Related Content
New Chaplain Covenant opens the door to better understanding at VUMC
Oct. 5, 2020—For the Rev. Cordell Simpson, MDiv, DDiv, a chaplain at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the emotional dam broke a week after George Floyd was killed on May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis. Long-suppressed memories welled up until Simpson, a Nashville native and Vietnam veteran, couldn’t contain them anymore. In the presence of his...
A Family Affair: I was VUMC’s first employee with COVID and one of the physicians tasked with developing a vaccine
Oct. 5, 2020—It was a Tuesday morning in early March when the frantic, worldwide race for a COVID-19 vaccine suddenly became not only a professional matter for me, but also a personal one. Stores and restaurants were just beginning to shutter their doors, and statewide, Tennessee had only a handful of cases. Universal masking was not a...
MIDP students get creative to decontaminate respirator masks
Oct. 5, 2020—Students from the Medical Innovators Development Program (MIDP) within the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) devised a protocol that repurposed hospital blanket warmers to decontaminate N95 respirator masks — a process that could extend the current supply of the disposable masks by allowing them to be reused up to five times. The proposed protocol...
The Potential of Plasma and Passive Immunity
Oct. 5, 2020—In August VUMC was awarded a one-year, $34 million grant by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a nationwide study of “convalescent plasma” as a treatment for COVID-19. The study, called the Passive Immunity Trial for Our Nation (PassItOn), will test whether infusions of...
New data offer insights on COVID treatments for people with cancer
Oct. 5, 2020—Data on treatment outcomes of people with cancer diagnosed with COVID-19 reveal a racial disparity in access to remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has been shown to shorten hospital stays, and increased mortality associated with dexamethasone, a steroid that has had the opposite effect in the general patient population. The data on 2,186 adults in...
Hydroxychloroquine: Ineffective as a therapy, can it help protect health care workers?
Oct. 5, 2020—In addition to remdesivir, several other drugs are being tested for the treatment of COVID-19. One of them is hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a drug originally developed to treat malaria but which currently is prescribed as an anti-inflammatory medication to reduce the pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). In laboratory studies HCQ...
“If we don’t do it, who’s going to?”
Mar. 12, 2020—In spring 2018, a new Social Mission Committee was organized, and third-year Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) students Mollie Limb and Will Furuyama were selected as co-presidents. Determined to balance the academic rigor of medical school with benevolent ventures, they’re now part of an organized effort to ensure opportunities to address health inequities are...
Genetics and Heritability
Mar. 12, 2020—Since 2007, Douglas Ruderfer, PhD, MS, assistant professor in VUMC’s Division of Genetic Medicine, has centered most of his research on understanding the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders and behavioral health traits to better quantify the role genetics play in risk and to understand the biology that leads to disease. By converting large-scale clinical data...
Supporting physician wellness
Mar. 12, 2020—Studies suggest one of about every 400 physicians dies by suicide in the United States each year, translating to more than 1 million patients losing their doctor to suicide annually. Compared with the general population, physicians are nearly twice as likely to succumb to suicide. Studies have often pointed to burnout due to heavy workloads...
Baby Boom
Sep. 9, 2019—More women. More babies. With more people choosing Nashville and its surrounding communities as home, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has seen a rapid growth in the number of visits for women’s care and babies born at VUMC. “In 2010, we saw about 50,000 outpatient visits,” said Ronald Alvarez, MD, Betty...
Hard Hats and Health Care
Sep. 9, 2019—Children’s Hospital Expansion With a population explosion impacting Nashville and surrounding communities, serving the health care needs of the region’s families and children means that Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has been on the rise — literally. Following completion of construction on the first of four new floors, patients were moved into the...
Risky Ride
Sep. 9, 2019—There’s a fierce debate raging in the new Nashville – whether the influx of a growing number of electric scooters is a fun addition for tourists and residents or a dangerous trend that affects public safety. In July, after some Metro Nashville Council members called for a complete ban of electric scooters on Nashville streets,...
