that VUMC patients who continued taking a statin while taking daptomycin had 2.6 times greater risk of...

MPH’s Gillaspie: New robot expands options for thoracic surgery patients

Apr. 26, 2018—The thoracic surgery team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently added a new tool to its collection of minimally invasive techniques to provide patients the most advanced robotic-assisted surgical procedures. “The new robot is an expansion of our minimally invasive surgery program,” said Erin Gillaspie, MD, assistant professor of Thoracic Surgery at Vanderbilt and director...

MPH alumnus Diamond’s Safe Stars youth sports kickoff set for May 2

Apr. 26, 2018—Representatives from Vanderbilt Sports Medicine and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt will take part in the kickoff event for Safe Stars, a new rating system that allows parents to check if youth sports leagues in Tennessee follow state-recommended safety protocols. Safe Stars is the nation’s first statewide rating system for all types of...

Public Health at Vanderbilt: Speakers discuss use of evidence in state health policymaking

Apr. 20, 2018—“State Health Policy: Does Evidence Really Make a Difference” was the title of the spring Research into Policy and Practice Lecture, April 11 in Light Hall. The semi-annual lecture is sponsored by the Department of Health Policy. Speakers included Christopher Koller, president of the Millbank Memorial Fund and former health insurance commissioner for the state...

MPH’s Schaffner: New CDC recommended shingles vaccine schedule

Apr. 17, 2018—Federal officials have recommended a new vaccine that is more effective than an earlier version at protecting older adults against the painful rash called shingles. But persuading many adults to get this and other recommended vaccines continues to be an uphill battle, physicians and vaccine experts say. Vaccine coverage under the Medicare program for people...

MPH’s Schaffner comments on the influenza B strains causing a second wave of flu

Apr. 12, 2018—The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) weekly influenza report for the week ending Mar. 24 showed an overall decrease in cases of the flu around the U.S. Good news, but it comes with a catch: Though the number of folks with flu is decreasing in general, reports of influenza B viruses have overtaken reports of...

MPH’s Graves: ACA marketplaces functioning in their role as public safety nets

Apr. 12, 2018—The Trump administration released a report on Tuesday saying that 11.8 million Americans enrolled in health coverage for 2018 through the law’s insurance marketplaces, down just a tick from the 12.2 million sign-ups in 2017. “At this point, the marketplaces are really functioning more broadly in their role as an extension of the public safety...

MPH alumna’s study reveals safety signal from genes that mimic drugs

Apr. 12, 2018—Prospective mothers taking a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs might incur higher risk of spina bifida in their future children, according to a study published in the journal Drug Safety by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The first two drugs in the new class, alirocumab and evolocumab, were approved by the Food and Drug...

MPH’s Clayton discusses home genetic test errors and the ethics behind it

Apr. 4, 2018—23andMe, the only direct-to-consumer genetic test authorized by the FDA to offer reports on genetic risk, claims to have more than 2 million customers. Only a fraction of these customers upload their genetic report to Promethease, whose founders said in a past interview that the site generated up to 500 reports a day. And there is...

MPH’s Heerman: Adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery still at risk

Mar. 21, 2018—Weight-loss surgery may help severely obese teens with type 2 diabetes far more than medication and lifestyle changes alone, new research suggests. A small analysis found that bariatric surgery did a "far better" job than drug and lifestyle management in achieving significant weight loss and reversing diabetes, said study lead author Dr. Thomas Inge. All...

Umeukeje explores barriers to kidney disease screening

Mar. 15, 2018—Ebele Umeukeje, M.D., M.P.H., (MPH Class of 2015) assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension is the first author on a study highlighting potential barriers that may prevent black Americans from being screened for kidney disease. The findings, published March 15 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, may help...

Schaffner: Flu shot doesn’t cause influenza epidemic

Mar. 1, 2018—You can’t get the flu from a flu shot. And public health officials aren’t blaming the vaccine for causing this season’s nasty epidemic. “The vaccine itself contains only purified parts of the virus; there is no live virus in the injectable vaccine, so it is impossible for the vaccine to cause the disease,” said Vanderbilt...

NPR: Schaffner talks about why the flu season has been severe this year and Tamiflu

Feb. 27, 2018—NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro poses listener questions about the flu to Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, and takes a closer look at Tamiflu.

Recent graduate’s global health practicum project with CDC published in NEJM

Feb. 19, 2018—2017 graduate Grace Umutesi, M.P.H., is an author on this NEJM article (N Engl J Med. 2018 Feb 14. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1710430), based on her practicum with the CDC's Global Immunization Division. Grace's practicum activities in Summer 2016 included: Providing on-site support for the mass vaccination campaign targeting 10 million people in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo...

Poulose collaborative provides data to improve hernia surgeries

Feb. 15, 2018—In 2013, MPH graduate Benjamin Poulose, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Vanderbilt Hernia Center and associate professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, formed the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative (AHSQC) to better track the outcomes of these surgeries, standardize the best practices and improve patient care. Today, the AHSQC has been approved as a Centers for...

MPH researchers find opioid use increases risk of serious infections

Feb. 15, 2018—Vanderbilt MPH Program graduates' and faculty members' research finds that opioid users have a significantly increased risk of infections severe enough to require treatment at the hospital, such as pneumonia and meningitis, as compared to people who don’t use opioids. Authors on the study, released on February 11, 2018 in the Annals of Internal Medicine include Carlos Grijalva,...

Pettit study finds AIDS-defining events increase mortality risk

Feb. 9, 2018—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes 27 ADEs, from pneumonia to tuberculosis to cervical cancer to wasting syndrome. When a death is attributed to AIDS, usually one or more recognized ADEs is involved. The availability of effective antiretroviral drug therapy has rendered HIV/AIDS a chronic disease in much of the world, no longer...

New Partnership enhances eye care for Ebola survivors in Liberia

Feb. 9, 2018—Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM), the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) and the Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) have joined forces with partners in Liberia to strengthen medical education and increase access to ophthalmology care in the aftermath of the 2014-2015 West African Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people. Program principal investigators...

Robinson and CDC colleagues release Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents

Feb. 7, 2018—The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved the Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger — United States, 2018. MPH Vanderbilt's alumna Candice Robinson, M.D., M.P.H., Communications and Education Branch (CEB), Immunization Services Division (ISD), National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) is the corresponding author.

MPH’s Buntin’s Study Evaluates Community-Based Health Efforts

Feb. 5, 2018—A new study from researchers at Vanderbilt and Harvard universities, published this week in the journal Health Affairs, uses federal health survey data to evaluate community-based efforts to address smoking, obesity and other health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Examining health trends at the community level from 2007 to 2012, the researchers...

MPH’s Schaffner explains adenoviruses to CNN

Feb. 1, 2018—A runny nose, cough, sore throat, breathing problems, fever, headache, diarrhea: If you came down with these symptoms in the middle of winter, you'd probably assume it's the flu and take to your bed immediately. Think again. Another family of viruses, known as adenoviruses, often mimic the common seasonal sickness. Though they are similar, there...

NPR: MPH’s Schaffner stresses that it’s not too late for a flu shot

Jan. 24, 2018—This year's flu shot has a 30 percent effectiveness, and you’re supposed to get it in the fall, but it’s still a good idea to get it even now if you haven't yet. That’s the consensus of experts who discussed the deadly epidemic — at its highest levels in years — on the NPR show On Point Tuesday....

MPH’s Schaffner Comments on the Estimated $9 billion Flu Price Tag

Jan. 23, 2018—With a nasty flu season underway across the country, businesses can expect to see billions of dollars in lost productivity, according to global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "We're predicting about 11 million Americans will fall ill over the flu season and that's going to cost employers over $9 billion in wages being paid...

MPH’s Fill: Legionellosis Outbreak Associated with a Hotel Aquatics Facility

Jan. 22, 2018—On June 26, 2017, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) was notified by CDC of two travel-associated cases of legionellosis. The patients resided in Florida and the United Kingdom but had a common hotel exposure in Memphis, Tennessee. On June 27, the Shelby County Health Department identified a third case in a Shelby County resident...

MPH’s Schaffner: This Year’s Flu Severity and the Strain on Hospitals

Jan. 18, 2018—Just weeks into the new year, health officials are grappling with a flu season so severe that there have already been regional shortages of antiviral medication and emergency room wait times have skyrocketed. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said one potential reason the flu season has been intense...

Heerman looks at ideal dose of behavioral interventions for childhood obesity

Jan. 5, 2018—Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnus and faculty member William Heerman, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues reviewed existing behavioral trials targeting childhood obesity to quantify the relationship between dose and weight-related outcome.

MPH alumna seeks to help people interact with their medical records

Jan. 4, 2018—MPH alumna Yaa Kumah-Crystal, MD, MPH, MA, MS, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and Pediatrics, is leading a team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) to create voice-controlled virtual assistant software to help people interact with electronic health records (EHR).

MPH grad named Division Chief for Hospital Medicine

Jan. 4, 2018—Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Derek Williams, M.D., M.P.H., has been named Division Chief of Hospital Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics.

Grant aims to increase participation of under-represented individuals in public health research

Dec. 21, 2017—The grant entitled “Use of Multimodal Strategies for Community-Engaged Dissemination of Research Needs, Priorities, and Recommendations of the Community” will allow researchers to engage the community and improve transparency in the research process through the dissemination of research findings back to communities. “Specifically, we will disseminate research findings from 11 community listening sessions conducted in Nashville...

Gonzales: gender identity plays key role in access to care

Dec. 15, 2017—A new study from MPH faculty member Gilbert Gonzales, Ph.D., M.H.A., examines barriers to healthcare through the lens of gender identity and finds that transgender men and women tend to fare poorly.

Presley honored for research achievement at 2018 Diabetes Day

Dec. 15, 2017—Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Caroline Presley, M.D., M.P.H., was recently honored for her research achievement at 2018 Diabetes Day, Diabetes Day was sponsored by the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center and the Vanderbilt Center for Diabetes Translation Research and supported by the National Institutes of Health.

MPH alumni study seeks to aid diagnosis, management of catatonia

Dec. 11, 2017—Catatonia, a syndrome of motor, emotional and behavioral abnormalities frequently characterized by muscular rigidity and a trance-like mental stupor and at times manifesting with great excitement or agitation, can occur during a critical illness and appear similar to delirium. But the management strategies are vastly different. A Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study is the...

NIH grant allows Vanderbilt to train global health researchers

Dec. 11, 2017—The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has received a five-year, $4.66 million renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue a program established in 2012 with Emory, Cornell and Duke universities that is training the next generation of leaders in global health research.

MPH alumni Talbot and Barocas: Protocol reduces antibiotic use prior to cytoscopy

Dec. 11, 2017—A study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) by Justin Gregg, MD, and colleagues demonstrates how a clinical protocol can help reduce unnecessary use of outpatient antibiotics. Urologic surgeons and infectious diseases specialists at VUMC wrote and implemented a protocol for the use of prophylactic antibiotics in patients undergoing cystoscopy, an outpatient procedure urologists use...

MPH’s Creech: Proper treatment of S. aureus necessary with changing epidemiology

Dec. 5, 2017—While skin and soft tissue infections such as MRSA are decreasing around 3% annually, rates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, clindamycin and Bactrim resistance are rising, according to a presentation at the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium. “Staph does this every 10 to 15 years. It likes to hit the scene and fall back a little...

MPH’s Cooper on the importance of listening to patients

Dec. 1, 2017—Patients apparently are more likely to complain about younger doctors. Case in point: ophthalmologists. A new study of more than 1,300 ophthalmologists at Vanderbilt University in Nashville found that as the age of these doctors increased, patient complaints decreased. "In a time where increasing attention is being paid to aging physicians and mandatory screening for...

MPH alumni collaborate on study to reduce unneeded lab tests

Nov. 30, 2017—Diarrhea has many causes, and when there are prolonged or severe symptoms clinicians sometimes consider lab testing to help guide treatment. But sometimes they stray from published guidelines in the direction of overtesting. Patty Wright, MD, associate professor of Medicine, and colleagues with the Vanderbilt Antimicrobial Stewardship Program examined whether adherence to diarrhea testing guidelines...

MPH’s Schaffner: Post-flu risks a growing concern for the elderly

Nov. 30, 2017—Infectious disease experts are warning that flu can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and disability in elderly patients for months after they have recovered from their illness. Evidence has been growing over the last several years about post-flu risks that most people and even some physicians don’t know about, according to...

How A Vanderbilt Doctor Became The Nation’s Go-To Flu Expert

Nov. 29, 2017—When flu season comes around each year, a familiar face from Nashville appears in homes around the country: Dr. William Schaffner. The Vanderbilt doctor has become a media darling when it comes to infectious diseases.

MPH alumnus commended for leadership of Vanderbilt’s Level 1 Trauma Center

Nov. 17, 2017—The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma has recertified the Vanderbilt Trauma Center with its Level 1 ranking. The country’s leading surgical care organization first bestowed its highest stamp of approval on the Trauma Center in 2014, and renewed this designation following a recent site visit. “Maintaining the status of an American College...

Insurance commissioner outlines ACA challenges

Nov. 17, 2017—Since 2014 the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has assisted lower- and moderate-income people who buy insurance on their own on the individual market, providing premium subsidies and discounts on out-of-pocket expenses. Under the law, people who don’t carry compliant insurance face a penalty, the so-called individual mandate. Large employers who don’t offer...

Kathryn Edwards to receive 2018 National Foundation for Infectious Diseases award

Nov. 13, 2017—The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) presents annual awards to outstanding individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to public health through scientific achievement, philanthropy, and/or legislation. 2018 NFID Award Recipients: Roger I. Glass, MD, PhD, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Awards Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement Anne Schuchat,...

JAMA Pediatrics: MPH’s Williams lead author on pediatric pneumonia study

Nov. 10, 2017—A combination of two antibiotics is often prescribed to treat community-acquired pneumonia in children, but a JAMA Pediatrics study is now showing that using just one of the two has the same benefit to patients in most cases. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers reported this week that amoxicillin alone, rather than combined with azithromycin,...

Vanderbilt MPH’s Schaffner: Disparities in influenza outcomes

Nov. 10, 2017—Influenza infections kill between 3,000 and 49,000 people each year in the United States. Understanding risk factors for severe influenza outcomes, such as hospitalization, can help guide vaccination programs and reduce disease burden.Rameela Chandrasekhar, Ph.D., and colleagues evaluated whether neighborhood determinants – represented by census tract data – contribute to the risk of influenza hospitalization....

