Research

For colorectal surgery patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the introduction last summer of a new patient care protocol, which includes intensive follow-up by anesthesiologists in the hospital, has led to an average 25 percent reduction in hospital length of stay after surgery — from four days to three — and 90 percent reduction in the use of opioids to treat post-operative pain. Read More

As health care organizations implement new strategies to improve quality and reduce costs, a physician researcher at VUMC is setting out to identify whether there could be unintended effects. Read More

A more specific drought-measuring formula created by a group of Vanderbilt University environmental engineers could have implications for emergency planning, federal relief payouts and drought mitigation efforts. Read More

More than half the population of Ecuador believe that free trade agreements are a good thing for the country, according to a LAPOP study from Vanderbilt. Read More

Jessica Oster and her colleagues have shown that the analysis of a stalagmite from a cave in north east India can detect the link between El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian monsoon. Read More

With support from a three-year, $2 million research grant from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the American Heart Association are teaming up to study heart failure care in the Emergency Department. Read More

With the help of a computer program called “Rosetta,” researchers at Vanderbilt University have “redesigned” an antibody that has increased potency and can neutralize more strains of the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) than can any known natural antibody. Read More

In an especially underserved region of western Kenya, expectant mothers requiring cesarean section are the focus of a new $2.6 million grant to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), Kenya’s AIC Kijabe Hospital and the Kenya-based Center for Public Health and Development. Read More

Using probiotics may help alleviate the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (AR), also known as seasonal or perennial allergies, according to a Vanderbilt study that reviewed 23 previous trials. Read More

The Vanderbilt-based Mid-South Clinical Data Research Network (CDRN) is among seven CDRNs that will collaboratively mount a three-year, $14 million randomized clinical trial to determine the best daily dose of aspirin for preventing heart attacks and strokes among people living with heart disease. Read More

The enzyme alkaline phosphatase may provide a new therapeutic option for women at high risk of pregnancy complications due to bacterial toxin exposure. Read More

The NetGestalt computing portal integrates vast amounts of data to aid users in finding biologically and clinically relevant information. Read More

A metabolic change in adult stem cells makes them less “fit” for regenerative heart therapies, suggesting that strategies to prevent this response may boost the therapeutic usefulness of the cells. Read More

Valerie Malyvanh Jansen, M.D., Ph.D., a third-year medical oncology fellow, recently received several national awards and grants, as well as a Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center fellowship, in recognition of her translational cancer research. Read More

A novel mechanism could point to new therapies for a group of inherited diseases that share pathological features. Read More

Vanderbilt biologists have localized the seasonal light cycle effects that drive seasonal affective disorder to a small region of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus. Read More

A research team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been approved for a $2.7 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS), a rare condition that inexplicably causes middle-aged women to struggle to breathe. Read More

Surgically treating “tongue tie” in infants may be associated with improved breast-feeding and reduced nipple pain, as reported by mothers, but much more research is needed on best practices for treating the condition, according to a newly published systematic review. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers have uncovered a surprising finding that could lead to the development of new, more effective therapies for schizophrenia, which affects more than 2 million Americans. Read More

Results from the new Vanderbilt Poll will be discussed at a news conference May 13 in the Student Life Center. Read More