Year: 2012

Images of individuals with Alagille syndrome (National Institutes of Health) Mutations in the Jagged1 gene cause Alagille syndrome, an inherited disorder that affects the liver, heart, kidneys and facial structure. Patients with Alagille syndrome often have a prominent forehead, a flattened midface and a prominent chin; some have a cleft… Read More

About half of kidney patients will die from heart disease within five years of starting dialysis, yet patients with kidney failure are rarely included in heart disease research. Jorge Gamboa, M.D., T. Alp Ikizler, M.D., and Nancy Brown, M.D., completed a small study that suggests a more personalized approach to… Read More

Tea and its phytochemical constituents have demonstrated anti-cancer properties in cell and animal experiments – particularly green tea, which has higher levels of antioxidant polyphenols than other types of tea. iStockphoto.com Gong Yang, M.D., MPH, and colleagues evaluated the association between green tea consumption and colorectal cancer risk in participants… Read More

The nomination of former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray to head up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “is clearly an issue that has come to the forefront because of election year politics,” said David Lewis, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Mary Gwyn Bowen, R.N., is studying whether art on the walls motivates patients to ambulate more quickly following cardiac surgery. (Joe Howell / Vanderbilt) Following cardiac surgery, patients are encouraged to get out of bed and walk as soon as possible, a daunting task to many who… Read More

The first graduating class of the School for Science and Math celebrates last spring. Photo by Tommy Lawson Their research papers are published in a scientific journal. They win accolades in a prestigious national science competition. And that’s before they graduate from their public high schools. These are the… Read More

The conventional wisdom about Newt Gingrich's troubles at the Iowa caucuses may be mistaken, says John Geer of Vanderbilt University. Blaming a barrage of attack ads aimed at the former House speaker for his decline in the polls may be inaccurate, Geer believes. Read More

Education experts from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development are available to talk to media regarding the much-anticipated bill that would overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – also known as No Child Left Behind. Read More

How three Vanderbilt nurses are changing the world, one child at a time Vanderbilt School of Nursing’s Marie Phillips poses with 7-year-old A’Darius Parrish at Park Avenue Elementary School in Nashville, where Phillips serves as school nurse. (Anne Rayner/Vanderbilt) Marie Phillips, Kathy Warren and Theresa Hook are Vanderbilt nurses,… Read More

Students at Vanderbilt’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute are proof that learning never stops Mary Pat Silveira (left), a retired United Nations official and instructor for the winter term course "The Other UN," speaks with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members. (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt) Tucked away in a second-floor meeting space at The Commons Center,… Read More

Community Connections aims to enrich the work lives of Vanderbilt staff Janiece Vincz (left) and Lara Beth Lehman (John Russell/Vanderbilt) As one of Tennessee’s largest employers, Vanderbilt is, in essence, a small city. More than 22,000 workers comprise this bustling community, which is service-minded, rich in creativity and culturally diverse. What… Read More

Vijay Padmanabhan helps tread the line between detainees’ safety and human rights Vijay Padmanabhan (Sandy Campbell/Vanderbilt) Candidate Barack Obama pledged in 2008 to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. But as President Obama runs for re-election four years later, it remains open. Vanderbilt law professor and former State Department… Read More

Elsie Yordy, circa 1950 (image courtesy of Eleanor Yordy Dooner) My paternal grandmother, Elsie, always wanted me to become a nurse. She told my sisters and me time and again that if we were to make anything of ourselves, we needed to go to nursing school. An orphan adopted… Read More

Caudill (Vanderbilt) Devin Bender, a support specialist in the emergency department; Melinda Caudill, a medical technologist in the Virology Laboratory; and Katie Gentry, a child life specialist, each have received the Credo Award, given to staff and faculty who exemplify Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s standards for service and all-around… Read More

Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Emeritus, Stanley Cohen (image courtesy of Vanderbilt University Special Collections & University Archives) Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Russian Jewish emigrants in 1922, Stanley Cohen attended Brooklyn College, where he majored in biology and chemistry. After graduation, he worked as a bacteriologist at a milk… Read More

Jen-Jen Lin (John Russell/Vanderbilt) Jen-Jen Lin keeps six lions in her basement and a dragon in the closet. The awesome lion costumes live at her home until brought to life by dancers who perform the traditional Chinese Lion Dance under her direction. The spectacular 60-foot dragon, used… Read More