Author
Susannah Rose Explores the Concerns and Hopes Surrounding Health-related AI Chatbots
Oct. 4, 2024—The public’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for health care information continues to grow amid a welter of questions about their accuracy, safety and reliability and excitement over their potential to improve access to care. A team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will address the concerns and hopes surrounding health-related AI chatbots with the...
Hartert states, “This study demonstrates just how important the environment in which you grow up in is in determining your risk for developing diseases.”
Oct. 3, 2024—Children who were raised in areas negatively affected by a government housing policy from the 1930s known as ‘redlining’ are still paying a price in the form of higher risk of developing asthma, according to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. ‘Redlining’ once determined who was eligible to receive...
Self and Audet are Helping Move Genomics into the Clinic
Oct. 2, 2024—The genomic revolution is upon us. The question is, how can the explosion of new knowledge be used — now — to prevent and treat disease and improve health? Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center believe the answer may involve a “learning” network that, by assessing the impact of genomic data and clinical informatics on...
Spalluto and Lewis Recognized for Extending Veterans’ Lung Cancer Screening
Sep. 30, 2024—Two physician-scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars (VAQS) Fellowship program for implementing and evaluating innovative lung cancer screening programs for veterans. Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and Jennifer Lewis, MD, MS, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine, are the recipients...
Dr. Schaffner Discusses the Spike in Whooping Cough Cases in the U.S.
Sep. 27, 2024—The number of whooping cough cases have more than quadrupled in the U.S. since last year, according to data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Infectious diseases experts attribute the surge in cases of whooping cough — also known as pertussis — to a dip in vaccination rates that began...
Susannah Rose discusses the mission of ADVANCE AI at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Sep. 20, 2024—Vanderbilt University Medical Center was recently named a leading health system in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), according to Becker’s Healthcare. According to a list compiled by Becker’s Healthcare and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation at the University of California San Diego, VUMC was cited as one of 11 health systems...
Dr. Poehling Contributes to Advisory Committee Recommendation on Immunization Practices
Sep. 18, 2024—What is already known about this topic? Adults aged 19–64 years with risk conditions for pneumococcal disease and those aged ≥65 years are recommended to receive either 15- or 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) (PCV15 or PCV20, respectively). What is added by this report? On June 27, 2024, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended...
Katz says, Most children receive too many antibiotics for ear infections
Sep. 11, 2024—Most providers are still prescribing 10-day courses of antibiotics for acute otitis media despite recommendations calling for shorter durations of treatment, according to study findings. As Healio has previously reported, research has shown that shorter durations of antibiotics are better for some pediatric infections like acute otitis media (AOM), but this messaging has been slow to reach pediatricians. Acute...
RSV vaccine in older people cuts risk of hospitalization, says Grijalva, Self, and Zhu
Sep. 9, 2024—The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can be particularly dangerous for older people with chronic medical conditions. Each year in the United States, RSV infections in older adults result in up to 160,000 hospitalizations and as many as 10,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which in June 2023 recommended RSV...
Carolyn Audet, to Lead Implementation Science Center
Sep. 6, 2024—Two leaders in implementation science and quality improvement at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been named co-directors of the Center for Clinical Quality and Implementation Research (CCQIR), which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Carolyn Audet, PhD, and Amanda Mixon, MD, MSPH, recently succeeded founding CCQIR director Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, professor of Medicine and Health Policy, and...
MPH Graduate Eiman Jahangir Heads to Space with Blue Origin Space Launch
Aug. 29, 2024—Eiman Jahangir’s lifelong dream to fly into space is scheduled to become a reality on Thursday, Aug. 29. Jahangir, MD, MPH, associate professor of Medicine and Radiology and director of Cardio-Oncology, is scheduled to lift off on the Blue Origin rocket New Shepard from a launch site in West Texas, Blue Origin announced. The launch...
Keipp Talbot: Updated Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Aug. 23, 2024—Summary What is already known about this topic? On June 21, 2023, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that adults aged ≥60 years may receive a single dose of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, using shared clinical decision-making. What is added by this report? On June 26, 2024, ACIP voted to update these...