MPH Student selected for ENACT Fellowship

Oct. 31, 2017—Jennifer Cunningham Erves, PhD, MA.Ed, MS, CHES, was recently selected for the Expanding National Capacity in PCOR through Training (ENACT) Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh for the 2017-18 Academic Year.

MPH’s Schaffner Recommends Booster Dose of Mumps Vaccine in Outbreaks

Oct. 27, 2017—Mumps is bad this year in the U.S. So far, more than 4,600 cases have been reported. So the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend that people at high risk of catching mumps during an outbreak get a booster dose of the vaccine, even if they’ve already been vaccinated twice. “The information...

MPH alumnus Creech leads Vanderbilt’s international effort to develop universal flu vaccine

Oct. 27, 2017—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are leading an international effort to develop a universal influenza vaccine that would protect everyone against all strains of the flu anywhere in the world. The Universal Influenza Vaccine Initiative, which was announced today, will be led by James Crowe Jr., M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, and C....

Forum highlights strong clinical, translational research efforts

Oct. 19, 2017—The 2017 Vanderbilt Translational Research Forum was co-hosted by the Office of Clinical & Translational Scientist Development, Master of Public Health, and Master of Science in Clinical Investigation on October 13, 2017. The event began with the presentation of awards for Distinguished Service to Translational Scientists to Paul Harris, Ph.D., and for Excellence in Mentoring Translational...

In Scientific American, Schaffner comments on increased vaccination rates and school immunization laws

Oct. 18, 2017—Vaccination rates for kindergartners are increasing because of state laws requiring them to have the full series of inoculations before they can enter the classroom. The laws vary, “but overall they say, ‘We have to protect our children.’ It's terrific,” says William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University.

MPH’s Buntin elected to National Academy of Medicine

Oct. 17, 2017—Vanderbilt University’s Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., professor of Health Policy and chair of the department, and Joshua Denny, M.D., M.S., professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine and Vice President for Personalized Medicine, are among 70 new members elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the organization announced this week.

In this week’s MMWR, student Mary-Margaret Fill reports multiple cases of Seoul virus infection

Oct. 12, 2017—Mary-Margaret Fill, M.D., is a student in the Epidemiology track of the Vanderbilt MPH Program and a Medical Epidemiologist at the Tennessee Department of Health. Co-authors for this publication include Vanderbilt MPH Program alumna Annabelle de St. Maurice, M.D., M.P.H., Vanderbilt MPH Program founder and faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., and partners from the Tennessee Department...

MPH faculty receive two NIH grants to fight kidney disease and address ‘epilepsy treatment gap’

Oct. 12, 2017—Researchers in the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) have received two new grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at reducing the risk of kidney disease in HIV-infected adults and improving the treatment of epilepsy in children in Nigeria.

MPH’s alumnus Guillamondegui: Life-saving techniques in an active shooter situation

Oct. 5, 2017—Vanderbilt University Medical Center doctors and nurses treat about two gunshot wounds a day.That includes wounds from small handgun gunshots, all the way up to high-powered rifles like the ones used in the Las Vegas concert shooting. Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui is the trauma medical director at Vanderbilt. As a trauma surgeon, he regularly treats victims...

MPH’s Schaffner comments on fears of a major health crisis in Puerto Rico

Oct. 4, 2017—Experts fear a major health crisis will unfold in Puerto Rico as the island remains without electricity and clean water. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said without clean water or wastewater facilities, residents in Puerto Rico are at risk for waterborne diseases.

MPH’s Graves comments on Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill

Sep. 26, 2017—Senate Republicans, seemingly short on votes for their last-ditch plan to repeal Obamacare, are desperately tweaking the bill in hopes of winning over both their moderate and conservative wings.The result is a plan from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-SC) that would go even further in rolling back Obamacare’s protections for people with...

MPH’s Gonzales: LGBT community faces a variety of serious health problems

Sep. 26, 2017—Experts say stress and lack of healthcare causes more heart disease, high blood pressure, and other ailments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. “There is minority stress,” Gilbert Gonzales, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told Healthline. “And it’s above the everyday stress. There’s also a...

MPH’s Buntin: Latest ACA repeal bill could hit those with pre-existing conditions

Sep. 20, 2017—The latest Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill in the U.S. Senate raises the possibility that Tennesseans with pre-existing diseases could see increased costs or change in coverage. Under the proposal, states could choose to set new regulations on how much can be charged to people with pre-existing conditions who buy insurance on the market, whether insurers can limit benefits over...

Vanderbilt University climbs ‘U.S. News & World Report’ rankings to reach No. 14

Sep. 14, 2017—U.S. News & World Report today named Vanderbilt University as one of the best universities in the country as part of the publication’s annual rankings of top universities. Vanderbilt rose to 14th place this year, its highest ranking to date, after holding at No. 15 the two previous years.

MPH’s Penson named to editorial post of major cancer journal

Sep. 11, 2017—David Penson, M.D., MPH, Paul V. Hamilton, M.D., and Virginia E. Howd Professor of Urologic Oncology and chair of the Department of Urologic Surgery, has been named an associate editor for The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).

Zintellect Database

Sep. 5, 2017—This website provides listings of internships, experiential learning opportunities, academic fellowships and scholarships funded by government and private sector organizations. These programs are administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). The Opportunity Catalog is searchable by academic level, citizenship, city/state, and discipline. Examples of disciplines include:...

New V-STTaR program to be led by MPH alumni Roumie and Talbot

Aug. 31, 2017—Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has established a new career development program for scientists in implementation research. The goal is to speed the uptake and translation of scientific discoveries into routine clinical practice. The program, called Vanderbilt Scholars in T4 Translational Research, or V-STTaR, is supported by a five-year, $3 million grant awarded this month...

MPH’s Heerman to collaborate on $1 million funding award by PCORI

Aug. 31, 2017—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been approved for a $1 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study more efficient and feasible ways to validate electronic health records (EHR) and incorporate this information into medical studies. Co-principal investigator of the study is Pamela Shaw, Ph.D., associate professor of Biostatistics at the...

MPH’s Schaffner: Hurricane Harvey’s Public Health Impact Extends Beyond Flooding

Aug. 29, 2017—Since Hurricane Harvey hit Texas on Friday, 10 people have died and many others have been injured and trapped in their flooded houses. But beyond the immediate dangers posed by the flooding, experts are worried about the broader threats to public health. Vulnerable populations, like the homeless, the elderly and the chronically ill, are especially at...

MPH’s Etherington is the new Chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and Davidson County

Aug. 17, 2017—Carol Etherington, MSN, RN, FAAN was recently elected as Chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and Davidson County. Etherington established one of the first police-based counseling programs in the U.S. to serve victims of violent crime and has worked multiple disasters across the U.S. including earthquakes, hurricanes, school shootings and New York...

MPH’s Nikpay comments on the 340B drug discount program

Aug. 10, 2017—Federal health officials say a controversial program that allows hospitals to purchase drugs at deep discounts needs some fixing.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, worry hospitals are playing fast and loose with what’s known as the 340B program by buying more expensive drugs than they have to, putting the squeeze on Medicare...

Audet receives $3-million NIMH grant to reduce HIV transmission in Mozambique

Aug. 3, 2017—Carolyn Audet, Ph.D., M.Sc., has been awarded a five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to study a novel “couples-centered” intervention to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Mozambique.

MPH’s Schaffner to focus on specific treatment course based on type of infection before recommendation change

Jul. 27, 2017—For the last 75 years, people with a bacterial infection have been told it is essential to finish all of an antibiotic prescription, usually seven to 10 days, to keep from getting sick again. But British researchers are now saying that patients may not need to “complete the course,” that it may actually be contributing...

MPH’s Graves: Hospitals that score better on patient satisfaction scores reduce mortality

Jul. 24, 2017—The relatively recent movements toward transparency and quality in health care have collided to produce dozens of publicly available hospital quality metrics. You might consider studying them in advance of your next hospital visit. But how do you know if the metrics actually mean anything?There is at least a bit of signal within the noise....

Shyr appointed chair of Department of Biostatistics

Jul. 20, 2017—Yu Shyr, Ph.D., Harold L. Moses Professor of Cancer Research and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Quantitative Sciences, has been named chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Biostatistics. He will assume the post Sept. 1. As the new chair, Shyr will spearhead a department recognized internationally for its research and educational programs, with 33 full-time...

MPH faculty member’s projects among TIPS 2017 recipients

Jul. 18, 2017—The 2017 recipients of Vanderbilt University’s Trans-Institutional Programs (TIPs) initiative bring together more than 140 faculty members with graduate and undergraduate students from all 10 schools and colleges, creating multifaceted teams to approach complex challenges. Three Vanderbilt MPH faculty members' projects have been awarded funding. Click here for the full list of 2017 Trans-Institutional Program...

MPH’s alumni Creech, Self, and Williams: New approach for staph-related skin abscesses explored

Jul. 14, 2017—New multicenter research that includes Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators, could change treatment approaches to simple skin abscesses, infections often caused by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that adults and children who have simple abscesses 5 centimeters or smaller in diameter have higher cure...

MPH’s Graves: Uncovering waste in US healthcare: Evidence from ambulance referral patterns

Jul. 11, 2017—Hospitals that spend more on initial care following patient emergencies have better outcomes than hospitals that spend less at first and rely more on additional forms of long-term care, according to a new study co-authored by MIT economists. The paper, "Uncovering waste in US healthcare: Evidence from ambulance referral patterns," appears in the July issue...

MPH’s Graves explains how new health care bill effects insurance shoppers

Jun. 29, 2017—Many Tennesseans shopping for insurance could pay more money under the Senate's health care reform bill, although the underlying factors driving the costs change over the next decade. The Senate bill would allow plans to cover 58 percent of the actuarial value — or the percentage of the plan that is expected to cover of...

MPH’s Schaffer comments on why the shingles vaccine hasn’t caught on

Jun. 29, 2017—People who live to age 85 have a 50-50 chance of developing the excruciating rash known as shingles, yet the vaccine that cuts the risk remains unpopular. In 2015, only about 34 percent of adults 65 and over had ever gotten the shot, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting Wednesday. The...

MPH’s Jones Honored With National Pumphandle Award

Jun. 27, 2017—Tim Jones, MD, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ Pumphandle Award. Jones serves as Tennessee state epidemiologist and assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health Communicable and Environmental Disease and Emergency Preparedness, or CEDEP division. The CSTE Pumphandle Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the field...

MPH alumnus Diamond: Tennessee first state to set up safety ratings for youth sports leagues

Jun. 26, 2017—A new rating system called Safe Stars will soon allow parents to check and see if youth sports leagues in Tennessee follow state-recommended safety protocols.A collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Health and the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) at Vanderbilt, Safe Stars is the nation’s first statewide safety rating system for...

Nikpay: Uninsured emergency department visits down after Medicaid expansion

Jun. 20, 2017—Fewer uninsured patients are walking through the doors of Emergency Departments in states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), even though the total number of visits has increased since 2014, according to an Annals of Emergency Medicine study released Monday. Lead author Sayeh Nikpay, Ph.D., assistant professor of Health Policy at...

MPH’s Schaffner receives UpShot Award in vaccine communication

Jun. 15, 2017—The National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has selected William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), to receive its 2017 NVPO UpShot Award in Vaccine Communication.

Vanderbilt MPH alumna’s study shows cesarean patients are prescribed more narcotic pain medications than needed

Jun. 14, 2017—Most women who undergo a cesarean childbirth are prescribed more opioid (narcotic) pain medications than needed upon release from the hospital, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study shows.The study, published online June 8 in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in print in July, studied 179 cesarean patients from VUMC over an eight-week period to examine...

NYT: MPH’s Graves comments on the individual healthcare market challenge

Jun. 12, 2017—In recent years, millions of middle- and working-class Americans have moved from job to job, some staying with one company for shorter stints or shifting careers midstream.The Affordable Care Act has enabled many of those workers to get transitional coverage that provides a bridge to the next phase of their lives — a stopgap to...

MPH’s Schaffner explains how unsafe delivery of the measles vaccine can kill

Jun. 5, 2017—In a remote village in South Sudan, 15 children died from severe toxicity caused by contaminated measles vaccines, government health investigators said Thursday. The National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee, supported by the World Health Organization, and UNICEF vaccine safety experts examined the cases and those of 32 other children who suffered fever, vomiting and...

In NEJM, Heimburger’s looks at the benefits of NIH’s Fogarty International Center

May. 30, 2017—A new perspective in The New England Journal of Medicine on the benefits of preserving the NIH's Fogarty International Center for Americans and for the world by former Fogarty Scholar Dr. Paul K. Drain, former Fogarty Fellow Dr. Ramnath Subbaraman, and Fogarty grantee Dr. Douglas C. Heimburger.

MPH alumnus Barocas honored by Society of Urologic Oncology

May. 22, 2017—Daniel Barocas, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Urologic Surgery, recently received the Society of Urologic Oncology’s (SUO) Young Investigator Award at the group’s 2017 annual meeting in Boston. The award is “recognition by the Society of excellence in clinical practice and/or basic research that has contributed to improvement of clinical care and progress in science.”

MPH alumna Hartert: RSV-HRV viral interference

May. 22, 2017—Viral interference – the influence of one virus on infection by another virus – is important in understanding respiratory viral circulation and the impact of vaccines. Tina Hartert, M.D., MPH, visiting student Niek Achten, and colleagues, studied viral interference between respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (HRV), the most common viruses associated with acute...

MPH alum Warren: HCV infection among women giving birth in TN from 2009–2014

May. 11, 2017—Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects an estimated 3.5 million persons in the United States, making it the most common bloodborne infection in the country. Recent surveillance data showed increased rates of HCV infection among adolescents and adults who are predominantly white, live in nonurban areas, and have a history of injection drug use. Michael Warren,...

Current MPH student McGinnis is named as an alternate finalists by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program

May. 11, 2017—Katie McGinnis, M.P.H. candidate in the Global Health track, was named an alternate for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2017-18. Katie is one of fifteen Vanderbilt students and alumni to be selected by the Fulbright program. Of this group, nine were offered grants (“finalists” in Fulbright parlance). Six students have been named alternates, an important designation,...