Leading the Way
Sep. 9, 2019—The 20 residents in the Department of Neurosurgery are in good hands, under the guidance of residency program director, Lola Chambless, MD’05, HS’12, associate professor of Neurosurgery. In 2012, Chambless became the first female faculty member in the department and the first female neurosurgery attending physician in Nashville. “I knew that Vanderbilt was a place...
Success Built on Trust
Feb. 28, 2019—As of Dec. 5, 2018, the VUMC Street Psychiatry team had encountered 151 unique individuals experiencing homelessness during 19 weeks at 15 different sites. Within that population, 89 patients reported being unvaccinated against hepatitis A, while 63 patients reported having already received the vaccine. Of the unvaccinated cohort, 75 patients (84 percent) agreed to the...
The Emotional Toll
Feb. 28, 2019—Living with a disease for a long time can affect more than just physical well-being, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center psychologist cautions. “Sometimes we see young adults in remission (from cancer) and considered long-term survivors, but they might be having issues with daily life, relationships, obtaining and maintaining gainful employment, and living independently,” said Shari...
Expanding education to help future providers better address tough situations
Feb. 28, 2019—To better prepare future health care providers about issues related to end-of-life care, several courses are offered for both undergraduates and students at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the School of Nursing. The Clinical Ethics Consultation Service of the Center for Biomedical Ethics & Society also conducts a wide range of educational programs in...
The Program for Music, Mind and Society
Sep. 13, 2018—The Music Cognition Lab is a part of the Program for Music, Mind, and Society at Vanderbilt, a collaborative network of researchers, scientists, artists and students, working together to accelerate the understanding and impact of music on individuals and society. This network harnesses the teaching and research resources of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, Peabody...
What is omphalocele?
Sep. 13, 2018—Omphalocele, also known as exomphalos, is a birth defect of the abdominal (belly) wall. The infant’s intestines, liver or other organs stick outside of the belly through the belly button. The organs are covered in a thin, nearly transparent sac that rarely is open or broken. As the baby develops during weeks six through 10...
New Treatments at a Glance
Sep. 13, 2018—New treatments for metastatic melanoma fall into two categories: immunotherapies that spur patients’ immune systems to attack the cancer and targeted therapies that block the molecules that allow the cancer to grow and spread. Immunotherapies — Up to 60 percent of patients will respond to immune therapy. FDA-approved immunotherapies include pembrolizumab, nivolumab, talimogene laherparepvec, ipilimumab...
Cell signals that trigger wound healing are surprisingly complex
Sep. 13, 2018—In a sharp and pointy world, wound healing is a critical and marvelous process. Despite a tremendous amount of scientific study, many outstanding mysteries still surround the way in which cells in living tissue respond to and repair physical damage. One prominent mystery is exactly how wound-healing is triggered. A better understanding of this process...
Easier Access Key to Early Detection
Sep. 11, 2018—The American Cancer Society estimates about 91,270 new melanomas will be diagnosed in 2018. About 9,320 people are expected to die of melanoma, the rates of which have been rising for the last 30 years. Vanderbilt’s Department of Dermatology has a few important initiatives in play to diagnose it and other types of skin cancer...
Science of the Skin
Sep. 11, 2018—How the skin protects Epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin, provides the critical protective barrier needed for terrestrial life. The process of epidermal barrier formation includes conversion of the essential fatty acid linoleate into skin-relevant oxidized lipids. Two lipoxygenase enzymes, 12R– LOX and eLOX3, initiate this conversion pathway. An inactivating mutation in either enzyme...
More than Milestones
Mar. 2, 2018—
Digital Detective
Mar. 1, 2018—Not so long ago, when patients’ laboratory reports came back to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) indicating the possible presence of serious infections, Infection Prevention team members would print out the reports and divvy them up so they could visit the Medical Center’s clinical floors to investigate each case. “We were printing off hundreds of...
HAIs at a Glance
Mar. 1, 2018—Although significant progress has been made in preventing some infection types, there is much more work to be done. On any given day, about one in 25 hospital patients in the United States has at least one healthcare-associated infection (HAI). The CDC’s annual National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report (HAI Progress Report) describes national...
