Research
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VUMC to be site for national malnutrition study
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the test site for a nationwide initiative to address the longstanding problem of malnutrition in hospital patients. Read MoreMay 19, 2016
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Study finds menthol cigarettes do not further increase smokers’ cardiovascular disease, stroke risk
Smoking is deleterious to health, but smokers who prefer menthol cigarettes to nonmenthol can breathe a sigh of relief…for now. Read MoreMay 17, 2016
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New pain medicine from a fungus?
Collybolide – a natural product isolated from a mushroom – is a promising candidate for the development of non-addictive pain medicines. Read MoreMay 13, 2016
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Symposium highlights research contributions of postdoctoral fellows
It is widely assumed that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are insensitive to pain due to the wide prevalence of self-injurious behaviors. A new study at Vanderbilt University Medical Center suggests that this may not be true. Read MoreMay 12, 2016
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COX-2 blocker could help PTSD
COX-2 inhibitors – used clinically to reduce inflammation and pain – may find new applications for treating PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders like major depression. Read MoreMay 12, 2016
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When a company brings shame to workers, employees look for the exit
Workers who heavily tied their personal identity to their job felt the strongest sense of shame when their company was caught doing something bad, according to new research. Read MoreMay 9, 2016
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New study supports natural causes, not alien activity, explain mystery star’s behavior
The results of a new study make it far less likely that KIC 8462852, popularly known as Tabby’s star, is the home of industrious aliens who are gradually enclosing it in a vast shell called a Dyson sphere, a theory that went viral over the past year. Read MoreMay 9, 2016
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Panic-proofing, not preventing bubbles, should be focus of U.S. financial policy
A Vanderbilt law professor says Wall Street should be required to make a simple change to protect itself from runs on the market like that in 2008: eliminate the use of short-term debt to fund investments. Read MoreMay 9, 2016
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Engineering students design low-cost health care devices
How about shrink wrapping your hand to have an MRI? Or having a light in a cast to help heal diabetic foot ulcers? These are just some of the devices developed by Vanderbilt engineering students for Design Day 2016. Read MoreMay 6, 2016
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Current cancer drug discovery method flawed: VUMC study
The primary method used to test compounds for anti-cancer activity in cells is flawed, Vanderbilt University researchers reported May 2 in Nature Methods. Read MoreMay 5, 2016
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Faculty awards honor clinical, teaching, research excellence
Less than a week has passed since the reorganization that separated Vanderbilt University from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) became effective April 29, but early signs are very positive, Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of VUMC and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said Tuesday during his Spring Faculty Meeting and Awards Program. Read MoreMay 5, 2016
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Research shows youth sports hazing victims often in denial
The true incidence of hazing in youth sports is unknown because victims don’t report the mistreatment or fail to recognize it as hazing, according to a review of scientific literature on the subject by a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers. Read MoreMay 5, 2016
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Anesthesiology resident lands research awards
Anesthesiology resident Loren Smith, M.D., Ph.D., recently received two national research awards: the Margaret Wood Resident Research Award, from the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA); and the 2016 Young Investigator Award, from the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (SOCCA). Read MoreMay 5, 2016
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Drug combos for glioblastoma
Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that activation of a certain signaling pathway protects brain cancers from targeted therapies, suggesting that using therapeutics that block both pathways may be a promising treatment. Read MoreMay 3, 2016
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Improving natural killer cancer therapy
A newly discovered mechanism that helps cancer cells avoid destruction by immune system cells may improve immunotherapies. Read MoreApr 29, 2016
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An Argonaute’s voyage to cancer
A genetic mutation that promotes cancer development blocks the normal sorting of a protein called “Argonaute 2.” Read MoreApr 28, 2016
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Investigators explore African ancestry, Alzheimer’s risk
Higher genomic levels of African ancestry are associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, a consortium of investigators reported recently in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Read MoreApr 28, 2016
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Study sheds light on link between autism, GI issues
Researchers at Columbia and Vanderbilt universities have made an important discovery in mice that has implications for understanding the gastrointestinal (GI) problems experienced by some children with autism. Read MoreApr 28, 2016
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Ehrenfeld to direct VUSM’s education research program
Jesse Ehrenfeld, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, Surgery and Health Policy, has been named director of education research for the Office of Health Sciences Education. Read MoreApr 28, 2016
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Study links COPD with increased bacterial invasion
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common smoking-related lung illness and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Scientists have long believed that inhaling toxic gases and particles from tobacco smoke causes inflammation of the small airways in the lungs, leading to the development of COPD. Read MoreApr 28, 2016