MPH’s Spalluto receives funding for project in equity, diversity and inclusion

May. 11, 2017—Vanderbilt MPH student Lucy Spalluto's project, A Leadership Intervention to Further the Training of Female Faculty (LIFT-OFF), was recently selected to receive seed grant funding from the Vanderbilt Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

MPH alumni Halasa and Patel receive VUMC Excellence in Teaching Awards

May. 5, 2017—Since 2000, the VUMC Academic Enterprise has honored faculty members for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research. Recipients were nominated by their faculty colleagues and chosen by the 2017 VUMC Academic Enterprise Faculty Awards Selection Committees. Recipient of the JOHN S. SERGENT AWARD Teaching Medical or Graduate Students in the Small Group Setting...

MPH alumna Nicolson discovers clue to recurrent C. diff infection

May. 5, 2017—Diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) increasingly afflicts some children and adults. In 20 percent of patients, CDI will recur after therapy. In a study published this month in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Maribeth Nicholson, M.D., MPH, and colleagues report that children who experience recurrent CDI may have higher fecal inflammatory markers including...

MPH’s Cooper finds male infants at increased risk for NAS

May. 5, 2017—Male infants are more likely at birth than their female counterparts to be diagnosed with drug withdrawal symptoms, also known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), and to require treatment, according to a new Vanderbilt study published in Hospital Pediatrics. The retrospective cohort study used vital statistics and prescription, outpatient and inpatient data for mothers and...

MPH student McWade recognized with national award

Apr. 27, 2017—Conor McWade, a fourth-year M.D./MPH student, received the 2017 Excellence in Public Health Award from the United States Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee.

MPH’s Graves examines the effect of Medicaid expansion on ER access

Apr. 21, 2017—Under the Affordable Care Act, beginning in 2014 states were to extend Medicaid eligibility to people earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, but 19 states (including Tennessee) have declined. To examine the effect of Medicaid expansion on emergency department access, John Graves, Ph.D., and colleagues used data from 126 for-profit hospitals....

MPH alumnus Warren: Tennessee’s infant mortality rate is among the worst in the country

Apr. 14, 2017—Sleep-related accidents are a leading cause of death of Tennessee children, and infants are the most vulnerable. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, in 2015, 890 children died before their 18th birthday, and 142 of those children were infants who died in unsafe sleep environments. Dr. Michael Warren, the Tennessee Department of Health’s Deputy...

VU School of Medicine moves to 8th in NIH research funding

Apr. 13, 2017—Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) now ranks No. 8 in the nation among U.S. medical schools in total grant support provided through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The new ranking raises VUSM’s standing two spots from the No. 10 position it held last year. Receiving $340,049,796 in total NIH grant support during calendar year...

NYT: MPH’s Penson discusses major change in prostate cancer screening guidelines

Apr. 12, 2017—Older men should talk to their doctors about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening and make an individual decision that is right for them, an influential national panel of experts has proposed.The panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, continues to recommend that men 70 and older forgo screening altogether. But for...

MPH’s Griffin receives Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center’s 2017 Mary Jane Werthan Award

Apr. 4, 2017—Four women from the Vanderbilt community were recognized for their leadership, mentoring and contributions to the advancement of women during the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center’s annual Cuninggim Lecture and awards ceremony March 23 at the Student Life Center. Marie Griffin, director of the Vanderbilt master of public health program and professor of health policy and medicine, is this year’s winner...

MPH faculty to chair urology association’s science, quality council

Mar. 30, 2017—MPH faculty member David Penson, M.D., MPH, Paul V. Hamilton, M.D., and Virginia E. Howd Professor of Urologic Oncology and chair of the Department of Urologic Surgery, has been selected to chair the American Urological Association (AUA) Science & Quality Council, according to an announcement from the AUA Board of Directors.

JAMA: MPH alumnus Barocas shows active surveillance preserves quality of life for prostate cancer patients

Mar. 21, 2017—Faced with the negative quality-of-life effects from surgery and radiation treatments for prostate cancer, low risk patients may instead want to consider active surveillance with their physician, according to a study released Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The Vanderbilt University Medical Center study led by Daniel Barocas, M.D., MPH, associate...

Vanderbilt’s Drug Dependency Clinic, run by MPH alumna Young, treats pregnant opiate dependent women

Mar. 13, 2017—The epidemic of opioid abuse, which each day claims the lives of 91 Americans and adds billions annually to the nation’s health care bill, can be stopped—but it’s not going to be easy, say those steering the ship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Vanderbilt’s Drug Dependency Clinic, run by Jessica Young, M.D. M.P.H., treats...

In the Tennessean, MPH’s Graves provides analysis of draft legislation for American Health Care Act

Mar. 8, 2017—House GOP legislation aimed at revamping the Affordable Care Act would pave the way to an overhaul of Tennessee’s Medicaid system and shrink the credits meant to offset health insurance costs for many Volunteer State residents. John Graves, assistant professor of health policy, is quoted throughout the article.

MPH’s Schaffner: Avian flu unlikely to spread among people despite positive tests in TN chickens

Mar. 7, 2017—An outbreak of avian flu in Tennessee has health officials on alert as the virus has surged across parts of Asia in recent months.The Tennessee Department of Agriculture confirmed yesterday that approximately 74,000 chickens from a commercial farm in Lincoln County were culled after some of the animals tested positive for a strain of the...

NPR: MPH’s Schaffner discusses rise in nationwide flu cases

Mar. 2, 2017—Flu cases are up nationwide. Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventative medicine in the department of health policy at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, was a guest on the March 1 show of On Point to discuss the steep increase in flu cases this year.

Flu-related doctor visits cut by 48 percent, MPH’s Schaffner comments

Feb. 20, 2017—The current seasonal influenza vaccine has been found to be 48 percent effective in preventing flu-related medical visits, according to a preliminary report in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. "We know that influenza vaccine is a good but not perfect vaccine," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious...

MPH’s Cooper: Patient complaints helps identify surgeons with higher rates of bad surgical outcomes

Feb. 17, 2017—Recording and analyzing patient and family reports about rude and disrespectful behavior can identify surgeons with higher rates of surgical site infections and other avoidable adverse outcomes, according to a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators in collaboration with six other major academic health systems. The study, published online Feb. 15 in...

MPH alumni works to uncovers cellular responses to bird flu vaccine

Feb. 17, 2017—Vanderbilt MPH Program alumna Leigh Howard, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Pediatrics and alumnus Buddy Creech, M.D. collaborated with other members of the team to study a vaccine for bird flu subtype H5N1, which is far more lethal in humans than seasonal flu. Reported in the journal PLOS One, the study exposes cellular responses associated...

MPH’s Buntin weighs in on Chattanooga’s latest health ranking

Feb. 16, 2017—Chattanooga ranked 132nd, behind Nashville and Knoxville in Tennessee, although well ahead of Memphis, which ranked third from the bottom — a dishonor awarded to Detroit.As with any such survey, the results depended on the criteria used for the ranking. The "health care" category, for example, was based on the cost of a medical or...

As Mumps hit a 10-year-high, MMR’s lifelong protection may be false says MPH’s Schaffner

Feb. 13, 2017—Mumps is on the rise in some parts of the U.S., and some public health professionals are wondering whether the current vaccine may be not quite up to the task. Our long-held assumption that the MMR's protection is lifelong may not be entirely true. After 10 to 15 years, effectiveness against the mumps may diminish,...

MPH alumnus receives grant to bolster Trauma program’s research initiatives

Feb. 9, 2017—The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded Mayur Patel, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Surgery, Neurosurgery and Hearing and Speech Sciences, a $3 million, five-year grant to advance his study on cognitive impairment after trauma and critical illness (Grant No. R01 GM120484). Patel’s INSIGHT-ICU Study: Illuminating Neuropsychological...

MPH’s Buntin: Social risk factors influence outcomes, Medicare payment

Feb. 9, 2017—Social risk factors including income, education and ethnic background influence health outcomes and should be taken into account in Medicare payment models, according to a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspective” published today titled “Social Risk Factors and Equity in Medicare Payment.” Co-authored by Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., chair of Health Policy in the Vanderbilt University...

MPH student David Isaacs leads effort to better serve patients with Tourette syndrome

Feb. 9, 2017—Heather Riordan, M.D., and David Isaacs, M.D., are working to establish a multidisciplinary medical home at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) for children and adults with Tourette syndrome.

MPH alumna Robinson: New 2017 Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents

Feb. 9, 2017—In October 2016, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved the Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger—United States, 2017. Changes in the 2017 immunization schedules for children and adolescents aged 18 years or younger include new or revised ACIP recommendations for influenza; human papillomavirus; hepatitis B; Haemophilus influenzae...

MPH graduate Patel serves as a VUMC site investigator for US DOD award

Feb. 9, 2017—MPH graduate Mayur Patel is one of the VUMC site investigators for the US DOD award to create a nationwide network of trauma systems and centers capable of conducting detailed research to improve military care. In its initial project, the LITES Network is expected to provide epidemiological data on moderate and severe injuries in the...

MPH’s Grijalva selected as 2017 Chancellor Faculty Fellow

Feb. 6, 2017—Twelve outstanding faculty members from across the university have been named to the 2017 class of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. The class comprises highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from the social sciences, life and physical sciences, clinical sciences and humanities, as well as law, mathematics and engineering. The 2017 Chancellor Faculty Fellows are as follows: Julia...

NEJM: MPH’s Graves’ finds smaller insurers earning profits in new market

Feb. 2, 2017—“Success and Failure in the Insurance Exchanges,” a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspectives” article released this week, examines whether the financial struggles of some major insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reflect a policy failure that should be addressed via repeal or reform, or a mismatch of these firms’ capabilities and strategies to...

MPH’s Nikpay looks to the past to suggest how future Medicaid reforms may work

Feb. 2, 2017—The United States’ early experience with federally financed health care during the 1950s and early ‘60s can provide insight into the possible outcome of proposed Medicaid reforms, write Andrew Goodman-Bacon, assistant professor of economics at Vanderbilt University, and Sayeh Nikpay, assistant professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

NYT: Guidelines part of failed response to Zika says Schaffner

Jan. 18, 2017—Almost a year ago, the World Health Organization declared the Zika epidemic a global health emergency, calling for an epic campaign against a virus that few had ever heard of. As it spread to almost every country in the Western Hemisphere, scientists and health officials at every level of government swung into action, trying to...

MPH alumnus to head University of Chicago Medicine’s adult trauma center amid gun violence crisis

Jan. 13, 2017—Dr. Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., a top surgeon and public health expert with 16 years of trauma care experience, will lead the University of Chicago Medicine's development of the South Side's only Level 1 adult trauma center, scheduled to open in 2018. As chief of the Section for Trauma & Acute Care Surgery and founding...

MPH’s Schaffner offers advice for flying with a cold

Jan. 6, 2017—The sniffles, the sneezing, the cough you try to muffle, the dirty looks from fellow passengers: The last think you want to do is board a plane with a cold. If you can't postpone your trip and your symptoms are under control, know that flying with a cold can hurt. "If you have allergies or...

International Women’s Health Coalition

Jan. 4, 2017—The International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) recognizes that women’s and girls’ human rights, health and equality are essential to social, environmental, and economic justice for all. IWHC advances the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and young people, particularly adolescent girls, in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. IWHC furthers this...

MPH’s Graves: ACA insurance expansion tied to faster emergency care

Jan. 3, 2017—Some low-income U.S. patients may have an easier time choosing a hospital for emergency care thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new study suggests. The study only looked at for-profit hospitals. Previous research suggests that poor and uninsured patients sometimes travel longer distances in an emergency to avoid for-profit hospitals...

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s International Exchange Program for Minority Students

Dec. 20, 2016—The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s International Exchange Program for Minority Students emphasizes collaboration, cultural and scientific exchange, diversity, and a passion for medical sciences. To be eligible, you should qualify as an underserved minority and be a current bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree student, or have graduated no earlier than 24 months prior...

MPH’s Gonzales awarded RWJF grant to study health and economic effects of LGBT-related laws

Dec. 20, 2016—Gilbert Gonzales, Ph.D., is co-investigator on a research team funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to study the health impacts of recent laws and public policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, as well as on local economic and business outcomes.

MPH’s Shrubsole and Smalley link lifestyle factors to formation of high-risk polyps

Dec. 12, 2016—Lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking and red meat consumption are known to be associated with an increased risk of colon polyps that can lead to colorectal cancer. Polyps are small growths on the lining of the colon, and while some polyps are harmless others can progress to cancer. Martha Shrubsole, Ph.D., research associate professor of...

MPH’s Creech: Mumps outbreak trigger and how to protect yourself

Dec. 12, 2016—Mumps is spreading across the nation at a rate not seen in a decade. Vanderbilt University Medical Center Vaccine Research Program Associate Director Dr. Buddy Creech explains what triggered the outbreak and how to protect yourself from the infectious disease.

MPH alums Williams and Creech test shorter antibiotic course in children

Dec. 7, 2016—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are leading a multicenter clinical trial to evaluate whether a shorter course of antibiotics — five days instead of 10 — is effective at treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children who show improvement after the first few days of taking antibiotics. Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH, associate professor of...

James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program

Nov. 29, 2016—The Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded, nine-week summer program providing educational and professional development opportunities for fellows interested in infectious diseases research and health disparities. Students currently enrolled full-time in a medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, or public health graduate program are eligible to apply. The...

MPH faculty member, Yu Shyr, elected as AAAS fellow

Nov. 28, 2016—Nine Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this year. Yu Shyr, Ph.D., Harold L. Moses Professor of Cancer Research, and professor of biostatistics, biomedical informatics, cancer biology and health policy, for distinguished contributions in integrative methods development for biostatistics and bioinformatics and high impact applications of...

MPH’s Schaffner: Universities on alert as mumps cases surge in US

Nov. 22, 2016—Mumps outbreaks across the U.S. have sickened nearly 3,000 people, close to three times as many as in 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the University of Missouri, for example, a current outbreak has so far led to 31 confirmed cases of the disease and 27 other suspected cases....

Cancer Epidemiology Education in Special Populations (CEESP) Program

Nov. 21, 2016—The Cancer Epidemiology Education in Special Populations (CEESP) Program is a funded training and educational program to prepare master students in public health in the field of cancer epidemiology research in special populations (international and minority settings). The CEESP Program provides funding for MPH and PhD students to travel and conduct summer research in U.S. minority or...

