News
Grijalva to lead new study investigating COVID’s impact on non-health care essential workers
Feb. 16, 2023—Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers are inviting non-health care essential workers to participate in a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded study to better understand how they continue to be impacted by COVID-19 and to guide efforts to keep them and their families safe as new variants emerge. “Early in the pandemic, essential...
Schaffner and Emerging Infections Program land National Award for COVID response
Jan. 25, 2023—The Tennessee Emerging Infections Program (EIP) was recently recognized with the Toby Merlin Award for Excellence in Emergency Response, presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The award was given for the EIP team’s collaboration with partners across 14 states and agencies for...
Murry appointed to national advisory board for mental health
Jan. 23, 2023—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently appointed Velma McBride Murry to the National Advisory Mental Health Council. The council advises the current U.S. secretary of health and human services and the director of the National Institute for Mental Health. McBride Murry, University Distinguished Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt Peabody...
Bivalent Boosters Can Help Protect Against Newest COVID-19 Variant, says Talbot
Jan. 20, 2023—Infectious disease expert Kimberly Okafor, MD, joined Tom Talbot, MD, MPH, VUMC’s Chief Hospital Epidemiologist, to chat about XBB.1.5, a new COVID1-9 variant that is currently circulating in our area. They discuss how the bivalent booster vaccine can be a valuable tool in protecting you and your loved ones. Visit the link to hear their...
Black conducts genetic study on the metabolic enzyme CYP2D6 and its effect on controlling postoperative symptoms in children following tonsillectomy
Jan. 18, 2023—Ondansetron is commonly used in children and adults to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Variation in the gene for the metabolic enzyme CYP2D6 can affect response to ondansetron, and it is recommended that alternative anti-emetic therapy be considered for adults who are ultrarapid metabolizers. However, data from pediatric populations are limited. Sara Van Driest,...
Gastineau discusses treating childrens’ firearm injuries
Jan. 17, 2023—After yet another deadly weekend in Nashville thanks to gun violence, some doctors are calling the issue a public health crisis. Since Saturday, three teens were shot dead in Nashville, and one 17-year-old was seriously hurt by gunfire, according to Metro police. So far, the city has had eight homicides in 2023. Dr. Kelsey Gastineau, MD, MPH...
Self oversees ACTIV-4 Host Tissue Clinical Trial for Covid-19 Therapy Analysis
Jan. 10, 2023—COVID-19 hospitalizations are again increasing this winter, and researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are redoubling their efforts to aid the recovery of patients hospitalized with severe disease from the viral infection. VUMC’s Sean Collins, MD, MSc, Wesley Self, MD, MPH, and Matt Shotwell, PhD, oversee the nationwide ACTIV-4 Host Tissue clinical trial platform, which is designed to investigate therapies...
Cooper investigates workplace behavior outcomes following training via a peer messaging tool
Jan. 9, 2023—A tool developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to address disrespectful workplace behaviors through trained peer-to-peer messaging can be successfully implemented in the nursing workforce with the appropriate support, according to a new study published in the January 2023 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The first author of the article,...
“Eliminating Health Disparities”: Creech discusses diversity and inclusion issues affecting pediatric infectious diseases in new supplement issue
Dec. 22, 2022—The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS) has published ‘Eliminating Health Disparities,‘ a supplement issue featuring five articles on past, current and future diversity and inclusion issues affecting pediatric infectious diseases (ID). The collection focuses the spotlight on both the makeup of the pediatric ID workforce and the diverse populations the specialty serves. In...
Rogers to co-direct Recovery Legal Care program at the University of Chicago Medical Center
Dec. 20, 2022—Newswise — The University of Chicago Medicine has launched a novel program with Legal Aid Chicago, embedding two full-time lawyers within the health system’s Level 1 trauma center. The initiative, called Recovery Legal Care, will provide bedside civil legal help for patients and families recovering from violent injuries. The teams hope that by offering both trauma-informed and justice-informed...
Medical specialists need cultural competence to successfully address healthcare disparities in vulnerable populations, says Spalluto
Dec. 19, 2022—It’s important to think outside of the box and step outside of the hospital to address the healthcare disparities in vulnerable populations, experts stressed during this week’s RSNA annual meeting. Radiologists who work with low-income populations in cities and rural areas spoke about the challenges faced by safety net hospitals, which provide care to a...
Shroder uses clinical tool to assess surgical outcomes and survival in colorectal cancer patients
Dec. 15, 2022—Surgeons introduce a nomogram to more accurately quantify risk of positive circumferential resection margins. Nomograms are commonly used in oncology for risk assessment and to predict a patient’s surgical outcomes and survival. However, colorectal cancer surgeons have lacked such a tool. Instead, they have relied on their own risk calculations after considering MRI images and...
Reid discusses genetic predispositions to breast cancer and medical outcome disparities in Black women
Dec. 14, 2022—Damaris Olagundoye, MD, grew up knowing that her maternal grandmother was a breast cancer survivor. She would listen as her mother talked with cousins who had also been diagnosed with the disease, but her family didn’t learn until decades later that they carried a mutation in the BRCA2 gene. Her mother’s heritage was Afro Panamanian,...
Household income and maternal health status may be tied to craniofacial cleft defects in infants, says Belcher
Dec. 12, 2022—In a first of its type, a Tennessee study offers a model for better understanding factors present in regions of higher risk. Craniofacial clefts – primarily cleft lip and cleft palate – are among the most common congenital abnormalities encountered today. Maternal nutrition, obesity, race, ethnicity, heredity, environment, and healthcare access all can have a significant impact on...
Ahonkhai explains consequences of reducing HIV public health efforts and rising Nashville cases
Dec. 9, 2022—The South represents more than half of all new HIV cases in the U.S., and the region is making slower progress than the rest of the nation, according to the latest HIV/AIDS figures kept by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After years of steady numbers, new HIV cases jumped in Nashville in 2019...