{"id":4009,"date":"2025-03-05T15:50:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T15:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/?p=4009"},"modified":"2025-03-06T16:06:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T16:06:07","slug":"marking-extraordinary-milestones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/marking-extraordinary-milestones\/","title":{"rendered":"Marking extraordinary milestones"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jeff
Photo by David Bailey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we celebrate Vanderbilt University School of Medicine\u2019s sesquicentennial, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable journey that brings us to this moment. For 150 years, Vanderbilt has been at the forefront of biomedical science, education and patient care.<\/p>\n

We each spent time learning and connecting in the halls and clinics of this storied institution, absorbing the lessons that would propel our lives of service to patient care and research.<\/p>\n

The buildings have changed, and so has the technology, since the first class of students came to this campus to learn \u2014 but the spirit and commitment to a healthier tomorrow remains as resolute as ever.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing to stroll through the History of Medicine Collections at the Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center. This collection of more than 15,000 volumes and artifacts bears testament to Vanderbilt\u2019s legacy, each item telling a story of progress, determination and healing. (See pages 20-21.)<\/p>\n

Yet even the past year has brought significant milestones.<\/p>\n

Our commitment to pioneering health care is exemplified by LifeFlight\u2019s 40th anniversary. From its inception in 1984, this program has completed nearly 77,000 flights and helped over 80,000 patients. Alongside it, Angel Transport marked its golden anniversary, reminding us how ingenuity and a commitment to saving lives can change reality. An intrepid Vanderbilt engineer worked with the legendary VUSM alumna Mildred Stahlman on the conversion of a panel truck into Vanderbilt\u2019s first pediatric transport vehicle \u2014 a testament to the innovative spirit that defines us. (See pages 22-27.)<\/p>\n

Today, that same spirit drives Vanderbilt\u2019s leadership in pediatric gene therapy. At Monroe Carell Jr. Children\u2019s Hospital at Vanderbilt, we\u2019re witnessing miracles as children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy regain their ability to run and play! As one of the first programs to offer these leading-edge therapies, we\u2019re advancing the art of the possible while transforming lives. (See pages 28-31.)<\/p>\n

Every day, I witness our alumni, faculty and students pushing boundaries, challenging conventions and improving lives, and I remember why I am proud to be a part of this community. Even as our amazing Vanderbilt history shapes us, our continued dedication to innovation, education and compassionate, personalized care defines us \u2014 attracting students and faculty to join us in leading the innovation that reshapes care here in Middle Tennessee and worldwide.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to making history for the next 150 years.<\/p>\n

Jeff Balser, MD, PhD
\nPresident and CEO, Vanderbilt University Medical Center<\/em>
\nDean, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine<\/em><\/p>\n

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As we celebrate Vanderbilt University School of Medicine\u2019s sesquicentennial, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable journey that brings us to this moment. For 150 years, Vanderbilt has been at the forefront of biomedical science, education and patient care. We each spent time learning and connecting in the halls and clinics of this storied institution,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vm-from-the-dean","category-vm-spring-2025"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/medschool-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2020\/11\/USE-Dr-Jeff-Balser-245.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcDnub-12F","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4009"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4145,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4009\/revisions\/4145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbilt-medicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}