Hub Accra

Nov. 21, 2016—Hub Accra is a globally integrated entrepreneurial community that promotes high-impact development in West Africa in a responsible, sustainable, and equitable way. The organization’s mission is to support inclusive growth in Ghana through the creation of a resilient and dynamic social innovation ecosystem by developing programs, providing workspace, access to capital and connecting entrepreneurs focused on creating...

MPH’s Gonzales weighs in on domestic partner health care options

Nov. 14, 2016—Unmarried couples looking for domestic partner health care benefits may encounter some unwelcome changes this open-enrollment season. After the June 2015 landmark Supreme Court decision that declared bans against same-sex marriage unconstitutional, many Fortune 500 companies started to rethink their health care coverage for unmarried partners. Now that same-sex partners can get married, the thinking...

Vanderbilt MPH Program celebrates 20th anniversary

Nov. 10, 2016—The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health (MPH) Program marked its 20th anniversary during Reunion Weekend in October 2016.

In MMWR, MPH graduate reports on the first confirmed cases of Rift Valley Fever in Uganda since 1968

Nov. 3, 2016—Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Annabelle de St. Maurice, M.D., M.P.H., reports on the first confirmed cases of Rift Valley fever in Uganda since 1968 in the November 4, 2016 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). De St. Maurice is an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MPH’s Moon awarded NIH grant to strengthen research capacity in Ebola-affected countries

Oct. 27, 2016—Troy Moon, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases and VIGH, has been awarded a research training grant from the NIH to evaluate and build a research capacity program in implementation science and clinical trial management to address Ebola, Lassa fever and other viral hemorrhagic fevers in Sierra Leone. This...

MPH faculty member lands humanitarian award from national anesthesiology group

Oct. 27, 2016—Mark Newton, M.D., professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and director of the Vanderbilt International Anesthesia program, has been awarded the 2016 Nicholas M. Greene, M.D., Outstanding Humanitarian Contribution Award by the Global Humanitarian Outreach (GHO) Committee of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the primary specialty society for anesthesiology.

Schaffner: New HPV vaccine schedule eases burden for parents

Oct. 26, 2016—The CDC has adopted a recommendation that preteens get two shots instead of three and space them further apart of the cervical cancer vaccine. Health officials hope that will boost the number of girls and boys who get vaccinated. The vaccine protects against human papillomavirus – or HPV – which can cause cervical cancer, certain...

MPH’s Warren honored with THA 2016 President’s Award

Oct. 26, 2016—Michael Warren, M.D., who serves as deputy commissioner for population health at the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), has received the Tennessee Hospital Association’s (THA) President’s Award in recognition of his leadership in several OB and newborn health initiatives in collaboration with the Association’s Tennessee Center for Patient Safety (TCPS).

Forum celebrates VUMC translational research expertise

Oct. 20, 2016—Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s vibrant culture of clinical and translational research was celebrated at the 2016 Vanderbilt Translational Research Forum, sponsored by the Elliot Newman Society, Translational Bridge, the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program and the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) Program.

NPR: Schaffner on why parents don’t get their children vaccinated for the flu

Oct. 10, 2016—William Schaffner, M.D., joined Morning Edition host Renee Montagne to discuss why parents don't get their children vaccinated for the flu.

Dittus named to AHRQ’s National Advisory Council

Oct. 7, 2016—Robert Dittus, M.D., MPH, Executive Vice President, Public Health and Health Care for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has been named to the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

MPH’s Schaffner: Amish community measles outbreak case study for comprehensive vaccination

Oct. 7, 2016—With measles remaining endemic in most of the world and global travel a part of everyday life, unvaccinated communities in the U.S. remain at risk from the highly infectious and sometimes deadly illness, a recent analysis suggested. The report, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, focused on the 2014 measles outbreak affecting Amish...

MPH graduate to lead NIH initiative at VU to study ECHO

Oct. 6, 2016—The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced it will provide $157 million in awards to launch a multi-center, seven-year initiative that will investigate how exposure to environmental factors in early development — from conception through early childhood — influences the health of children and adolescents. Vanderbilt is among a consortium of study centers involved...

MPH faculty report on recent measles outbreak in Memphis area

Oct. 6, 2016—On April 15, 2016, local public health officials in Shelby County, Tennessee, were notified of a positive measles immunoglobulin M (IgM) test for a male aged 18 months (patient A). On April 18, 2016, a second positive measles IgM test was reported for a man aged 50 years (patient B). Both patients had rash onset...

MPH alumnus Vasilevskis co-principal investigator on $2.9 million federal ‘Shed-Meds’ grant

Sep. 29, 2016—A clinical trial of the intervention, known as “Shed-Meds,” will be conducted at VUMC and 14 area skilled nursing facilities, with plans calling for enrolling approximately 1,300 participants over five years. MPH alumnus Eduard Vasilevskis, M.D.,assistant professor of Medicine is a co-principal investigator on the grant.

Schaffner: Probability of developing a side effect to the 2016 flu shot is low

Sep. 28, 2016—An influenza vaccine is considered the best way to reduce your chances of getting the bug, and the Centers for Disease Control recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older receive one every year. During the upcoming months, it's projected that between 157 million and 168 million doses of the injectable flu vaccine will...

New prostate cancer therapy investigated at VUMC co-led by MPH’s Penson

Sep. 26, 2016—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the world’s first site to treat a patient in the TULSA-PRO Ablation Clinical Trial (TACT), which employs an emerging therapy that uses MRI guidance and robotically driven therapeutic ultrasound to obtain precise prostate cancer tissue ablation. Investigators, David Penson, M.D., MPH, professor and chair of Urologic Surgery, and Sandeep Arora,...

MPH’s Cooper leads sickle cell patient prescribed medication effort for Vanderbilt

Sep. 26, 2016—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is part of a 6-year, $4.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to improve the use of prescribed medication by sickle cell patients. Funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (Grant No. 1U01HL133996-01), the new Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Program includes researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research...

MPH’s Cherry: Fogarty training helps build mHealth research capacity

Sep. 26, 2016—MPH alumna Charlotte Buehler Cherry MS, MPH, was selected to participate in a training event at the NIH to learn more about best practices of mobile technologies to improve health in LMICs. The training event was hosted by Fogarty to encourage collaborative efforts in mHealth research activities

In NEJM, Griffin and Neuzil: Prevention of shingles should be a public health priority

Sep. 16, 2016—In the United States each year, herpes zoster, or shingles, develops in half a million people 60 years of age or older. MPH Program Director, Marie Griffin, M.D., M.P.H., and Vanderbilt MPH alumna Kathleen M. Neuzil, M.D., M.P.H., write that the prevention of herpes zoster, or shingles, and its complications in older persons should be...

Schaffner joins U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on NPR to discuss the impact of the Zika virus and prospects for a vaccine

Sep. 1, 2016—William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine, appeared on the national NPR broadcast "On Point." Host John Harwood interviewed Schaffner and other guests about the impact of the Zika virus, the prospects for a vaccine.

Gonzales receives first Chancellor’s Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Aug. 30, 2016—Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos presented seven faculty research awards, including two new awards for efforts that advance understanding of diversity, at the Fall Faculty Assembly on Aug. 25. The newly established Chancellor’s Research Awards for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion went to Gilbert Gonzalez, assistant professor of health policy, for his research documenting that LGBT couples...

Social Support Foundation – Ghana

Aug. 29, 2016—The Social Support Foundation (SSF) is an International non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the situation of marginalized Ghanaians. The Social Support Foundation’s mission is to contribute to the growth and development of deprived communities and to work toward achieving healthy living conditions for disadvantaged persons. The SSF serves as a multi-sector community support group, formed with...

Schaffner makes the case for quality measures for vaccines

Aug. 25, 2016—William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy, and Michael Hodin, CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging, write that the United States has made incredible strides on childhood vaccinations over the past century—immunization rates for most vaccine-preventable diseases among children are well over 90 percent—but we’re far behind when it comes to adults.

Tennessee Medicaid expansion discussed by lawmakers and MPH’s Buntin

Aug. 18, 2016—A group of lawmakers and health care officials working on a health care expansion plan gathered in Nashville once again on Wednesday, this time to further delve into the details of a proposal that will need approval from the federal and state government.During a meeting at Vanderbilt University, four lawmakers serving on the 3-Star Healthy Task Force met with TennCare chief Dr....

MPH’s Diamond: Late afternoon, early evening best time of day to break Olympic records

Aug. 11, 2016—Multiple studies have found that circadian rhythm—a kind of biological clock that governs mood, appetite and sleepiness—can affect athletic performance. As a result, at certain points of the day, athletes will biologically be at their peak for competition. Alex Diamond, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said there is...

Schaffner: NIH clinical trial of Zika vaccine could prevent future outbreaks globally

Aug. 9, 2016—As health officials work to contain the country's first Zika outbreak, centered in a Miami neighborhood, scientists at the National Institutes of Health announced the launch Wednesday of a clinical trial of an experimental Zika vaccine. Even if the Zika vaccine isn't ready in time to prevent many infections in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the virus,...

MPH’s Schaffner optimistic about Zika Vaccine as First Local Outbreak Hits Florida

Aug. 3, 2016—Researchers are one step closer to creating an approved Zika vaccine, with the first round of safety trials already underway. Drug companies have shown success in preclinical trials, in which they have induced immunity in mice and monkeys, indicating a greater likelihood that the vaccine could prevent infection in humans. “In the last couple decades...

MPH graduate Vasilevskis receives Faculty Fellowship to Advance Medical Education

Jul. 28, 2016—Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Ed Vasilevskis, M.D., M.P.H.,assistant professor of Medicine, is a recipient of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine's inaugural Faculty Fellowship to Advance Medical Education (FAME). He will work with Tyson Heller, M.D., assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, Section of Hospital Medicine and Public Health, to develop a rotation focusing on bedside procedures for medical students, residents...

As part of NIH-StoryCorps partnership, Raffanti discusses his work with HIV/AIDS patients

Jul. 28, 2016—A new collaboration between StoryCorps, the NIH, and Vanderbilt is a first-of-its-kind partnership for an academic medical center, recognizing persons who enable health care work while capturing and preserving the stories of those connected with the extensive and diverse NIH community. Stephen Raffanti, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Medicine, and Beverly Byram, M.D.N., A.D.N., assistant in...

MPH grad Creech one of six selected to share his story for NIH-StoryCorps collaboration

Jul. 28, 2016—A new collaboration between StoryCorps, the NIH and Vanderbilt is a first-of-its-kind partnership for an academic medical center, recognizing persons who enable health care work while capturing and preserving the stories of those connected with the extensive and diverse NIH community. Buddy Creech, M.D.,M.P.H., associate professor of Pediatrics, and patient Cole Christopher. Cole was born...

Schaffner: New Zika modeling provides evidence about who is most at risk

Jul. 26, 2016—Just weeks before the Olympics are slated to start in the nation at the center of the Zika virus outbreak, researchers have found new evidence about who is likely to contract the disease. Of the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to visit Brazil for the Olympics, researchers found that just three to 37 attendees...

MPH’s Hartert to lead Project 1 Team to study RSV’s role in asthma formation

Jul. 22, 2016—Investigators in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine recently received a $4.5 million Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center (AADCRC) grant from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The award will be used for research at Vanderbilt and Emory University to investigate how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is...

MPH’s Young featured in Next Nashville Storytellers Series

Jul. 21, 2016—The next Nashville Storytellers event, “Through hell and back," will focus on our storytellers’ personal anecdotes about addiction and recovery. This live storytelling night, to be held Aug. 15 at Blair School of Music, will blend the authentic discipline of storytelling with the truthful, community-building power at the heart of great journalism. Our featured storytellers will include: Trina Frierson,...

Washington Post: MPH’s Schaffner agrees prisons around the world are reservoirs of infectious disease

Jul. 21, 2016—Prisoners around the world and people who were formerly incarcerated have a higher burden of HIV and other infectious diseases than the general population, worsening the spread of diseases inside and outside of prison, according to new research. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy, who was not involved in the study, is...

MPH’s Buntin: Uninsured Tennesseans struggle after state doesn’t expand Medicaid coverage

Jul. 13, 2016—Kentucky and Tennessee are similar in many ways: geography, demographics, income. But in 2013, the governor of Kentucky embraced the Affordable Care Act, expanding Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of low-income families. Tennessee did not. As one of many results, uninsured Tennesseans have a particularly hard time getting treatment for mental health and substance...

MPH’s Schaffner: Zika Virus study at Rio Olympics will address basic scientific questions

Jul. 7, 2016—In an upcoming study announced on Tuesday, the U.S. Olympic Committee, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, is hoping to volunteer its own staffers and U.S. Olympic athletes for a study that will help researchers answer some basic questions about the Zika virus.The participants themselves, however, present a limiting factor for the study, because they will provide...

JAMA: Gonzales Finds Higher Rates of Severe Psychological Distress and Impaired Physical Health among LGBT Populations

Jun. 28, 2016—In one of the largest, most representative health surveys conducted to date, lesbian, gay and bisexual adults reported substantially higher rates of severe psychological distress, heavy drinking and smoking, and impaired physical health than did heterosexuals. This study adds to the previous research on LGBT health disparities and has important implications for policy and practice,”...

Schaffner: Flu vaccine supply may be disrupted with new panel ruling

Jun. 27, 2016—On Wednesday, a federal advisory committee on immunization voted to retract its endorsement of the vaccine after preliminary CDC study results presented to the committee showed it provided no protection from the flu strain that made most people sick last year. With many doctors, hospitals and flu clinics placing their orders for flu vaccine early...

Buntin: State drug monitoring programs can prevent one opioid-related overdose death every two hours

Jun. 24, 2016—The implementation of state prescription drug monitoring programs was associated with the prevention of approximately one opioid-related overdose death every two hours on average nationwide, according to a new Vanderbilt-led study released this week in the journal Health Affairs.Senior author, Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt, said...

Update from the field: Integrated approach to health touches all aspects of daily life in Lwala, Kenya

Jun. 22, 2016—Frist Global Health Leader and Vanderbilt MPH student, Christopher Wahlfeld, explores how an integrated approach to community health touches all aspects of daily life for the Hope Through Healing Hands blog.

