Leigh MacMillan

  • fat cells

    HIV, diabetes and immune cells in fat

    In HIV-positive individuals with diabetes, immune cells in fat are more proinflammatory and cytotoxic and may represent a therapeutic target for diabetes. Read More

    Mar 18, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Electronic health record study discovers novel hormone deficiency

    A novel hormone deficiency may exist in humans, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. In an analysis of two decades worth of electronic health records, the researchers found that some patients have unexpectedly low levels of natriuretic peptide hormone in clinical situations that should cause high levels of the hormone. Read More

    Mar 11, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Temperature, newts, and a skin-eating fungus

    The emergence of pathogenic skin fungi that cause the disease chytridiomycosis is contributing to the global loss of amphibian populations.  Read More

    Mar 8, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Targeting glucagon action in diabetes

    Disrupting the action of glucagon — a pancreatic hormone that works to raise blood glucose — restores functional insulin-producing cells in mouse models of type 1 diabetes and may be a promising treatment strategy. Read More

    Mar 4, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Case Western’s Jain to discuss age-related disorders at next Discovery Lecture March 11

    Mukesh Jain, MD, vice dean for Academic Affairs and Medical Sciences and professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, will discuss the discovery of aging-related disease genes and pathways during the next web-based Discovery Lecture. Read More

    Feb 25, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    MRI view of brain tumor prognosis

    In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found. Read More

    Feb 22, 2021

  • close up of medium skin toned woman's eye with hazel colored iris

    Genetic clues in eye birth defect

    Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness. Read More

    Feb 18, 2021

  • Closeup shot of an African American man testing his blood sugar level

    Gene variant and glucose metabolism

    Genetic variation that impacts glucose- and insulin-related signaling affects responses to type 2 diabetes treatments and warrants further study. Read More

    Feb 18, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    VUMC postdoctoral scientist named HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow

    Valeria Reyes Ruiz, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a 2020 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Read More

    Feb 18, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Imaging guidance for nerve repair

    A noninvasive, quantitative MRI method could be used after surgical repair of traumatic peripheral nerve injury to help clinicians make decisions about whether additional surgical interventions are needed. Read More

    Feb 9, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Potential biomarker for IBD severity, cancer risk identified

    A selenium transport protein produced in the colon may be a novel biomarker for assessing disease severity and cancer risk in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Read More

    Feb 4, 2021

  • Vanderbilt University

    Gene network for leukemia factor

    A new method speeds the analysis of factors that control gene expression from days to minutes, allowing researchers to uncover new targets for cancer treatment. Read More

    Feb 4, 2021

  • conceptual illustration of brain with tangled scribbles running through it

    Inflammation in genetic epilepsy

    Brain inflammation links genetic and acquired epilepsy — providing new clues about epilepsy development and pointing to potential treatments. Read More

    Jan 21, 2021

  • Asian American female doctor discusses care with hospitalized young African American male patient by showing him information on a digital tablet

    Mitochondrial stress and hypertension

    Oxidative stress and toxic products called isolevuglandins in mitochondria play a role in endothelial dysfunction and hypertension — and getting rid of them with a special “scavenger” molecule has therapeutic potential. Read More

    Jan 12, 2021

  • arthritis

    Microbial RNA and rheumatoid arthritis

    Small RNAs — short stretches of genetic material — from microbes may be playing a role in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Read More

    Jan 11, 2021

  • Digital illustration of heart in an x-ray of a human chest

    Polymer protection for heart muscle

    Vanderbilt researchers demonstrate that the polymer P188 has promise as a therapy to prevent reperfusion injury — the cellular damage that occurs when blood flow returns after an ischemic event like a heart attack. Read More

    Dec 14, 2020

  • arthritis

    Study details early events of inflammatory response

    Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis. Read More

    Dec 10, 2020

  • diabetes

    A cohort for type 2 diabetes studies

    A study group of more than 600,000 patients with type 2 diabetes, identified from electronic medical records in the PCORnet national research network, could be valuable for assessing the safety of type 2 diabetes drugs. Read More

    Nov 17, 2020

  • Asian senior woman with cancer holds her granddaughter tightly in her lap. Grandma is wearing a headscarf and smiling. (A beautiful ethnic senior woman with cancer holds her granddaughter tightly in her lap. Grandma is wearing a headscarf

    Breast cancer treatment in older women

    A new study from Vanderbilt epidemiologists suggests that it’s time to reconsider clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer in older women. Read More

    Nov 12, 2020

  • frog on a white background

    Frog peptides as anti-HIV microbicides

    Peptides derived from the antimicrobial peptides secreted by frogs could function as microbicides to limit HIV transmission, while sparing protective vaginal bacteria. Read More

    Nov 2, 2020