Leigh MacMillan

Vanderbilt psychiatrists are probing brain circuit hyperactivity implicated in schizophrenia, with the idea that normalizing the hyperactivity may improve cognitive processes. Read More

Vanderbilt epidemiologists conducted in-depth whole genome sequencing of breast cancer risk genes in Black women, who die at higher rates and have more aggressive disease, to discover mutations that may improve testing and treatment selection. Read More

In a randomized controlled trial, vitamin D supplementation did not improve biomarkers for cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers developed new prognostic models for breast cancer outcomes and found that adding postdiagnostic weight change as a factor improves the prediction. Read More

Vanderbilt biochemists have discovered that the protein RADX has different biological effects at sites of DNA synthesis, depending on the cellular conditions — even though it works the same way in both stressed and unstressed cells. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers used genetics tools and biobanks with linked electronic health records to explore the associations between statins and noncardiovascular diseases. Read More

Fluid build-up in the brain — hydrocephalus — increases pressure and risk for brain damage; Vanderbilt researchers have now identified genes and signaling pathways associated with the condition. Read More

A gene variant that lowers white blood cell levels and is common in individuals with African ancestry contributes to unnecessary bone marrow biopsies, according to a study published June 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.  The findings, led by investigators at VUMC, are an example of how using genetic data could reduce a health disparity.  Read More

An indirect comparative effectiveness study using published data suggests that the targeted therapy olaparib should be re-evaluated for treating metastatic prostate cancer. Read More

Heat therapy could offer a novel nonpharmacologic approach for treating the overnight hypertension that affects patients with autonomic failure. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers dissected the complex microenvironment of the pancreatic islet to discover the signals that drive beta cell regeneration — as a possible treatment for diabetes. Read More

Vasorelaxing peptides could offer a promising therapeutic strategy for reducing the neurological deficits caused by subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced cerebral blood vessel constriction. Read More

A compound that increases lifespan in yeast is offering clues to pharmacological approaches that might slow the aging process and improve health. Read More

Using primary cells from patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, Vanderbilt researchers found synergistic inhibition of cell viability and proliferation, suggesting a new treatment strategy. Read More

Charles Sanders, PhD, and colleagues show how a “supertrafficking” mutant potassium channel contributes to heart rhythm abnormalities. Read More

Tumors consume glucose at high rates, but a team of Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that cancer cells themselves are not the culprit, upending models of cancer metabolism that have been developed and refined over the last 100 years. Read More

Unique somatic gene mutations may contribute to racial disparities in the incidence of Wilms tumor — the most common childhood kidney cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a response score using genetic and clinical information to aid prescribing of the widely used pain medication codeine. Read More

Richard Tsien, PhD, director of the Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, will deliver the next web-based Discovery Lecture. Read More

An FDA-approved medication enhances the function of T regulatory cells (Treg), a class of immune cells that restrains the immune response, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. Read More