MPH’s Schaffner: Too early to change guidelines based on new preliminary Zika study

Jun. 16, 2016—Zika virus infection during the third trimester of pregnancy may pose only minor risk for brain abnormalities in infants, according to a preliminary study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said the early findings seemed promising but that it was...

JAMA: MPH’s Ray lead author on VUMC study pointing to other death risks from opioids

Jun. 15, 2016—Deaths from prescribed opioids may be higher than previously known, according to a study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center with lead author Wayne Ray, that found that users had an increased risk of cardiovascular death. Long-lasting opioids, often used to treat chronic pain such as back pain, led to a 64 percent increase in the risk...

MPH’s Kripalani, Zhu and Self: Uninsured heart attack patients more likely to be transferred to another facility

Jun. 13, 2016—Patients who present to an emergency department with a type of heart attack known as a STEMI and do not have insurance are much more likely to be transferred from one medical facility to another than patients who do have insurance, according to a study published in The American Journal of Cardiology. Contributors to this...

MPH’s Schaffner praises new W.H.O. Zika Advice

Jun. 13, 2016—People living in areas where the Zika virus is circulating should consider delaying pregnancy to avoid having babies with birth defects, the World Health Organization has concluded. Dr. William Schaffner, head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, called the W.H.O.’s advice “excellent.” “Now we just have to provide both the education and...

In MMWR, MPH grad and EIS officer Monique Foster reports on Hep C virus transmission in California

Jun. 3, 2016—Monique A. Foster, M.D., M.P.H. (class of 2014) is currently an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MPH faculty member William Schaffner on the latest superbug and antibiotic resistance

May. 31, 2016—The first U.S. case of a bacterial infection that can’t be treated by last-resort antibiotics has been reported in a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat and have become a grave — and growing — concern. The CDC estimates that at least two million people are infected with such bacteria each year, and 23,000 die. To better understand what...

MPH’s Dupont weighs in on new study linking common gene variants to breast cancer

May. 27, 2016—"The bottom line is, this study provides evidence that, on a population level, a certain number of breast cancer cases would be prevented if women did these things," said William Dupont, Ph.D., a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.

MPH’s Schaffner: “Molecular fingerprints” used in latest Listeria outbreak to find origin

May. 24, 2016—A massive voluntary recall of multiple food items that was implemented after a relatively small listeria outbreak has highlighted how epidemiologists are now using DNA to connect seemingly unrelated infections and improve food safety, according to food safety experts. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said the introduction...

MPH’s Melinda Buntin brings Washington expertise to Vanderbilt’s Department of Health Policy

May. 19, 2016—Today health care accounts for nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. gross domestic product—about $3 trillion of economic activity annually. It’s also the largest item in the federal budget, making up 28 percent of all government spending. With a greater focus on how the health care system functions, particularly in the wake of the...

MPH’s Talbot: More medical centers move to mandatory flu vaccination policies

May. 13, 2016—Mandatory vaccination policies may encourage more healthcare workers to get annual flu shots and help prevent the spread of influenza to patients, a study in one Texas health system suggests.A growing number of medical centers are moving to mandatory flu vaccination policies as part of a larger infection control effort, said Dr. Tom Talbot, chief...

Urgent need for new effective antibiotics says MPH’s Schaffner

May. 13, 2016—On May 11, The Pew Charitable Trusts released a strategy aimed at overcoming the 30-year drought in the discovery of new types of antibiotics. The Scientific Roadmap for Antibiotic Discovery identifies priority research goals and provides a detailed plan to advance antibiotic discovery efforts in the public and private sectors. William Schaffner, M.D., professor of...

Medical societies honor MPH’s Hartert

May. 12, 2016—Four physicians from Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been elected to membership in two of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies — the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). MPH's Tina Hartert, M.D., MPH, the Lulu H. Owen Professor of Medicine and VUMC vice president...

MPH’s Heimburger and Moon receive 2016 Excellence in Teaching Award

May. 10, 2016—Every year since 2000, the VUMC Academic Enterprise has honored faculty members for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research. Recipients were nominated by their faculty colleagues and chosen by the 2016 VUMC Academic Enterprise Faculty Awards Selection Committees.This year both Douglas C. Heimburger, M.D., M.S. and D. Troy Moon, M.D., M.P.H. received the...

MPH alumnus: victims of hazing in youth sports often in denial

May. 9, 2016—The true incidence of hazing in youth sports is unknown because victims don’t report the mistreatment or fail to recognize it as hazing, according to a review of scientific literature on the subject by a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers. Alex Diamond, D.O., M.P.H., an assistant professor of Pediatrics and Orthopaedics and...

MPH’s Stevenson: Corporate churning associated with lower nursing home quality

May. 9, 2016—Over the last two decades, thousands of nursing homes have been bought and sold by corporate chains. A new study, published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs has found that these transactions are related to lower quality of care. The results of this study suggest that chains bought and sold nursing homes...

Guillamondegui warns of “unseen trauma” as more US kids suffer head injuries at playgrounds

May. 4, 2016—Playgrounds may not be completely safe for children as more are admitted to emergency departments (EDs) for non-fatal traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Play is an essential activity for growing children, and playgrounds provide the perfect place to increase learning, social skills, exploration, imagination, and attentiveness. However, "most people are still not attuned to the fact that something...

MPH’s Schaffner: Students not vaccinated likely source of Harvard University mumps outbreak

May. 3, 2016—There have been 40 confirmed cases of the mumps at Harvard University, even though many of those infected were vaccinated. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt Univeristy, said in recent years colleges and universities have been at the center of many mumps outbreaks.

MPH alumnus receives Dr. William Schaffner Public Health Hero Award

May. 3, 2016—Congratulations to State Epidemiologist Tim Jones, MD, who was honored Apr. 29 with the Dr. William Schaffner Public Health Hero Award! This award is given jointly by the Tennessee Medical Association and the Tennessee Public Health Association to a person who has made significant contributions to advancing public health in Tennessee.

MPH alumnus: Warm weather heralds beginning of “trauma season”

Apr. 26, 2016—Vanderbilt University Medical Center trauma physicians are warning pedestrians and drivers to be attentive, alert and cautious as the weather warms up and the likelihood of auto-pedestrian accidents increases. Auto-pedestrian wrecks are largely attributed to distracted drivers and pedestrians who are not alert to their surroundings, and while it only takes a second to make...

MPH alumnus appointed Deputy Commissioner for Population Health for the TDH

Apr. 21, 2016—Michael Warren, MD, MPH, FAAP has been appointed deputy commissioner for population health for the Tennessee Department of Health. He previously served as assistant commissioner for Family Health and Wellness, a role in which he led TDH efforts related to maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention, health promotion and supplemental nutrition.

ABC News talks to MPH alumnus about turning point in understanding of Zika virus

Apr. 16, 2016—Researchers continue to investigate the devastating effects of the Zika virus on fetal development and are now studying whether the virus also impacts joint, eye and hearing development as well. Dr. Buddy Creech, an associate professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said "this idea of a virus contracted during pregnancy causing...

MPH’s Gonzales: Discriminatory laws hurt health of LGBT Tennesseans

Apr. 11, 2016—Gilbert Gonzales', Ph.D,, assistant professor of Health Policy, Op-Ed published in The Tennessean on April 3 focuses on how discriminatory laws hurt health of LGBT Tennesseans.

NPR talks with MPH graduate about the state’s efforts to track cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome

Mar. 31, 2016—Many states — including some that have been hardest hit by the opioid crisis — don't know how many of their youngest residents each year are born physically dependent on those drugs. Those states might look to Tennessee's tracking efforts. Tennessee reacted quickly when doctors started seeing a lot more cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome...

On NBC Nightly News, MPH’s Schaffner weighs in anti-vaccine film

Mar. 29, 2016—"Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe," an anti-vaccine documentary originally slated to run at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York has put a spotlight again on the debunked study that is widely believed to have contributed to the unsubstantiated impression by some that vaccines can cause autism. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at...

MPH Program alumna Neuzil named VUSM Distinguished Alumni

Mar. 18, 2016—The late Levi Watkins Jr., M.D., and Kathleen Neuzil, M.D., MPH, have been named the 2016 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.The pair will be honored during VUSM’s 2016 Reunion and the MPH Program 20th Anniversary festivities, Oct. 20-22.

AMOS Health & Hope

Mar. 17, 2016—AMOS is a Christian non-profit organization that exists to improve the health of impoverished communities by working alongside them in health, education and development. AMOS Health and Hope seeks to take action to help address the problems of poverty, disease and preventable deaths. The organizations is dedicated to improving the health and well being of people who suffer from...

Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)

Mar. 17, 2016—CIDRZ is an independent, local, non-governmental health organization established in Zambia in 2001. Our experts utilize innovative and collaborative approaches to develop research, health services and training initiatives with measurable results in the following focus areas: HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, and Treatment Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Women’s Health Newborn and Child Health Community Outreach Health System...

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Mar. 17, 2016—The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Its mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within HHS and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and...

MPH’s Aliyu: Study seeks to ease pediatric HIV infection rates in Africa

Mar. 4, 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. "We show that packaging individually effective interventions can have positive and measurable impacts on progress toward eliminating pediatric HIV infections in Africa,” said first author Muktar...

MPH Program alum Acra part of team to treat boy’s rare disorder

Mar. 3, 2016—Sari Acra, M.D., MPH was involved in the the team to help treat Denny Majano when he was admitted to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in 2011. After spending almost two and a half years in the hospital, at many times struggling to survive, Denny spent his first Christmas home this past December with...

MPH graduate finds chemo better option following pancreatic cancer surgery

Feb. 25, 2016—The study, led by Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Alexander Parikh, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Surgery and director of the Vanderbilt Pancreas Center, was published online Feb. 16 in advance of print publication in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Zika virus: Mosquito-borne transmission still the most likely in U.S. says MPH’s Schaffner

Feb. 24, 2016—Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, past president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, says its not likely that sexual transmission is anywhere close to the frequency of mosquito-borne transmission as the CDC reports 14 new cases of sexually transmitted Zika in U.S.

World Health Organization

Feb. 22, 2016—The World Health Organization (WHO) offers 6-12 weeks internships with a wide range of opportunities for health professionals to gain insight in the technical and administrative programmes of WHO and global health. The applicant can be from any specialty and healthcare background (eg: biostatistics, epidemiology, medicine, public health, surgery, pediatrics, maternal health, environmental health, cardiology,...

Nashville Health Care Council selects MPH graduate Neal Patel, MD, MPH

Feb. 18, 2016—Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnus Neal Patel, M.D., M.P.H., has been named to the Nashville Health Care Council's 2016 Council Fellows class. The Council Fellows initiative was launched in 2013 to engage industry leaders in clearly defining health care’s greatest challenges while exploring business strategies to navigate complex issues facing the nation’s health care system.

Friends Without A Border

Feb. 15, 2016—Friends Without A Border was founded in 1996 and in 1999 the organization built and opened Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Since that time, AHC has treated over 1.4 million children, trained hundreds of healthcare professionals, and is considered “one of only three essential healthcare institutions” in the country as stated by a Cambodian Health...

MPH alumna Morgans: Heart disease most common cause of death among prostate cancer survivors

Feb. 12, 2016—Prostate cancer survivors are most likely to die from something other than cancer, with cardiovascular disease as the most common cause, according to a new study led by Dr. Alicia Morgans, an assistant professor of medicine

ABC News talks to MPH’s Creech about Zika virus and ocular birth defects

Feb. 9, 2016—The Zika virus may be associated with another birth defect in infants, according to a new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology. Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said other viruses, including herpes and rubella, are known to cause ocular...

MPH Alum Talbot: Travelers should be not quarantined because of Zika Virus

Feb. 8, 2016—There is no evidence that individuals who have acquired Zika abroad are causing transmission of the virus within the U.S., and isolating people with Zika symptoms in the U.S. would be impractical and unnecessary, according to a number of infectious disease experts contacted by Scientific American. “I think with this being the first emerging infection...

Prostate cancer survivors’ risk of heart disease studied by MPH alumna Morgans

Feb. 5, 2016—The 3 million prostate cancer survivors in the United States are likely to die from something other than cancer, thanks to early detection, effective treatment and the disease’s slow progression.What survivors need to be more concerned with is heart disease, the most common non-cancer cause of death for men with prostate cancer, according to a...

Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network (VHAN)

Feb. 2, 2016—The Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network (VHAN) is the largest provider-organized network of doctors, regional health systems and other health care providers in Tennessee and surrounding states. Network providers actively collaborate to provide patients with high-quality, efficiently coordinated and cost-effective health care services. Quick Facts We have assembled a network of providers caring for more than...

Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention Program

Feb. 2, 2016—Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt’s Trauma Service’s Injury Prevention Program strives to reduce unintentional injuries among children and to promote safe behaviors in the community by: Developing data-driven strategies based on analysis of trauma data from Children’s Hospital and the State of Tennessee. Providing injury prevention education and resources to families in the hospital and community. Conducting and participating in...

NYT: W.H.O. Zika Virus announcement is a wake-up call says MPH’s Schaffner

Feb. 2, 2016—The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects an international public health emergency on Monday, a rare move that signals the seriousness of the outbreak and gives countries new tools to fight it. “This makes it formal,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University....

Last Mile Health

Jan. 25, 2016—Founded by the survivors of Liberia’s civil war, Last Mile Health (LMH) saves lives in the world’s most remote villages. The organization specializes in the development and management of professionalized Community Health Workers who bridge the gap between hospital and remote villages, bringing critical services to the doorsteps of people living in the last mile. LMH’s...

NYT: MPH’s Schaffner puzzled by new C.D.C. Zika guidelines

Jan. 21, 2016—Pregnant women who feel sick and have visited countries in which the Zika virus is spreading should see a doctor soon and be tested for infection even though the tests are imperfect, federal health officials said on Tuesday. “That had me scratching my head,” Dr. William Schaffner,the chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, said....

Graduate Student Epidemiology Program–HRSA Maternal & Child Health Bureau

Jan. 15, 2016—The Graduate Student Epidemiology Program (GSEP) provides opportunities to gain professional experience in a real-world situation while providing help and fresh perspectives to a public health agency during a 3-month summer project. Participate in a project with a special focus area: Data Analysis and Monitoring Needs Assessment Program Evaluation Help an MCH department or tribal epidemiology center...

