Winter 2016
The Zika Virus
Feb. 26, 2016—Zika is a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, which also transmits dengue and chikungunya. A widespread epidemic of Zika virus infection was reported in 2015 in South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Losses
Feb. 25, 2016—Arthur Anderson Jr., M.D., ‘50, HS ‘52, FE ‘55, died July 4, 2015. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie; children, Arthur, Charlotte, Michael and James. Samuel Boellner, M.D., HS ‘63, died Sept. 5, 2015. He was 80. Dr. Boellner is survived by his wife, Marilyn; stepchildren, Karen and Eric; and seven step-grandchildren. Marion Carnes,...
Faces and Places
Feb. 23, 2016—
Alumni News
Feb. 23, 2016—1950s Gerald Stone, M.D., ‘57, HS ‘58, BA ‘54, and his wife, Lois, celebrated their 59th anniversary on June 10, 2015. They have 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Dr. Stone continues to do locum tenens in Rochester, New York, where he helped pioneer hemodialysis in 1963. 1960s Al Mushlin, M.D., ‘66, BA ‘63, received...
Letter From Ann Price
Feb. 23, 2016—Dear Vanderbilt University Medical Alumni, Vanderbilt Medical Alumni Reunion 2016 Our next biennial Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) Reunion 2016 will be held Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 20-22, in conjunction with Vanderbilt University’s Reunion and Homecoming celebration. All VUSM medical alumni are cordially invited to attend. Of note, VUSM special anniversary classes (see chart below) will...
Community of Support: Bob McNeilly Jr.
Feb. 23, 2016—The time that Bob McNeilly Jr. spent as a student at Vanderbilt University was the foundation for a longstanding tradition of dedication to the University and Medical Center and their missions. And through the past six decades, these relationships have translated into valuable financial contributions and countless hours of volunteer service in support of the...
Giving in Action: Janet and Jim Ayers
Feb. 23, 2016—In 2005, Tennessee philanthropists Jim and Janet Ayers gave $10 million to help Vanderbilt University scientists find early markers for colorectal cancer that could improve diagnosis and potentially save lives. Within nine years, the gift, which established the Jim Ayers Institute for Precancer Detection and Diagnosis at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), had yielded an impressive...
Alumni Profile: Kathleen R. Cho, M.D., ‘84
Feb. 23, 2016—Leading the charge against ovarian cancer Kathleen R. Cho, M.D., ‘84, has always had a love for the biological sciences, which birthed a passion for improving human health, especially for women facing the devastating diagnosis of gynecological cancer. Cho was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of her major contributions to...
Alumni Profile: Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH
Feb. 22, 2016—Career Shaped by Personal Experiences At a young age, Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH, observed firsthand the debilitating effects of disease. Unbeknownst to him, that experience would lead him down a career path and passion for helping others. “When I was about 7 years old, my mother was diagnosed with a form of lupus,” Creech said....
New Programs Prepare Future Health Care Leaders
Feb. 22, 2016— Graduate students at Vanderbilt seeking careers in health care just got an added boost in course offerings. Three distinctly different programs were recently introduced to address the evolving needs of future practitioners. According to Bonnie Miller, M.D., associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and senior associate dean for Health Sciences Education, the additions are...
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...
Bitter Pill
Feb. 22, 2016—On the evening of June 12, 2015, Donna Emley took two acetaminophen (Tylenol) for a slight muscle ache and went to bed. The next day, she and her husband drove to Kentucky, where they were planning to spend a week at an organic farm. She awoke at 2 a.m. the following day and noticed that...
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...
In Search of Answers
Feb. 22, 2016—It’s human nature to need answers. We don’t like uncertainty. That includes getting answers about your health. You go to your health care provider; you want to leave with a diagnosis. But not all health care encounters work out that way. For about 25-30 million Americans, a diagnosis never comes, because the disease is rarely...
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...
Against All Odds
Feb. 22, 2016—Dawn James of Knoxville, Tennessee, was 16 weeks pregnant when a 3-D ultrasound determined that her unborn baby had severe spina bifida that left almost his entire spinal cord exposed. The baby was given zero chance of survival. “We spoke with 10 specialists during my pregnancy, trying to see if we could find somebody who...
Siri ‘butt dial’ to 911 brings rescuers to trapped victim
Feb. 22, 2016—A Vanderbilt patient who survived a car falling on him has brought a whole new meaning to the term “butt dialing” and believes that prayer, along with a little help from Siri, saved his life. Sam Ray, 18, was never a fan of Siri, the hands-free virtual assistant on Apple iPhones, until he found himself...
Q+A: Jonathan Metzl, M.D., Ph.D.
Feb. 22, 2016—Jonathan Metzl, M.D., Ph.D., was recently named director of research of the Safe Tennessee Project, a non-partisan, volunteer-based organization devoted to reducing gun violence in the state. Metzl is the Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society. He also holds faculty appointments in psychiatry, history...
Study sheds light on side effects of COX-2 drugs
Feb. 22, 2016—It’s been about a decade since the promise of COX-2 inhibitors—drugs that relieve arthritis pain and inflammation without the gastrointestinal side effects of other painkillers—was tempered by the realization that they could cause heart problems in some patients. Now a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists led by Ming-Zhi Zhang M.D., M.Sc., and Raymond...
Major grant to transform region’s clinical practices
Feb. 22, 2016—Vanderbilt University has received a contract from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for up to $28 million over four years to help more than 4,000 clinicians in the Southeast transform their clinical practices in ways that improve quality of patient care and hold down costs. The contract is part of the Transforming...
Quicknotes
Feb. 22, 2016—Compound developed at VUMC may delay Huntington’s disease A compound developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University can improve early symptoms and delay progression of Huntington’s disease in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disorder. The findings, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offer one of the first glimmers of hope for a...
Earthquake victim’s journey leads to Children’s Hospital
Feb. 22, 2016—Eleuseo Morales-Garcia awoke suddenly to his San Marcos, Guatemala, home shaking violently on July 7, 2014. It was 5 a.m. and the walls were crumbling around him, his wife, Audelia Marta-Ortiz, and their five children. The earthquake that hit their city that morning—and changed the family’s life forever—reportedly was a 6.9 magnitude. Because Guatemala lies...
Growing to New Heights
Feb. 22, 2016—The cover of this issue of Vanderbilt Medicine features Eli James, a courageous 5-year-old being cared for by the Program for Children with Medically Complex Needs through Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Eli was diagnosed in utero with rachischisis, the most severe form of spina bifida, and was given little chance of survival...