News
Schaffner discusses rise in Lyme disease cases and Pfizer vaccines trial
Aug. 18, 2022—Pfizer has started a late-stage clinical trial to test a vaccine that aims to protect against Lyme disease, the drugmaker announced Monday. There are currently no vaccines approved in the United States for the tick-borne illness, which infects an estimated 476,000 people in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....
Diamond to serve as Director for Vanderbilt Youth Sports Health Center at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital
Aug. 16, 2022—Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt recently launched an innovative program geared to treat pediatric and adolescent athletes. The Vanderbilt Youth Sports Health Center, the only one of its kind in the region, opened through a partnership between Vanderbilt Sports Medicine and Children’s Hospital. “The same specialists who care for our elite sports teams...
Horst investigates effects of video versus audio based telehealth communication on health literacy
Aug. 15, 2022—Video telehealth visits are an increasingly important part of health care, and increasingly video connection during such visits is required for insurance coverage. Yet many patients do not achieve a video connection and convert to audio-only visits, which are not as effective in communicating important health information. Sarah H. Brown, MD, Michelle L. Griffith, MD, Sunil...
Tsosie supports using Blockchain to protect genomic data and mitigate exploitation of Indigenous populations’ DNA for research endeavors
Aug. 3, 2022—You wouldn’t know that Keolu Fox was a genomic scientist at the University of California, San Diego by just looking at him. His long hair, beard, and easy going personality seems more fitting for a beach in Los Angeles or a smoke circle at a party than a stuffy lab—and indeed, he’ll tell you that...
Hartert conducts study on respiratory syncytial virus in asthma development
Aug. 2, 2022—When a team of Vanderbilt scientists in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine received a $4.5 million grant to study the role of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in asthma development, they had no idea that a global pandemic would not only interfere with and delay their initial project, but also introduce an...
Fill receives 2022 Nashville Emerging Leader Award in Government and Public Affairs
Aug. 1, 2022—NELA finalists will be recognized and the winner of each industry category announced during the 15th Annual NELA Ceremony at Lipscomb University on July 19, 2022. Presenting Sponsor: Pfeffer Graduate School of Business at Lipscomb University Government and Public Affairs Mary-Margaret Fill, deputy state epidemiologist, Tennessee Department of Health Bishakha Van Voris, fiscal director, Tennessee...
Continued COVID booster shots may be necessary for fall season as new variants arise and immunity falls, says Creech
Jul. 29, 2022—Facing yet another COVID-19 variant, this one said to be faster and stealthier than those before it, health officials say the calculus has changed and are urging booster shots even more strongly to buck up the country’s armor. There is a renewed push for everyone over 5 to go out and get a first booster...
Cooper investigates trauma surgery patient outcomes and physician unprofessionalism in new study
Jul. 28, 2022—William Cooper, MD, MPH, and colleagues previously reported that patients of surgeons with higher numbers of reports from co-workers about unprofessional behavior are more likely to experience complications, and that patient and family reports about rude and disrespectful behavior can identify surgeons with higher rates of surgical site infections and other avoidable adverse outcomes. In...
Heimburger to co-lead Vanderbilt-Zambia Cancer Research Training Program
Jul. 27, 2022—Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Zambia (UNZA) are partnering on a program to develop a cadre of researchers and educators to lead cancer epidemiology research and training in Zambia and to encourage U.S.-based researchers to engage in cancer research in low- and middle-income countries. In partnership with UNZA and the Zambia Cancer...
Self investigates effects of convalescent plasma transfusion on improving clinical outcomes in COVID patients
Jul. 26, 2022—Convalescent plasma, widely given to severely ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the pandemic, does not improve their ability to survive or recover, according to a national clinical trial led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and published in the journal CHEST. The multicenter blinded, randomized placebo-controlled, Passive Immunity Trial for our Nation (PassITON), looked at the...
COVID vaccinations during pregnancy reduce likelihood for viral infection in newborns, says Halasa
Jul. 25, 2022—Infants younger than 6 months were better protected from COVID-19 complications when mothers received two doses of the vaccine while pregnant, according to researchers. Mothers who received COVID-19 vaccinations during pregnancy reduced the risk of hospitalization for this age group by 80% during the delta wave and nearly 40% during the omicron wave, according to...
Apple and Fiske elected to Vanderbilt Academy for Excellence in Education
Jul. 23, 2022—The Academy for Excellence in Education was established in November 2006. The founding membership was comprised of 44 distinguished medical educators. The Academy provides a forum to foster higher levels of participation and promote excellence and scholarship in the delivery of education to health professionals. The Academy is a collective of outstanding faculty educators in...
Celebrating a legacy: Raffanti discusses journey into medicine and combatting AIDS
Jul. 19, 2022—On June 29 Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH, hung up his scrubs at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic for the last time. It was a bittersweet moment for the man who helped lead Nashville out of the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic 30 years ago. “I’ll miss you,” Raffanti told colleagues who gathered to honor...
Antoon analyzes triple threat of summer viruses: Covid-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and the Flu
Jul. 8, 2022—This summer, parents will want to watch out for three different viruses in kids: COVID-19, RSV and the flu. According to pediatricians, they’re all going around and spiking. “They all cause fever, they can all cause runny nose and cough. They can all go from the upper respiratory tract to the lower respiratory tract and...
Horn leads study on opioid use after childbirth and associated death risks
Jul. 6, 2022—In a new study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers, women who filled two or more prescriptions for opioids after childbirth faced a 46% greater risk of death than women who did not. The study, led by the late Arlyn Horn, PharmD, MPH and Margaret Adgent, MSPH, PhD, research assistant professor in the Division...