Relief International

Jan. 14, 2016—Relief International is a humanitarian non-profit agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, development assistance, and program services to vulnerable communities worldwide. Relief International is solely dedicated to reducing human suffering and is non-political and non-sectarian in its mission. Relief International offers opportunities to volunteer and intern both in the United States and internationally and in both...

HSHPS Graduate Fellowship Training Program

Jan. 13, 2016—The HSHPS Graduate Fellowship Training Program (GFTP) provides paid and unpaid training opportunities for graduate and doctoral students and recent graduates interested in working on Hispanic health research within government agencies and academic institutions. Fellows are placed throughout the United States and Latin America within government agencies and academic institutions. All HSHPS fellows work alongside a mentor, an experienced researcher or...

MPH alum-led study shows veteran, civilian patients at risk of ICU-related PTSD

Jan. 12, 2016—Led by Mayur Patel, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Surgery and Neurosurgery at VUMC and staff surgeon and surgical intensivist at the Nashville VA Medical Center, the first-of-its-kind study of veterans and civilians, researchers found that one in 10 patients is at risk of having a new post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their time in...

MPH faculty member featured as part of Global Health & Innovation Conference

Jan. 12, 2016—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member Brian Heuser, Ed.D., M.T.S., Assistant Professor of Leadership, Policy & Organizations, has been a presenter at Unite for Sight's Global Health & Innovation Conference for several years and he is featured in their latest video. The Global Health & Innovation Conference is the world's leading and largest global health conference as well as the...

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee–Corporate Internship Program

Jan. 11, 2016—BlueCross’ Corporate Internship Program allows college students and recent graduates the opportunity to work in a professional environment while gaining practical skills and experience. The program is designed to also assist in the development of future talent. Who is eligible? college students who’ve completed at least two years of school recent college graduates students enrolled...

Chipotle’s E. Coli Outbreak: contaminated food source not likely found says Schaffner

Jan. 8, 2016—The first reports of E. coli sickening Chipotle customers were revealed in October. Three months and thousands of tests later, health investigators still can't find the source of the outbreak, which has since sickened 53 people in nine states. Dr. William Schaffner, infectious-diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center explained that most people who dine at Chipotle eat some combination...

MPH’s Schaffner: Antibodies in blood plasma from Ebola survivors still may be a treatment

Jan. 7, 2016—Reuters: Treating Ebola victims with blood plasma donated by Ebola survivors failed to significantly increase the odds of recovering from the deadly virus, according to a field test of the experimental treatment. The conclusion is based on the cases of 84 people treated with plasma in Conakry, Guinea, in the hope that the antibodies in...

MPH study one of Vanderbilt’s most popular research stories of 2015

Jan. 6, 2016—A study on ankyloglossia from MPH faculty member Melissa McPheeters, Ph.D., M.P.H., ranked among Vanderbilt's most popular research stories of 2015. MPH graduates Richard Epstein, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Psychiatry); and Sahar Kohanim, M.D., M.P.H. (Ophthalmology); were also co-authors on the report.

Tennessee Department of Health

Jan. 5, 2016—The Tennessee Department of Health‘s mission is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually as well as indirect services for everyone in the state, including emergency response to health threats, licensure of...

Metro Nashville Public Health Department

Jan. 5, 2016—The public health experience at the Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) is designed to provide meaningful, real world public health experiences for both undergraduate and graduate level students. We seek to provide opportunities for students in a variety of health related disciplines including Public Health, Environmental Health, Nursing, Medicine and Business. We also offer volunteer...

Blood:Water

Jan. 5, 2016—Blood:Water leads a driven selection process to find Africa’s hidden heroes and grassroots organizations who are already working with the cultural and community knowledge to facilitate real change.We partner with these passionate groups to provide technical, financial and organizational support to strengthen their reach and effectiveness to the communities they serve. Our partners are mobilizing...

MPH alum urges prostate surgery patients to not only focus on surgeon experience

Jan. 4, 2016—Men who get prostate cancer surgery at hospitals that do a lot of these procedures may have better results, and those better outcomes might help offset the added cost of care at specialized facilities, a U.S. study suggests. Patients should be careful not to focus on the surgeon's experience level until after they determine whether...

MPH’s Schaffner emphasizes need for funding as new TFAH outbreak report is released

Dec. 18, 2015—Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TFAH devised a scoring system with metrics such as flu vaccination rates, food safety and HIV/AIDS surveillance — and then evaluated each of the 50 states to see how they stacked up. The report details ways in which the whole nation could be doing better...

FHI 360

Dec. 18, 2015—FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. FHI 360 serves more than 70 countries and all U.S. states and territories. FHI 360 interns support projects in HIV/AIDS prevention and care, economic development, civil society, U.S. and international education, social and behavioral change,...

Nashville CARES

Dec. 14, 2015—Nashville CARES is a community-based AIDS service organization providing education, advocacy, and supportive services to anyone affected by HIV and AIDS in Middle Tennessee. The internship opportunities offered on the Education Team range from assisting staff in HIV testing at our clinical locations or during outreach and possibly a special project. LOCATION: Nashville, TN

On NBC Nightly News: MPH’s Schaffner weighs in on tuberculosis exposure in CA hospital

Dec. 14, 2015—William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy, weighs in about hundreds of people, including newborns, who may have been exposed to tuberculosis in the maternity wing of a California hospital after a nurse was diagnosed with an active case.

CURE International

Dec. 11, 2015—With hospitals in 10 countries, including Kenya and Uganda, CURE International treats disabled children in places where care is most needed and often least available. Taking on conditions such as clubfoot and Infant hydrocephalus, this organization gives children hope for the future and families who endured being called cursed for having a disabled child are...

UnitedHealth Group

Dec. 11, 2015—UnitedHealth Group is a leader worldwide in helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. Committed to introducing innovative approaches, products and services that can improve personal health and promote healthier populations in local communities, UnitedHealth Group’s core capabilities in clinical care resources, information and technology uniquely...

Hypertension-related visits to emergency rooms on rise in U.S. says MPH alumna

Dec. 10, 2015—The number and percentage of patients treated at emergency departments for hypertension are on the rise across the United States, according to a Vanderbilt study published recently in The American Journal of Cardiology. “We found that around 25 percent of all emergency department visits involved patients with hypertension, and that the rate of hypertension-related visits...

MPH alum named Nashville Health Care Council fellow

Dec. 8, 2015—The Nashville Health Care Council is delving into innovation, consumerism and retail health care for its 2016 Council Fellows, which is stitching together a diverse collection leaders from around the city's health care community. Headed by former Sen. Bill Frist and Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management health care and economics professor Larry Van Horn,...

WSJ: Schaffner’s advice for staying healthy during flu season

Dec. 4, 2015—Should you sleep off a flu? When should you seek a doctor's help? What should parents of sick children with the flu do? National Foundation for Infectious Diseases director Dr. William Schaffner joins Tanya Rivero with advice for staying healthy.

In the New York Times, Schaffner weighs in on the fight against HIV and AIDS in the US

Dec. 2, 2015—Vanderbilt's William Schaffner, M.D., is quoted in the New York Times' recent article about the war on AIDS in the United States.

New diagnoses of prostate cancer decreased according to study from MPH alum

Dec. 1, 2015—New prostate cancer diagnoses declined by almost 30% in the first year after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine screening PSA tests, a review of a national database showed. An analysis by disease stage at diagnosis showed that the number of new diagnoses of intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer also decreased,...

MPH Program faculty led study links opioids, infection risk for patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Nov. 20, 2015—Use of opioid analgesics is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for serious infections among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a Vanderbilt study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. “Future studies will examine the association between specific opioids and the risk of infections. Identifying opioid formulations that are particularly problematic would be important to...

On NPR, MPH graduate says new law may keep women from getting medical care

Nov. 20, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH alumna Jessica Young, M.D., M.P.H., speaks with NPH on All Things Considered about how a new law could prevent women struggling with addiction seek the medical care they need for themselves and their children.

Clinton Foundation

Nov. 20, 2015—The Clinton Foundation‘s internship program has three primary components: hands-on work experience, educational and professional development, and mentoring. The program also includes a lecture series, social and community service events, and culminates in a final project to help guide participants beyond their Clinton Foundation experience. Internships are generally 3 months in length, but can be up...

NYT: MPH’s Penson recommends to “screen smarter” for prostate cancer

Nov. 17, 2015—Fewer men are being screened for prostate cancer, and fewer early-stage cases are being detected, according to two studies published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. An editorial accompanying the articles, by Dr. David F. Penson, the chairman of urologic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, acknowledged that too much screening can...

Soles4Souls

Nov. 12, 2015—Soles4Souls is a not-for-profit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing. Since 2006 Soles4Souls has collected and distributed 26 million pairs of shoes to those in need in 127 countries around the world and all 50 states in the U.S. It was founded as a disaster relief organization after philanthropists...

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Nov. 12, 2015—The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders offers full-time internships year round (spring, summer, and fall). Part-time applicants who can commit to at least 20 hours a week will be considered, although the Initiative prioritizes full-time applicants (32-40 hours a week). Interns at the Initiative are responsible for assisting the staff on...

MPH Program’s Schaffner honored with APHA 2015 John Snow Award

Nov. 12, 2015—William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine, is this year’s recipient of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) 2015 John Snow Award, a longstanding award given in recognition of “enduring contributions to public health through epidemiologic methods and practice.”

Carter Center

Nov. 6, 2015—The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity;...

CEPH invites comments on proposed revised criteria for schools and programs of public health

Nov. 6, 2015—The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) invites comments on its proposed revised criteria for schools of public health and public health programs. Comments must be submitted using the designated form and are due by the close of business on January 8, 2016. The Council will review comments at its January 2016 meeting and...

NPR Morning Edition: Health insurers control costs with narrow networks states MPH Program’s Van Horn

Nov. 6, 2015—When open enrollment began on the nation's healthcare exchanges on November 1, many people who bought insurance for 2015 found that the 2016 plans they had to choose from have narrower networks of hospitals. Insurers are trying to control costs by funneling more patients to fewer hospitals. Larry Van Horn, associate professor of management and...

MPH Program graduate receives Excellence in Mentoring Translational Scientists Award

Nov. 5, 2015—Tina Hartert, M.D., MPH, assistant vice chancellor for Translational Science and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Asthma and Environmental Health Research, was honored on Oct. 30 during the annual Vanderbilt Translational Research Forum, a celebration and showcase of research that brings the fruits of lab bench science to the patient’s bedside. Dr. Hartert s...

MPH Program graduate finds prenatal folic acid and asthma correlation

Nov. 5, 2015—In a study published in the November issue of Epidemiology, Kecia N. Carroll, M.D., MPH, and colleagues report that the timing of folic acid-containing prescription filling during pregnancy was associated with childhood asthma.

The Washington Post: MPH’s Schaffner advises adults to get vaccinated

Nov. 4, 2015—Some adult vaccines are boosters, building your immunity against those illnesses. Others protect against diseases that are more common in adulthood. All adults should have these key vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: an annual flu shot; a Td booster every 10 years to ward off tetanus and diphtheria; a zoster...

In The Atlantic: MPH student advocates making indigenous peoples equal partners in gene reserach

Oct. 27, 2015—Speaking at the 2015 meeting of the American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG), Krystal Tsosie from Vanderbilt University said the case of The Akimel O’odham (Pima), a group of Native Americans from Arizona, withdrawing their partnership with the NIH in 2003, and signing a $5 million agreement with a non-profit organization called the Translational Genomics...

Manna Project International

Oct. 26, 2015—Manna Project International works to create communities of young leaders that help break the cycle of poverty by focusing on people and their need to access health care, education, and an income equal to the cost of living. Manna Project International’s holistic development initiatives are built on a foundation of trust, commitment and community ownership....

NashvilleHealth gets help from MPH Program’s Buntin

Oct. 26, 2015—Former Senator Bill Frist wants to improve the overall health of the entire city by putting healthy living in the public consciousness and helping Nashville’s sickest and most disadvantaged citizens. Working with MPH Program's Melinda Buntin on the data and research behind the initiatives, Frist wants NashvilleHealth to focus, at first, on hypertension, smoking cessation and...

MPH Program student testing new treatment for Alzheimer’s

Oct. 23, 2015—Researchers say a new drug, T-817, is on the horizon to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, and Vanderbilt is one of 50 clinical trial sites across the country testing the drug. "It's basically a drug that is shown to have neuro-protective effects to prevent the early death of those brain cells that we're trying to...

MPH Program graduate: One standard needed to track concussions

Oct. 22, 2015—Data in sports concussion studies will continue to be disputed as long as the injuries are diagnosed by differing standards instead of universal guidelines. That’s the conclusion of Oscar D. Guillamondegui, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt, in a review of a study on concussion incidence among peewee, youth and college football...

NBC talks to MPH’s Schaffner about $1.6 billion effort to prevent the flu this season

Oct. 21, 2015—The process of putting the flu vaccine together begins in February, when the World Health Organization determines which strains of the virus should be included, based on what's circulating around the globe. Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, explains that "flu is fickle. Last season was unusual because not...

IDWeek: MPH Program graduate learned from last year’s “not perfect” flu vax

Oct. 16, 2015—The flu vaccine last season was almost completely ineffective at preventing the disease, but it might have helped some people stay out of hospital, researchers reported here."The flu vaccine is not perfect and it varies in efficacy from year to year," commented H. Keipp Talbot, MD, MPH, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville....

Halloween treat Listeria connection low states MPH Program’s Schaffner

Oct. 14, 2015—A deadly 2014 Listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples has puzzled researchers attempting to understand how the favorite Halloween treat could be the source of the deadly bacteria. The 2014 outbreak left at least seven dead and 35 infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease...

ABC News talks to MPH graduate about risk of MRSA infection among athletes

Oct. 13, 2015—Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H., Vanderbilt MPH graduate and pediatric infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has worked with professional teams on how to clean up after a MRSA outbreak and has studied how both contact and non-contact athletes can develop the bacteria.

MPH Program alum awarded major federal grant to boost AIDS education, training efforts

Oct. 12, 2015—Vanderbilt University has been awarded a major federal grant — $16 million over four years — to coordinate AIDS education and training efforts in Tennessee and seven other southeastern states.The grant will provide training in HIV care and prevention skills to physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professionals, said Stephen Raffanti, M.D., MPH, professor...

