Jill Clendening

George Washington University biomedical engineering student Sydney Bailes spent her summer carefully creating silicone layers of precise consistencies, and she hopes to spend winter break continuing work on the project that can one day help junior surgical trainees practice a critical skill — inserting surgical instruments for abdominal surgeries. Read More

Investigators in the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (VDRTC) and collaborators at Stanford University have discovered new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cell proliferation in juvenile human pancreatic islets, information that could lead to new treatments for diabetes. Read More

Nashville photographer Fred Dusel took a long draw on his ever-present trademark cigar as he studied a richly detailed carbon transfer print of wind-twisted driftwood on a barrier island beach in Georgia. Read More

During the yearlong renovation of the Annette and Irwin Eskind Biomedical Library, all Vanderbilt University (VU) libraries are open to all Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and School of Nursing personnel. Read More

Past research has proven that palliative care — specialized medical care focused on pain and symptom management as well as psychosocial interventions to improve quality of life — benefits patients with malignant diseases such as aggressive cancers. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) health care providers are now studying whether palliative care can also benefit those with advanced liver disease, a diagnosis that precedes either a life-saving liver transplant or death. Read More

Physicians have been objecting to the high cost of the certification fees of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) member boards for many years, and a research letter published recently by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that the revenue of these boards greatly exceeded expenditures in 2013. Read More

The most recent Credo Award and Five Pillar Leader Award winners were announced at this week’s Clinical Enterprise Leadership Assembly at Langford Auditorium. The awards are conferred on a quarterly basis. Read More

As a teenager, Ashley Duhon realized she wanted to become a doctor so she could help people, like her mother, who suffer from medical complications due to type 1 diabetes. Read More

On the same day 48 years after the July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 moon landing, individuals from throughout the Vanderbilt community reflected on that historic event — a milestone marking the ultimate synthesis of innovative thinking and technology — as they shared their own explorations and mission moments during StrategyShare17. Read More

In between zip-lining through the woods and playing ball, 13-year-old Rhett Stanley takes a break from summer camp, pulls a tiny bag from his backpack and quickly tests his blood glucose level. Then, just as quickly, he’s back to the fun. Read More

Eighteen-year-old Grace Long had just been accepted at the renowned United States Naval Academy, with plans to become a nuclear engineering officer. Then, she learned she had type 1 diabetes, an immediate disqualifier for military service. Read More

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (VDRTC) is celebrating its 44th year of operation with a five-year competitive renewal of its $9 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read More

Shichun Bao, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine, unclips an insulin pump smaller than a deck of cards from her waistband to glance at its digital readout — but she doesn’t actually have diabetes and the pump contains only saline. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) honored three pioneers for their historic contributions to education, science and medicine during a formal portrait unveiling at Langford Auditorium this week. The event, hosted by the Office of Diversity Affairs, was held as part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) commitment to diversity and inclusion. Read More

Tennessee has one of the lowest human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates in the nation, and investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are hoping to change this by improving the way medical providers present these vaccines to patients and by improving patient and patient family education. Read More

Galen Perdikis, M.D., professor and chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, has been named professor and chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Plastic Surgery. His appointment is effective Aug. 1. Read More

Nashville musician and producer Jesse Boyce compares the anxiety he felt just before receiving palliative radiation therapy to the jitters he often experienced before going on stage. The instant treatment began — and as the first note rang out — his anxiety was replaced by a sense of peace and determination. Read More

Plastic surgeons at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have published a prospective study that proves there are specific risk factors — such as obesity, smoking and diabetes — that contribute to development of a major surgical site infection following cosmetic surgery. Read More

Neat stacks of paper are lined up on the desk of Timothy Geiger, M.D., with each stack representing a challenge. For example, one sheet has a flow chart sketched on it — Geiger’s musing on ways to more efficiently use Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) operating rooms, matching the best locations with case types and surgical teams. Read More

Recording and analyzing patient and family reports about rude and disrespectful behavior can identify surgeons with higher rates of surgical site infections and other avoidable adverse outcomes, according to a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators in collaboration with six other major academic health systems. Read More