Research

A novel autism intervention program using theatre to teach reciprocal communication skills is improving social deficits in adolescents with the disorder that now affects an estimated one in 88 children, Vanderbilt University researchers released today in the journal Autism Research. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Betsy Weiner, Ph.D., R.N., senior associate dean for Informatics in the School of Nursing, and Mark Frisse, M.D., MS, MBA, Accenture Professor and director of Regional Informatics, have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the organization announced this week. Read More

Ellen Wright Clayton, M.D., J.D., the Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics and professor of Law at Vanderbilt University, has won the David Rall Medal from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for “exemplary” service to the institute. Read More

Owen Graduate School of Management Professor Bob Whaley guarantees that an increasingly popular investment product that tracks the volatility of financial markets will lose money over the long term. Read More

Michael Miga, professor of biomedical engineering, will serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Medical Imaging, a new publication of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Read More

A fungus that is killing frogs and other amphibians around the world releases a toxic factor that disables the amphibian immune response, Vanderbilt University investigators report Oct. 18 in the journal Science. Read More

Alan Wiseman's research shows that women lawmakers, particularly ones in the minority party, are more effective than their male counterparts when it comes to negotiating and getting things done--as they did to end the government shutdown. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has joined a national network funded by the National Institutes of Health to streamline multi-site clinical trials focused on key interventions in stroke prevention, treatment and recovery. Read More

Pediatric Infectious Diseases fellow Annabelle de St. Maurice, M.D., has been awarded a grant to determine the relationship between pneumococcal vaccination and the emergence of certain strains of pneumococcal bacteria not covered by vaccines. Read More

A research team led by Josh Peterson, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine, and John Graves, Ph.D., assistant professor of Preventive Medicine, will study the cost-effectiveness of testing patients’ risk of adverse gene-drug interactions. Read More

A group of Vanderbilt researchers has used laser technology and a custom-built multiphoton microscope to distinguish breast cancer subtypes and determine if specific therapies are working against the cancer cells in as little as two days. Read More

The hormone relaxin may offer a novel approach for treating diet-induced insulin resistance. Read More

A team of engineers and doctors have developed a new wireless capsule that can give surgeons back their sense of touch when performing minimally invasive surgery. Read More

Science has progressed from wild speculation about Earth’s planetary neighbors—including how they formed and whether they are inhabited—to a better understanding of our celestial neighborhood, David Weintraub, professor of astronomy, writes in "Scientific American." Read More

Magnesium and vitamin D appear to work together to reduce risk of death from cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Read More

Importin alpha 5, a member of a family of proteins that “shuttle” other proteins into the nucleus, is a potential new target for drugs to treat inflammatory diseases. Read More

Analysts with Vanderbilt's LAPOP team say Chilean authorities might want to brace for more civil discord in that country. Read More

Kathleen Neuzil, M.D., MPH, known internationally for her efforts to expand vaccine access and delivery around the world, credited her Vanderbilt University mentors last week for guiding her to a career path that allowed her to “make a difference.” Read More

The occasional failings of science tend to draw big headlines — findings that can’t be replicated or increasing numbers of papers that are retracted because studies were improperly or even fraudulently conducted. Read More

Travis Ladner, a third-year student at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been selected for a 2013 Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) student fellowship award. The award is presented to a medical student every year from a national pool of applicants. Read More