MPH Program faculty and alumni led study: Flu vaccine helps reduce hospitalizations due to influenza pneumonia

Oct. 8, 2015—More than half of hospitalizations due to influenza pneumonia could be prevented by influenza vaccination, according to a study led by MPH Program faculty, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.The Vanderbilt team included Carlos Grijalva, M.D., MPH; Yuwei Zhu, M.D., M.S.; Derek Williams, M.D., MPH; Wesley Self, M.D., MPH; Marie Griffin,...

H3N2 strain is included in 2015 flu shot says MPH Program’s Schaffner

Oct. 7, 2015—This year's flu shot is expected to be more effective than last season's vaccine. Last year was a pretty bad flu season because the H3N2 strain was the predominant strain, according to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine who works at Vanderbilt University's Department of Medicine. Last year, when the virus mutated, the...

What’s Luck Got To Do With Health Care? NPR talks with Vanderbilt MPH student about her practicum in Guatemala

Oct. 5, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH student, Grace Fletcher, spent her summer practicum in rural Guatemala working with an NGO called Wuqu' Kawoq.

Babies with NAS treatable, best way to stay with their mothers says MPH Program alumna

Oct. 2, 2015—In 2014, Tennessee passed a bill allowing women to be charged with assault if they use narcotics while pregnant, health advocates warned that the law would deter women from seeking vital medical care out of fear of being prosecuted. Now, Dr. Jessica Young, an obstetrician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville who has a...

MPH Program’s Dr. Barocas: Reduced prostate screening could miss advanced tumors

Sep. 30, 2015—Relaxed guidelines on prostate cancer screening may delay diagnosis and treatment of aggressive tumors, a new study suggests. In 2011, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing, to curb over-diagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer. Since then, PSA screening has dropped by 28 percent, the researchers report. MPH...

Wuqu’ Kawoq Maya Health Alliance

Sep. 28, 2015—Founded in 2007, Wuqu’ Kawoq Maya Health Alliance works to overcome barriers to health – uniting medicine, culture, and language. As the only health organization in Guatemala to provide high-quality health care in Mayan languages, Wuqu’ Kawoq operates on the beliefs that you should not have to choose between your culture and your health, you should...

MPH Program alumna study: Patients prefer online post-surgical care to in-person visit

Sep. 28, 2015—A small study at Vanderbilt University Medical Center shows that patients who have routine, uncomplicated surgeries prefer to have their postoperative visits done online, rather than go to a doctor's office in person. MPH Program alumna, Dr. Kummerow Broman, a resident physician in general surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center said "Some operations simply require an...

MPH student reflects on practicum experience in Guatemala

Sep. 25, 2015—Grace Fletcher is a candidate in Vanderbilt's M.P.H. in Global Health and M.A. in Latin American Studies programs. She completed her public health practicum working with Wuqu’ Kawoq, a non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the health of Maya communities and Mayan languages in Guatemala. Grace focused specifically on monitoring and evaluation efforts for nutrition and education programs in Santiago Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. Click here...

Vanderbilt MPH Program’s new track fosters next generation Health Policy leaders

Sep. 25, 2015—Vanderbilt’s Master of Public Health (MPH) Program welcomed a new health policy track to its curriculum starting this fall semester. For almost 20 years, Vanderbilt’s MPH program has provided outstanding epidemiologic training, primarily to physicians. In 2013, the program added a global health track, and began recruiting a greater variety of students, including those without...

ABC News: Infections spreading in hospitals critical issue says Creech, MPH Program alum

Sep. 21, 2015—An ABC News report about a British study documenting the spread of infections in hospitals quotes Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics.

Vaccination remains the best defense against flu says MPH Program’s Schaffner

Sep. 18, 2015—It doesn't matter if you get the traditional shot, the needle-free injection, or the nasal spray, the flu vaccine remains the best defense says Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

MPH Program’s Heimburger on a 21st Century Health Policy Vision

Sep. 11, 2015—MPH faculty and Global Health track director, Douglas Heimburger, M.D., M.S., co-authored The Atlanta Declaration: A 21st Century Vision For US-Based Global Noncommunicable Disease Research, on Health Affairs Blog. Focusing on the innovation in the United States, Heimburger says that US institutions must better align opportunities, pathways, and resources for 21st century scientists and future leaders...

“Mystery” outbreak actually common says MPH Program’s Schaffner

Sep. 8, 2015—More than 100 students and teachers in a North Carolina school district were sent home this week after exhibiting signs of a mystery illness. While the idea of an unknown illness causing an outbreak is slightly terrifying, William Schaffner, MD, chairman of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Preventative Medicine, tells Yahoo Health...

Grants bolster MPH Program HIV-focused research capacity

Aug. 21, 2015—The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has received two new grants from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build HIV-focused research capacity with key partners in Zambia, Mozambique and Brazil. Douglas Heimburger, M.D., MPH Program track director and associate VIGH director for education and training, is co-principal investigator...

Unite for Sight

Aug. 19, 2015—Global health delivery is complex, and programs are best developed by local medical professionals and social entrepreneurs who understand the barriers to quality care in their communities. As a global health delivery organization, Unite For Sight partners with local eye clinics to identify community-specific barriers that impede effective eye care delivery for patients living in...

Older population at higher risk for Legionnaires says MPH Program’s Schaffner

Aug. 11, 2015—In the midst of the NY Legionnaires' outbreak, health experts are studying why reported cases have risen in recent years. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said epidemiologists and other disease detectives are trying to determine whether there are other factors that are making people more...

Siloam Family Health Center

Aug. 6, 2015—Siloam Family Health Center began as a tiny, volunteer-driven, primary care clinic in the Edgehill neighborhood. Today it is a vibrant, health ministry with a beautiful 12,000 square foot facility, a staff of 36, over 300 volunteers, dozens of collaborating partners, and roughly 5,000 individual patients who come from all over Middle Tennessee. As a...

Schaffner: Interns and residents ‘fibbing and shimmying’ to give care before Medicare, Medicaid

Aug. 3, 2015—Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical School, clearly remembers the struggle for his patients to pay medical bills before President Johnson signed the amendment to the Social Security Act to establish Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.

Schaffner talks with ABC News about the safety of Louisiana Parish water supply

Jul. 30, 2015—For the second time in two years, officials have found potentially deadly amoeba in the water supply of a parish outside New Orleans. William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said people in the area should take steps to stay safe, including keeping their pool chlorinated, and stopping children from...

On NPR’s Marketplace, Buntin provides insight into the recent report on increasing health care expenditures

Jul. 30, 2015—On NPR's Marketplace, Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., chair of the department of health policy, provides insight into the recent report on increasing health care expenditures.

Restrained growth in the use of health care services may be new normal, writes MPH Program’s Buntin

Jul. 29, 2015—A more restrained growth in the use of health care services, even as the economic recovery continues and rates of uninsured declines might be the "new normal" writes Melinda Buntin, chair of the department of health policy, in Health Affairs blog.

MPH Program’s Schaffner emphasizes imperative food inspection as sushi sickens 62

Jul. 24, 2015—As a widespread salmonella outbreak partially linked to sushi reportedly infected 62 people in 11 states, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical School, said that the outbreak underscores the need for "excellent surveillance … [so that] when something like this happens we can minimize the impact.” According to the CDC report,...

Creech, MPH Program alum, treats patient with rare Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Jul. 23, 2015—Dr. Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H, reassures the public that Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is rare after a Fort Wayne, IN resident triggered a major reaction resulting in burns to 40 percent of her body after simply taking a couple of Tylenol. Creech said other common side effects of over-the-counter drugs, such as nausea and gastrointestinal bleeding should...

Contaminated Sand May Make Beachgoers Sick, MPH Program’s Schaffner comments

Jul. 17, 2015—When beaches are closed due to pollution, a few fearless beachgoers may think that they're safe as long as they remain on land. But a newly published study says even the sand may not be safe from dangerous bacteria, and can potentially recontaminate the water. William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and health policy...

Cooper, MPH faculty and alum, talks with ABC News about new study on SSRIs and risk of birth defects

Jul. 10, 2015—A new study has shed light on the complex interaction between anti-depressants and pregnancy by looking at thousands of women who took them before giving birth. William Owen Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., said these large studies are key to help pregnant women make the best decisions about their health care. The study published in The BMJ,...

MPH Program faculty finds monitoring over surgery for prostate cancer patients positive

Jul. 9, 2015—Study finds men with low-risk disease often getting monitoring over surgery, radiation, hormone therapy. Dr. David Penson, the Hamilton and Howd Chair in Urologic Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., says that the statistics are "very good news."

MPH Program’s Schaffner not supurised by return of Ebola in Liberia

Jul. 1, 2015—Forty-eight days after the World Health Organization declared Liberia free of Ebola, a 17-year old boy has died and tested positive for the virus. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical School, said it’s not surprising an Ebola case reappeared in Liberia but it appears the government have taken quick and...

NPR: William Schaffner, M.D., advises insurance coverage for meningitis B vaccine

Jun. 29, 2015—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine committee has expand edits recommendation for immunization against meningitis B, a rare butpotentially deadly strain of meningitis. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy,was interviewed for the report at VUStar, Vanderbilt’s campus broadcastfacility.

MPH Program alumna recommends not withdrawing from drugs durning pregnancy

Jun. 29, 2015—MPH Program alumna, Jessica L. Young, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, agrees with The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists by advising against withdrawing from drugs during pregnancy.

MPH Program graduates publish antibiotic choice for treating childhood pneumonia study

Jun. 25, 2015—MPH Program graduate, Derek Williams, M.D., M.P.H. and MPH Program graduate and current faculty, Carlos G. Grijalva, M.D., M.P.H., co-authored new Vanderbilt-led research showing hospitals are doing a better job of using antibiotics less commonly associated with antibiotic resistance to treat children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

CNN talks with MPH Program’s Schaffner about the meningitis vaccine

Jun. 25, 2015—The Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices holds its quarterly meeting today and will discuss whether to add a new meningitis vaccine just recently approved by the FDA to the immunization guidelines. William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and health policy and medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases...

MPH Program graduate featured in new C. diff and fecal transplants National Geographic documentary

Jun. 24, 2015—A documentary about C. diff and fecal transplants that features Vanderbilt is now featured on National Geographic's website. The documentary from local filmmaker Michael Graziano, follows Lauren Giuntini before and after the procedure at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Maribeth Nicholson, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Pediatrics, is also featured. Graziano was the documentary...

MPH graduate led study finds significant drop in new prostate cancer diagnoses

Jun. 18, 2015—Led by first author Daniel Barocas, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Urological Surgery and Medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center, a new study found new diagnoses of prostate cancer in the U.S. declined 28 percent in the year following the draft recommendation from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) against routine PSA screening for...

National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Selects William Schaffner, M.D., as New Medical Director

Jun. 18, 2015—The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) has appointed William Schaffner, MD, as its new medical director. His work has focused on all aspects of infectious diseases, including epidemiology, infection control and immunization. Schaffner will continue to serve as professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. From 2010 to...

MPH graduate Leigh Howard, M.D., M.P.H., receives 2015 Turner-Hazinksi Award

Jun. 15, 2015—During Department of Pediatrics annual research retreat on May 22, 2015, Vanderbilt MPH Program alumna Leigh Howard, M.D., M.P.H., was named a 2015 Turner-Hazinksi Award winner. The award provides grants to support research by young pediatric faculty members. Howard’s current and future research will focus on the epidemiology of respiratory illnesses in young children in...

CBS talks with the MPH Program’s Schaffner about the recent MERS outbreak in South Korea

Jun. 12, 2015—CBS This Morning interviewed MPH faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., about the CDC alert issued to U.S. doctors to be on the lookout for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, also known as MERS, amid a current outbreak in South Korea.

Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis arrives in U.S., Schaffner warns it’s serious business

Jun. 10, 2015—

MPH alum gives a glimpse into her work as a “disease detective” with EIS

Jun. 4, 2015—In this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the CDC, Vanderbilt MPH Program alumna Candice Williams Robinson, M.D., M.P.H., gives readers a glimpse into her work with the Epidemic Intelligence Service.

In NYTimes, Schaffner says new test for all virus exposure has vast potential

Jun. 4, 2015—The Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., comments on the news of a single test to detect past exposure to more than 1,000 strains of viruses from 206 species.

MPH Program’s Schaffner talks to Men’s Health about chicken pox in adults

Jun. 3, 2015—The Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and medicine, talks to Men's Health about the varicella zoster vaccine for adults.

Kaiser Health News speaks with MPH alum about his research on hospitalization and delirium

Jun. 2, 2015—Kaiser Health News speaks with Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnus Wes Ely, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and founder of Vanderbilt’s ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment Study Group, about his research on hospitalization and delirium.

Safe Kids Cumberland Valley

May. 28, 2015—Safe Kids Cumberland Valley includes representatives of public safety, children’s health agencies, public policy servants, community organizations, businesses and community members who work together to keep kids safe across 41 counties in Middle Tennessee. Safe Kids Worldwide is a global network of organizations dedicated to providing parents and caregivers with practical and proven resources to protect...

Tennessee Donor Services

May. 28, 2015—Tennessee Donor Services (TDS) is committed to save and enhance lives by connecting people through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. DCIDS Tissue Bank is a not-for-profit tissue bank accredited by AATB and registered with FDA. Tissues that can be donated are: corneas, musculoskelton tissue, heart values, veins/arteries and skin. TDS recovers, evaluates, processes and...

New research from MPH faculty shows need for more focus on hospital to nursing home discharges

May. 26, 2015—John Graves, co-author and assistant professor of health policy and medicine at Vanderbilt, spoke to The Tennessean about a new study pinpointing the juncture where patients are discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities for rehabilitation as a place where greater focus could prolong lives and reduce costs.

Malaria Institute at Macha

May. 21, 2015—Malaria Institute at Macha (MIAM) embodies the spirit of collaboration as researchers combine old-world and high-tech resources necessary for the on-site work required for the prevention and control of the mosquito-borne illness that kills its victims, mostly children, in numbers that rival the scourge of AIDS in Africa.The Institute’s mission is to develop a center...

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Zambia

May. 21, 2015—AIDS Healthcare Foundation Zambia has been working to control the country’s AIDS epidemic since 2002, and has since formed fruitful partnership with the WHO, Humana People to People and local health programs like the Ministry of Health and the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ). Currently, AHF Zambia operates in six districts throughout the country –...

