News
Harris named Department of Medicine’s executive vice chair for Clinical Affairs
Jun. 25, 2024—Bryan Harris, MD, MPH, MMHC, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named executive vice chair for Clinical Affairs for the department, effective July 1. He succeeds Cecelia Theobald, MD, MPH, who is moving into new roles as VUMC’s Chief...
Ferrara amongst 2024 Graduate Certificate in Global Health Recipients
Jun. 24, 2024—This year five Vanderbilt students completed the Certificate in Global Health. The Certificate is an interdisciplinary graduate-level program that promotes joint training opportunities in global health between and across schools at Vanderbilt. The goal of the Certificate is to equip students with fundamental principles of research/planning, an international context, and problem-solving skills that can be...
Whooping cough cases double in the U.S., a potential legacy of the pandemic, says Creech
Jun. 21, 2024—Whooping cough cases have more than doubled so far in 2024, raising concerns for infants and older adults, the two groups at highest risk. Whooping cough, a bacterial illness that poses an especially significant threat to infants, is surging in the United States — another potential legacy of the coronavirus pandemic. Federal disease trackers report...
Audet selected for the 2024 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows
Jun. 20, 2024—Thirteen outstanding faculty members from across Vanderbilt University have been selected for the 2024 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. There are five fellows from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM). Each fellow holds the title...
Wester and Vanderbilt researchers establish biomedical informatics training program in Mozambique
Jun. 19, 2024—In collaboration with Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) located in Maputo, Mozambique, the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has been awarded a five-year, $1.2 million training grant by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health to establish the first biomedical informatics (BMI) training program for scholars and fellows using computational and information sciences approaches, primarily...
Schaffner recommends renewed Covid-19 vaccinations in light of surge in Omicron FLiRT cases
Jun. 18, 2024—As the nation begins its second summer following the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, a new family of viral subvariants that virologists are calling FLiRT is on the rise. “This is not a surprise; this is always in the cards,” Edwin Michael, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida College...
Tsosie unpacks how data on Indigenous Peoples has been used and abused
Jun. 17, 2024—You might’ve heard this phrase before: data equals power. Because when you have data, you can decide how they’re used and who gets to use them. The history of research on Indigenous communities in the United States is full of stories of exploitation, power imbalances, and stolen knowledge. Be it through the iodine experiments of...
Patients with private insurance can face higher health costs at hospitals, says Dusetzina
Jun. 12, 2024—People with private health insurance might pay higher prices for procedures or tests at a hospital. A report published Monday by the research group Rand Corp. found that in 2022, the prices hospitals charged to private and employer-based insurance providers were, on average, 254% higher than what Medicare would have paid for the same services. “These very high payments ultimately result...
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...
Antibodies may aid effort to fight influenza B, says Creech
Jun. 10, 2024—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have isolated human monoclonal antibodies against influenza B, a significant public health threat that disproportionately affects children, the elderly and other immunocompromised individuals. Seasonal flu vaccines cover influenza B and the more common influenza A but do not stimulate the broadest possible range of immune responses against both viruses....
Vanderbilt research team awarded $1.8M from NINDS to conduct research on multiple sclerosis biomarkers using advanced imaging, says Reynolds
Jun. 7, 2024—Kristin Poole O’Grady, PhD, assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has received research support totaling more than $2.4 million for her investigations of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) using advanced imaging. MS is a potentially disabling disease caused by an attack by the body’s immune system on the myelin sheath...
Antoon discusses associations between immune health and social distancing in children
Jun. 6, 2024—The COVID-19 pandemic drastically reduced people’s in-person interactions with others as events were canceled and people limited their excursions, and many also practiced social distancing and masked up if they did go out. These moves were intended to control the spread of the disease and were shown to help flatten the curve. However, some concerns have been raised about...
Ely’s rehabilitation research honored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Jun. 5, 2024—Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, Grant W. Liddle Professor of Medicine, co-director of the Center for Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and associate director for research for the VA’s Tennessee Valley Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC), received the Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and...
Wattacheril explains metabolic processes underlying liver disease and various strategies for diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease progression
Jun. 4, 2024—Julia Wattacheril is a physician scientist and director of the Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In this episode, Julia delves deep into the complex world of liver health, beginning with a foundational overview of liver physiology. She provides an in-depth look at how alcohol impacts liver...
DeBaun discusses efforts to raise awareness and improve health standards for incarcerated youth
Jun. 3, 2024—According to the Prison Policy Initiative’s “The Whole Pie 2023” report, more than 47,000 children under 18 years of age are incarcerated, with 1 in 16 in an adult prison or jail. This statistic underpins the American Pediatric Society’s Issue of the Year: increasing access to quality health care for children who are incarcerated. It’s...