Month: May 2013

Credit: TODD DAVIDSON New Wave of ‘Superbugs’ Poses Dire Threat | Deadly Bacteria That Resist Strongest Drugs Are Spreading | Drug-Resistant Bacteria and Lack of New Antibiotics Could Signal Catastrophe We’ve all seen the ominous headlines—and heard the warnings from our own health care providers—about the dangers of antibiotic… Read More

Credit: JIM FRAZIER/illustration source A study comparing outcomes among prostate cancer patients treated with surgery versus radiation therapy found differences in urinary, bowel and sexual function after short-term follow-up—but those differences were no longer significant 15 years later. The study, led by first author Dr. Matthew Resnick,… Read More

Credit: JESUS ABURTO Is an angry judge a bad judge? Not necessarily. “Anger is the quintessentially judicial emotion,” says Terry Maroney, professor of law and co-director of Vanderbilt’s program in social justice. “It involves appraisal of wrongdoing, attribution of blame and assignment of punishment—precisely what… Read More

Credit: KAT CHADWICK There may be a biological basis for separate doll and dump-truck aisles in the toy store. In a study of baby mice, researchers at Vanderbilt and the University of Southern California found that males and females respond differently to the hormone arginine-vasopressin (AVP), which… Read More

Credit: GARY WATERS Prison Time Cuts Life Expectancy For every year spent in prison, overall life expectancy decreases two years. A new study by Evelyn Patterson, assistant professor of sociology, looked at New York parolees released between 1989 and 2003 and found a 15.6 percent… Read More

CREDIT: Adam Kuykendall/University of Maine Lu Zeph believes people with disabilities have both a civil and a human right to develop their abilities in an inclusive community. “The disability rights movement is rooted in the Civil Rights Movement,” she states. Both faced similar opposition, she says, and… Read More

Credit: JR ANDERSON Deena Dill is probably one in a million—a busy actress and producer who’d rather work light-hearted sitcoms and game shows than become the next Meryl Streep. “Game shows are certainly not a niche most people in the industry gravitate toward, but it’s what I… Read More

CREDIT: Rancard Solutions Ltd. During a 1997 summer internship, Vanderbilt mechanical engineering student Kofi Dadzie had a brilliant idea: Enormous opportunities awaited someone who could bring a combination of business principles and information technology to his homeland, Ghana. “As a developing country, Ghana … did not boast… Read More

Students from Birmingham, Ala., arrive at the Beijing airport during the summer of 2012. Wyatt Smith is in the middle of the back row holding the pink sign. (Courtesy of Wyatt Smith)   BY WYATT SMITH, BS’10 Three months into my Teach For America experience, I received a phone… Read More

The parents of Vanderbilt patient Tyson Wohlford had this photo taken to express gratitude for his care at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. (Credit: Dixie Pixel Photography) Vanderbilt Celebrates 30 Years with Children’s Organization This year marks one of the most influential partnerships in Vanderbilt’s… Read More

Sean Davidson (Credit: John Russell) Opening Dores to New Career Opportunities Sean Davidson, BS’10, was planning for a career in investment banking. A meeting with alumnus Andrew Grobmyer, BS’91, at an Opening Dores dinner changed all that, and today Davidson is working as a health care consultant… Read More

Credit: Ken Bennett/Wake Forest University Walter J. Harrelson Old Testament Scholar Walter J. Harrelson, distinguished professor of Hebrew Bible, emeritus, and former dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, of Winston-Salem, N.C., died Sept. 5, 2012. He was 92. An internationally acclaimed Old Testament scholar, he served four years… Read More

John Wikswo, Gordon A. Cain University Professor of biomedical engineering and A. B. Learned Professor of Living Physics, presented "Homunculi and I: Lessons from building organs on chips" at TedX Nashville April 6, 2013. Read More

The leaders of Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced Friday that the two organizations have signed an affiliation agreement that will benefit MSHA, VUMC and the residents of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. “We are pleased to announce this… Read More

Five Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected to membership in the Association of American Physicians (AAP), one of the nation’s most respected medical honor societies. They are E. Wesley Ely, M.D., James Goldenring, M.D., Ph.D., Marie Griffin, M.D., MPH, Mark Magnuson, M.D., and Richard Peek, M.D. Read More

Morgan McDonald, M.D., left, and Jule West, M.D., talk with patient Freddie Mitchell during his visit to the Downtown Clinic. (Photo by John Russell) A combination of highly rated clinical skills, a thirst for mentorship and a deep sense of respect for their patients are among the… Read More

Laura and Chris Hatfield, who had a liver transplant in 2011, with their children Rachel, 7, and Jackson, 3, during the annual Donate Life Vanderbilt Flag Raising Ceremony. (Photo by Joe Howell) The old adage about the third time being the charm proved to be true for… Read More

Nobel laureate Michael Brown, M.D., describes his quest to understand cholesterol during the 2013 Earl W. Sutherland lecture. (Photo by Susan Urmy) Cholesterol is a tricky molecule to keep in balance. It’s a building block for the cell membrane and is required for cell growth and survival. Read More

Mimi Huizinga, M.D., MPH Mimi Huizinga, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Medicine, has been appointed to the newly created role of medical director for Vanderbilt Medical Group Adult Quality and Patient Safety, reporting to VMG Chief Medical Officer Paul Sternberg Jr., M.D. “I’m very pleased to… Read More

Janice Smith, R.N., M.Ed. Janice Smith, R.N., M.Ed., has been appointed to the new role of chief administrative officer of Vanderbilt Network Services. VNS serves as an interface between core departments of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and off-campus clinics. VNS staff members have expertise in project management,… Read More