By the Numbers
Mar. 1, 2018—Over the years the Vanderbilt Transplant Center (VTC) has seen tremendous growth in all of its programs. In 1962, the first cadaveric kidney transplant was performed. As one of the largest and oldest kidney transplant programs in the country, VTC has performed more than 5,600 kidney transplantations since the program’s creation. In 1985, the center...
Building the team beyond surgeons
Mar. 1, 2018—The infrastructure of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center (VTC) allows for an interdisciplinary environment that creates a culture of teamwork and enhanced communication among all members of the transplant service, said Ed Zavala, administrator for VTC. The complex nature of transplantation requires significant attention to all aspects of transplantation, including business and administrative issues. Vanderbilt’s focus...
Student wellness a priority for VUSM
Mar. 1, 2018—Brian Drolet, MD’09, has come full circle with the Student Wellness Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM). He helped start the program in 2006 during his time as a student, and he is now a participating faculty member. “The wellness program grew out of the concept that in order to be a good...
Support for physicians
Mar. 1, 2018—At Vanderbilt, physicians can turn to the Faculty and Physician Wellness Program, which was established nearly 20 years ago, for confidential psychological support. About 6 percent of the faculty and physicians seek help annually for problems that are impacting their personal and professional lives, says Mary Yarbrough, MD, executive director of Faculty and Staff Health...
Call to Action
Mar. 1, 2018—The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced in January that more than 130 organizations across the U.S. — including associations, hospital and medical systems, universities, and professional societies — have joined NAM in declaring their commitment to reducing burnout and promoting well-being among clinicians. To provide an opportunity for organizations around the country to discuss...
Progress Report
Sep. 22, 2017—Formed in 2008, the Minority Housestaff for Academic and Medical Advancement (MHAMA) is an organization comprised of Vanderbilt house staff and advisers who are committed to creating opportunities for the advancement of underrepresented house staff by providing opportunities for mentorship, networking and professional development. MHAMA is also committed to increasing the presence of underrepresented faculty...
Next-Generation Vaccines
Sep. 22, 2017—The Human Immunome Program is one of two initiatives currently being pursued by the Human Vaccines Project (the Project). The other initiative, called the Rules of Immunogenicity Program, aims to elucidate the key principles of human immunology to understand how to generate life-long protective immunity. The ultimate mission is to accelerate development of “next-generation” vaccines...
Immunity, Infection, Inflammation focus of New Research Institute
Sep. 22, 2017—Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is launching a new institute to coordinate initiatives among the rapidly evolving disciplines of infection biology, immunology and inflammatory diseases. The Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation — VI4 for short — will be headquartered in facilities at the Medical Center and will serve the entire Vanderbilt community. The...
Magnets: The future of endoscopy
Sep. 22, 2017—You’ve turned 50. Happy birthday; it’s time to start screening for colorectal cancer. For some people, the colonoscopy—a procedure in which an endoscopist uses a long, flexible tube with a camera at the tip to examine the inside of the colon—brings feelings of dread. “Patients may fear colonoscopy, or not be able to take a...
The Impact on Babies
Mar. 7, 2017—There’s been a disproportionately greater increase in opioid use among pregnant women in rural versus urban counties, according to a December 2016 study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study, authored by Stephen Patrick, M.D., a neonatologist at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and colleagues from across the country, focused on data...
Charles represents VUMC at White House Rural Telehealth gathering
Mar. 6, 2017—David Charles, M.D., chief medical officer of the Vanderbilt Neuroscience Institute, vice-chair of the Department of Neurology and medical director of Telemedicine, represented Vanderbilt University Medical Center at a White House Convening on Rural Telehealth in March 2016. Charles was invited to lead off a panel entitled Spotlight on Innovation by presenting an overview of...
Buprenorphine used to shape behavior for those in recovery
Mar. 6, 2017—Charles* is one of the lucky ones. Three decades after he first sneaked his little brother’s hydrocodone cough medicine, 20 years after he started dissolving morphine pills in a heated spoon and injecting the milky solution into his veins, Charles has found his way back to what he calls a “normal” life. He didn’t die...