MPH graduate Sophie Katz and colleagues urge practitioners to overcome “academic imprinting” and follow international trends
Aug. 14, 2024—Acute otitis media (AOM) is typically treated with 10 days of antibiotics, according to a new study in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS).1 Notably, the investigators find the duration excessive, citing US and international guidelines advising 5 to 7 days, if antibiotics are indicated, but there is often no indication when the etiology is...
Zheng and Sudenga Study Finds Spending Too Much Time On The Couch Can Shorten Your Life
Aug. 9, 2024—It’s well known that spending too much time on the couch can shorten your life. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have reported that moderate intensity, leisure-time physical activity can partially reduce the elevated risk of death from all causes due to prolonged sitting time. In a study of 8,337 predominantly low-income and Black...
Gastineau explains, approximately 3 million children witness a shooting each year in the US
Aug. 5, 2024—Hospitalization rates quintuple for youth who suffer nonfatal gun injuries. Health care costs are far higher for children suffering nonfatal firearm wounds when compared to their non-injured peers, even when the victim’s initial hospitalization is excluded from the tally, a recent study in Pediatrics reports. “Children with firearm-related injuries were more than five times as likely to require...
A healthy lifestyle may partially mitigate the effects of poverty on death rates says Zheng
Aug. 2, 2024—Study shows individuals from very low-income households have higher risk of early death. A new study illustrates the extent to which poverty impacts health: individuals in households with annual incomes below $15,000 are at three times the risk for early death compared to those in average-income families. The research, led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center...
Dr Natasha Halasa Discusses New Vaccine Surveillance Network Projects
Aug. 1, 2024—Natasha Halasa, MD, MPH, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), discusses the active population-based surveillance she helps to conduct as principal investigator (PI) of the Vanderbilt site of the New Vaccine Surveillance Network, which was established in 1999 by the CDC to predict the impact of potential new vaccines. She explained that this surveillance work...
Christianne Roumie to direct new Center of Innovation for Department of Veterans Affairs
Jul. 30, 2024—Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, research health scientist at VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named the director of a new Health Systems Research Center of Innovation (COIN) for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The COIN program supports...
Wesley Self named to leadership role in global clinical trials network
Jul. 22, 2024—Wesley Self, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President for Clinical Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named chair of the Scientific Steering Committee overseeing a global clinical trials network focused on acute infectious disease. The network, called Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections and Viral Emergencies (STRIVE), is funded by the National Institutes of...
Staffing is the most important part of providing high-quality nursing home care says Stevenson
Jul. 19, 2024—During inspections since 2021, state regulators cited a third of California homes — more than 400 of them — for inadequate staffing. Regulators also granted waivers to 236 homes that said work force shortages prevented them from recruiting enough nurse aides to meet the state minimum, exempting them from fines as high as $50,000. In New York,...
Mary- Margaret Fill and William Schaffner: Notes from the field Illnesses After Administration
Jul. 16, 2024—Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) products are considered safe for cosmetic use when administered in clinical settings, although potential spread of BoNT around the injection site can result in local, transient neurological effects (e.g., ptosis or diplopia) (1). In March 2024, clinicians notified the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and Tennessee...
Dr. Schaffner discusses recent summer wave of COVID-19 cases
Jul. 9, 2024—COVID-19 cases are surging across the U.S. with the CDC saying a new variant is growing or likely growing in 43 states. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, joined CBS News to talk about the rise in cases.
Creech and Vanderbilt researchers launch new antibody trial to address Enterovirus threat
Jul. 3, 2024—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has launched a first-in-human clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of an experimental monoclonal antibody against enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which can cause severe respiratory disease and — in rare cases — a debilitating, polio-like neurologic condition. Currently there are no approved, specific treatments in the United States for severe...
Talbot Discusses New Covid-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Jul. 2, 2024—All Americans ages 6 months and older should receive one of the new Covid-19 vaccines when they become available this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The recommendation comes as the nation faces a summer wave of Covid, with the number of infections rising in at least 39 states and territories. Most...
Ye selected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association
Jun. 10, 2024—Fei Ye, PhD, MSPH, professor of Biostatistics and Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been selected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA). According to the ASA, Ye is being recognized for pioneering contributions to biomedical research, clinical trial design and analysis, and impactful collaborations and mentoring. She will be among 47...