Partners in Health/Compañeros en Salud

May. 21, 2015—Partners In Health launched Compañeros En Salud (PIH/CES) in 2011, a sister organization that works with rural government clinics in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas—one of the most marginalized regions in the state—to improve staffing, supplies, and links with local communities. In partnership with local health jurisdictions, PIH/CES revitalizes underperforming rural clinics, providing high-quality health...

NIH director to present Discovery Lecture on May 28

May. 21, 2015—National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., will deliver a special Discovery Lecture on Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 3 p.m. in Light Hall 208. Collins also will address a workshop May 28-29 convened at Vanderbilt by the Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director. The agenda: how to build...

MPH faculty receive 2015 Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research

May. 18, 2015—Three Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty members named 2015 Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research 2015 Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Kathryn M. Edwards, M.D., Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics E. Wesley Ely, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Medicine 2015 Faculty Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research Wayne A. Ray,...

Shandong University School of Public Health

May. 13, 2015—Shandong University School of Public Health has over ninety-five faculty members researching a wide range of topics including infectious and non-communicable diseases, environmental health, occupational health, nutrition, child and maternal health, and health policy and management. It has seven academic departments: Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Toxicology, Occupational and Environmental Health, Maternal and Child Health Care, Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Social Medicine...

Schaffner speaks with ABC News about long-term health effects for Ebola survivors

May. 12, 2015—The Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., talks with ABC News for the latest story about Ebola survivor and Vanderbilt School of Medicine alumnus Ian Crozier, M.D., having Ebola in his eye less than two months after his blood had been declared Ebola-free.

Growing number of babies have drug withdrawal symptoms, study shows

May. 1, 2015—Time spoke with Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member William O. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., about his new study on neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Low health literacy raises mortality rates for patients with acute heart failure

May. 1, 2015—Recent research from Vanderbilt MPH Program alumna Candace McNaughton, M.D., M.P.H., shows that patients with low health literacy hospitalized for acute heart failure have an increased mortality risk.

Study links post-acute care costs with lower survival rates

Apr. 30, 2015—A nationwide study from Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member John Graves, Ph.D., finds that spending on post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) provides a key signal of inefficiency in the health care system, leading to higher spending and lower patient survival.

Population Council – Mexico

Apr. 28, 2015—Population Council – Mexico welcomes public health students, particularly those interested in sexual and reproductive health, as interns — be it for a graduate practicum or post-graduate professional opportunity — to take part in this dynamic work environment. During the internship, candidates are exposed to the skills, experiences and relationships necessary to build a successful...

Primeros Pasos

Apr. 28, 2015—Primeros Pasos aims to improve the quality of life of the rural communities of the Palajunoj Valley of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, through integrated health education projects and access to medical services. Projects include: Medical and Dental Services Children’s Health Education Women’s Health Education Nutritional Recuperation Educational Scholarships Mobile Clinics Each year we select committed individuals to...

On ABC News, Schaffner weighs in on bird flu outbreak

Apr. 21, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member, William Schaffner, M.D., speaks with ABC News about the outbreak of bird flu in Iowa.

MPH graduate featured in National Library of Medicine exhibit celebrating black surgeons

Apr. 16, 2015—Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., M.D., M.P.H., will be featured in a National Library of Medicine traveling exhibit, “Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons,” on display at Vanderbilt University's Eskind Biomedical Library through May 22, 2015. Rogers is a surgeon and public health expert who was recently named vice president and chief medical officer for the Health System...

Vermund named assistant vice chancellor for Global Health

Apr. 16, 2015—Sten Vermund, M.D., Ph.D., has been named assistant vice chancellor for Global Health in recognition of the growing importance of globalization to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s research, teaching and patient care missions.

Newsweek recounts MPH graduate’s role in the tracing the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak

Apr. 16, 2015—Newsweek's cover story for April 24, 2015 recounts the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, including the role of MPH graduate April Pettit, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Medicine, and her important medical detective work.

MPH graduate named to top leadership position at the University of Maryland’s new Institute for Global Health

Apr. 13, 2015—Kathleen Neuzil, M.D., M.P.H., has been named to two key leadership positions at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's newly established Institute for Global Health. She will serve as the Deputy Director of Institute for Global health and the Director of the Center for Vaccine Development. Dr. Neuzil is one of the most influential research scientists and...

MPH grad advocates nationally for youth sports health, safety

Mar. 19, 2015—Alex Diamond, D.O., M.P.H., director of the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) and assistant professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, continues to be a national advocate for youth sports safety.

U.S. Ambassador addresses progress fighting AIDS

Mar. 19, 2015—U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Deborah Birx, M.D., who oversees the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), updated the Vanderbilt community on AIDS relief efforts during a visit last week.

MPH graduate named executive director of the Vanderbilt Medical Group and COO for Adult Clinical Operations at VUMC

Feb. 26, 2015—Titus Daniels, M.D., M.P.H., M.M.H.C., (MPH class of 2007) associate professor of Medicine, has been named executive director of the Vanderbilt Medical Group (VMG) and chief operating officer for Adult Clinical Operations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

In NEJM, Vanderbilt MPH graduates find respiratory viruses to be main childhood pneumonia culprit

Feb. 26, 2015—Respiratory viruses, not bacterial infections, are the most commonly detected causes of community-acquired pneumonia in children, according to new research released Feb. 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study's authors include: Derek Williams, M.D., M.P.H. (class of 2010), assistant professor of Pediatrics and member of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program and the Division of Hospital...

ABC News talks with Schaffner about potential measles exposure sites

Feb. 23, 2015—The Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., recently spoke with ABC News about the range of potential measles exposure sites.

Margaret E. Mahoney Fellowship Program in Health Policy

Feb. 13, 2015—The Margaret E. Mahoney Fellowship program provides stipends for outstanding medical, dental, public health, public policy, and graduate nursing students to conduct summer research projects in the New York City metropolitan area on some aspect of health care delivery transformation for vulnerable populations and/or early childhood health and development, with an emphasis on policy implications.

MPH’s Aliyu named an inaugural Chancellor Faculty Fellow

Feb. 12, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member, Muktar Aliyu, M.D., Dr.P.H., has been named a 2015 Chancellor Faculty Fellow. The Chancellor Faculty Fellows Program was launched in September 2014 to support outstanding faculty who have recently received tenure. Aliyu, associate professor of health policy and associate professor of medicine, teaches in the Global Health track of the Vanderbilt...

MPH student calls for a better understanding of catatonia and improved screening tools

Feb. 12, 2015—In her recent publication, current MPH student, Jo Ellen Wilson, M.D., argues that the restrictive definition of catatonia in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) could be resulting in a lower detection of catatonia, especially in patients with no known psychiatric history.

MPH students take top prize at 2015 Vanderbilt Global Health Case Competition

Feb. 10, 2015—First-year MPH students Emily Sheldon, Shellese Shemwell, and Erin Hamilton along with Ajay Sundaram and Jieun Park of Peabody College, and Kaya Zhu of the Owen Graduate School of Management, beat out fifteen other interdisciplinary teams of Vanderbilt students to win the 2015 Vanderbilt Global Health Case Competition. They will travel to Atlanta next month to represent the...

MPH faculty to play key roles in CDC autism surveillance network

Feb. 6, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty members Melissa McPheeters, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Richard Epstein, Ph.D., M.P.H., will take on key roles with the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network site at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. McPheeters will serve as director of epidemiology and Epstein as director of epidemiology for vulnerable populations.

MPH student Alicia Morgans, M.D., helps patients manage prostate cancer through new therapy options

Jan. 29, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH student Alicia Morgans, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine, is featured in a story about about new prostate cancer therapies available to patients.

Schaffner weighs in on how Tom Brady’s cold could affect the Super Bowl

Jan. 29, 2015—ABC News talks with Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., about how a cold might affect New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's performance at the Super Bowl this weekend.

The Wall Street Journal speaks with Schaffner about recent measles outbreak

Jan. 23, 2015—The Wall Street Journal interviewed Vanderbilt MPH faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., about the measles virus and what people can do to stay healthy.

Stevenson talks about the changing U.S. hospice industry

Jan. 21, 2015—David Stevenson, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt MPH Program's Health Policy track, discusses his recent research about the changing U.S. hospice industry.

Study from Ray finds use of methadone to treat pain carries increased risk of death

Jan. 21, 2015—Research from Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member Wayne Ray, Ph.D., M.S., finds that outside the hospital, use of methadone to treat pain carries a 46 percent increased risk of death when compared to the equally effective but more costly alternative, morphine SR (sustained release). Ray worked with Vanderbilt MPH graduates Cecilia Chung, M.D., M.P.H., and William O. Cooper,...

Buntin briefs legislators and stakeholders on status of health care in Tennessee

Jan. 15, 2015—Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Policy and MPH faculty member, was one of the health care experts invited to brief state legislators and other stakeholders at the recent Nashville Community Health Forum. Click here to see Dr. Buntin's slides.

Vanderbilt ranked among top 10 in NIH grant support

Jan. 15, 2015—According to annual figures available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) continues to be ranked among the top 10 in the nation among U.S. medical schools in total grant support provided through the nation’s medical research agency.

MPH graduate on the front line of Ebola outbreak

Jan. 15, 2015—2014 Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Rachel Idowu, M.D., M.P.H., spent five weeks in Monrovia, Liberia last summer assisting the Ebola outbreak response for the CDC’s Division of Global Health Protection.

NPR interviews Schaffner about measles outbreak originating at Disneyland

Jan. 14, 2015—The Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., speaks with Hear & Now about the outbreak of measles which originated at Disneyland in December 2014.

AAMC’s Public Health Pathways Database

Jan. 12, 2015—Public Health Pathways is a searchable database of domestic and international public and population health training opportunities in academic, government, and community settings for pre-med students, medical students, residents, and post-residents.

In New York Times, Schaffner comments on new antibiotic breakthrough

Jan. 9, 2015—On the front page of the New York Times, Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., is quoted in a story a new type of antibiotic that is less likely to lead to resistant strains.

Faculty and graduates’ flu surveillance study tracks pediatric vaccination rates

Jan. 8, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty members and alumni Carlos Grijalva, M.D., M.P.H., Astride Jules, M.D., M.P.H., Yuwei Zhu, M.D., M.S., Keipp Talbot, M.D., M.P.H., William Schaffner, M.D., and Marie Griffin, M.D., M.P.H., worked with researchers at the Wake Forest University and the CDC on a study appearing in the January edition of Pediatrics on how Nashville children ages 6 months through 5 years fared...

Schaffner’s advice to readers of Women’s Health: respect the flu

Jan. 7, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member and infectious disease specialist William Schaffner, M.D., tells Women's Health, "Influenza is a virus that needs to be respected," and offers advice on how to stay healthy this winter.

In Wall Street Journal, Schaffner weighs in on this season’s flu outbreak

Jan. 6, 2015—MPH Program faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., speaks with the Wall Street Journal about the severity of this season's flu outbreak in the Nashville area and across the country.

NBC News interviews Schaffner about whooping cough outbreak

Dec. 29, 2014—On NBC News, the Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., cautions about the potential for the whooping cough outbreak in California to spread to other states.

MPH faculty member talks to ABC News about listeria outbreak

Dec. 29, 2014—William Schaffner, M.D., speaks with ABC News about a recent listeria outbreak linked to pre-packaged caramel apples.

On NPR, Graves explains Tennessee’s new Medicaid expansion plan

Dec. 29, 2014—On NPR's "All Things Considered," Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member John Graves, Ph.D., explains Tennessee's new Insure TN Medicaid expansion plan.

USA Today talks to Schaffner about the mumps and those most vulnerable

Dec. 16, 2014—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member William Schaffner, M.D., speaks with USA Today about the mumps vaccine and those most vulnerable to the virus.

MPH researchers team up to examine link between flu vaccine and kids’ hospitalizations

Dec. 10, 2014—Vanderbilt MPH graduates Astride Jules, M.D., M.P.H., Carlos G. Grijalva, M.D., M.P.H., H. Keipp Talbot, M.D., M.P.H., and Katherine A. Poehling, M.D., M.P.H., recently teamed up with MPH faculty members William Schaffner, M.D., and Marie R. Griffin, M.D., M.P.H., to investigate the correlation between influenza vaccination rates for children under 5 years old and a decline in children...

Schaffner discusses CDC’s warning about severe flu strain with NPR

Dec. 9, 2014—William Schaffner, M.D., speaks with NPR's Here are Now about H3N2 flu strains, and what measures to take this flu season.

Faculty research one of “biggest HIV/AIDS research breakthroughs of 2014”

Dec. 3, 2014—A recent study from MPH Program faculty member Carolyn Audet, Ph.D., M.P.H., on the role of traditional healers in contributing to delays in care for people living with HIV in rural Mozambique is listed as one of the "biggest HIV/AIDS research breakthroughs of 2014" by the Huffington Post.

Athletes in contact sports more likely to carry MRSA, according to MPH graduate

Nov. 21, 2014—Research from 2006 MPH graduate C. Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H., finds that contact sport athletes are more likely to carry methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus compared with non-contact sport athletes.

MPH graduate’s study finds national decline in one type of serious heart attack

Nov. 20, 2014—2011 Vanderbilt MPH graduate Wesley Self, M.D., M.P.H., is assistant professor of Emergency Medicine and senior author of a Vanderbilt University study released in the American Journal of Cardiology and presented at the national American Heart Association meeting in Chicago this week.

Mastectomies to treat early-stage breast cancers increasing in U.S., according to research from MPH student

Nov. 20, 2014—Vanderbilt MPH student Kristy Kummerow, M.D., is the lead author of a study published in JAMA Surgery on the rising number of early stage breast cancer patients in the U.S. who choose to undergo mastectomy, including removal of both breasts, instead of choosing breast conservation surgery even when they have early stage disease that is confined...

On ABC News, Schaffner offers advice for staying healthy when temperatures drop

Nov. 20, 2014—The Vanderbilt MPH Program's William Schaffner, M.D., clears up a common misconception about preventing colds and the flu in wintry weather on ABC News.

MPH faculty member finds traditional healers contribute to HIV care delays

Nov. 11, 2014—A recent survey of symptomatic HIV-positive people in rural Mozambique, led by Carolyn Audet, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Health Policy, found that individuals who initially consulted traditional healers had a 2.4 times longer delay between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis of HIV than those who did not consult healers. The study appears in the Journal of...

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