A History of Giving
Mar. 2, 2017—Diabetes care at Vanderbilt entered a new era with the opening of the Vanderbilt Eskind Diabetes Clinic in 2005. The clinic offers comprehensive outpatient care for both adults and children with diabetes, including subspecialty visits, nutrition, social work, and allied health services all under one roof. The clinic is named for the late Irwin B....
Quick Take: Dan Roden, M.D.
Aug. 22, 2016—Dan Roden, M.D., studies the mechanisms underlying variability in response to drug therapy and is principal investigator for BioVU, Vanderbilt’s biorepository. Roden is also William Stokes Professor of Experimental Therapeutics, professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, and director of the Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics. What led to VUMC’s investment in personalized medicine? There’s our...
VUMC to receive $71.6 million from NIH for Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program
Aug. 22, 2016—In July the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it will provide $71.6 million over five years to VUMC to establish and operate the Data and Research Support Center for the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program, making this the largest research grant the Medical Center has ever received from any source. “We are honored...
Eureka Moment
Aug. 22, 2016—A decade before the FDA’s 1997 initial approval of deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy, the technique was developed in Grenoble, France. Alim-Louis Benabid, M.D., Ph.D., and Pierre Pollak, M.D., utilized the effect of high-frequency stimulation on a patient’s tremor during an ablative brain surgery while using an electrode to identify the target area. The patient...
Allergic Reaction to Over-the-Counter Drug Nearly Costs Patient her Life
Feb. 22, 2016—Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) is a rare, potentially fatal allergic reaction usually triggered by certain medications or infections, in which layers of skin slough off of the affected patients as a result of cell death and sores on the mucous membranes. The disease can cause eye damage, which can lead to blindness. In Donna Emley’s case, the...
Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together
Feb. 22, 2016—Although not part of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Jill Simmons, M.D., encounters medical mysteries that have the makings of a science fiction film or novel. As a pediatric endocrinologist with a special interest in metabolic bone disorders, she sees patients with rare, severe medical conditions. Included among those are a child who, as an infant, had...
CMA pledges $3 million to boost Children’s expansion
Feb. 22, 2016—The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is receiving significant phil-anthropic support through a $3 million gift from the Country Music Association (CMA). Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) leaders, event host Kix Brooks and special guest Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum announced in October 2015. “Country music is a format known for telling stories. Now...
A Day to Remember
Feb. 22, 2016—On Sept. 2, 2015, Vanderbilt leaders joined with the community and patients and families for an expansion celebration.
Growing to New Heights Expansion
Feb. 22, 2016—In the 1990s, when pediatric health care services were scattered in buildings across Nashville and strained by the demands of a growing population, health care leaders knew a dedicated children’s hospital was needed. But the vision required a champion, someone willing to lead the effort in the community as well as the large-scale philanthropic endeavor that...
Preserving the brains—and dignity—of ICU Patients: A Decade of Published Work
Aug. 21, 2015—In 2004 the ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment Student Group published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that provided the first documented cohort study to include daily measurements of delirium in the ICU. The study found the development of delirium presents the patients with a 300 percent increased likelihood of...
Giving in Action: Vickie and Tom Flood
Aug. 21, 2015—Donors such as Vickie and Thomas Flood are supporting the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center’s world-class teaching, research and clinical care. The Center specializes in communication disorders such as hearing, speech, language, and voice problems. For many years, the Floods have supported faculty needs, research, graduate students and other expenses related to childhood hearing loss. Their...
VUSM student earns HIV/AIDS fellowship
Aug. 21, 2015—Fourth-year Vanderbilt University School of Medicine student Ishan Asokan has been selected as an inaugural member of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Fellowship for students addressing HIV/AIDS and health disparities. Asokan has been working at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic (VCCC) since his first year of medical school and will be using the clinic...
The IOM committee’s findings regarding CFS:
Aug. 21, 2015—• There is indeed a disease; • Three features are present in virtually every patient with CFS: 1. Profound fatigue (devastating and ongoing) not alleviated by rest. “We’re not talking ‘it’s 3 a.m. and I’m feeling tired kind of fatigue.’ This is devastating knocked out fatigue,” said Ellen Wright Clayton, M.D., J.D. 2. Post-exertional malaise...