Research

Two years after losing his leg in a shark attack, Craig Hutto became the test pilot for a unique and powerful new prosthetic leg being developed by mechanical engineer Michael Goldfarb and his team at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Two Peabody College graduate student researchers partnered with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to shine a light on the scourge of human sex trafficking, resulting in changes to Tennessee law. Read More

Therapeutic agents focusing on the brain region involved in stress-induced relapse may be effective in preventing relapse in patients with alcohol use disorders. Read More

For better or for worse, what’s posted online, stays online. That embarrassing photo, the awkward comments, your less than stellar PowerPoint? Yep, they’re still there. For those of us in the research communications business, the elephantine memory of the Internet allows our stories to continue to reach readers for years… Read More

The discovery of a previously unrecognized and pivotal role of enzyme ASL in nitric oxide production could potentially lead to new therapies for babies with pulmonary hypertension. Read More

The Vanderbilt Digestive Disease Research Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a second five-year renewal of its federal research grant. Read More

A strain of mutant mice provide a novel model for studying glucose intolerance and gestational diabetes during pregnancy and suggest that certain molecules may be useful for therapeutic applications. Read More

In addition to body mass index, genetic markers of obesity may provide value in predicting endometrial cancer risk. Read More

New Vanderbilt research shows that though the Republican base is generally biased against Mormonism, Mitt Romney’s religion would not hurt his chances among the GOP faithful as a presidential candidate in the general election. Read More

Wearing a nicotine patch may help improve memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, according to a study published this week by Paul Newhouse, director of the Center for Cognitive Medicine. Read More

A large, retrospective study of the children of childhood cancer survivors who were treated with radiation therapy and/or some forms of chemotherapy found that the offspring do not have an increased risk for birth defects compared with children of cancer survivors who did not receive these treatments. Read More

The smallest exoplanets yet discovered orbit a dwarf star almost identical to Barnard’s star, one of the Sun’s nearest neighbors. The similarity helped the astronomers calculate the size of the distant planets. Read More

When the human genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists around the world turned their collective attention to discovering what roles genetic variation plays in human health and illness. Their goal: to use that knowledge to tailor disease treatment and prevention strategies based on an individual’s own DNA blueprint, a concept… Read More

A new study in the American Journal of Human Genetics, led by Vanderbilt researchers Josh Denny, M.D., M.S., and Dana Crawford, Ph.D., takes random volumes of human genotypes and matches them with data siphoned from de-identified medical records and sheds new light on the genetic basis of the common… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are studying how the supplement melatonin can ease the sleep difficulties that often afflict children with autism spectrum disorders. (iStock) A new Vanderbilt study shows that the over-the-counter supplement melatonin is promising in helping children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and their families, sleep better. Read More

Human rhinovirus (HRV), also known as the common cold, can be uncommonly serious for certain children, a study led by a Vanderbilt University Medical Center pediatrician shows. The study, published in the Dec. 28, 2011 online issue of the journal Pediatrics, shows that not only can HRV lead to hospitalization… Read More

Research participant Loren Kirkpatrick, right, has worked with Janie Lipps, MSN, and Vanderbilt’s Diabetes Control and Complications Trial since its inception in 1983. (Daniel Dubois / Vanderbilt) Loren Kirkpatrick has been enrolled in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) at Vanderbilt’s Diabetes Center for nearly half… Read More

Managing myocardial infarction – and the resulting heart failure – remains a clinical challenge. To search for chemicals that can stimulate cardiac muscle cell production, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology investigators led by Tao Zhong, Ph.D., Terri Ni, Ph.D., and Eric Rellinger, M.D., turned to a novel drug discovery tool:… Read More

Images of individuals with Alagille syndrome (National Institutes of Health) Mutations in the Jagged1 gene cause Alagille syndrome, an inherited disorder that affects the liver, heart, kidneys and facial structure. Patients with Alagille syndrome often have a prominent forehead, a flattened midface and a prominent chin; some have a cleft… Read More

Mary Gwyn Bowen, R.N., is studying whether art on the walls motivates patients to ambulate more quickly following cardiac surgery. (Joe Howell / Vanderbilt) Following cardiac surgery, patients are encouraged to get out of bed and walk as soon as possible, a daunting task to many who… Read More