Health And Medicine

Written by Heidi Hall Alpacas aren’t the typical animals that drivers spot as they wind their way through rural Tennessee, but there’s a happy herd of them outside Waverly, where they eat the finest pellets, walk up and down a scenic hill and potentially save lives. They’re owned by… Read More

Vanderbilt investigators demonstrated that intestinal cells promote beneficial microbe behavior — the findings support developing microbiota-based therapies for intestinal health. Read More

Inflammation synergizes with a cell’s intrinsic genetic program to promote the development of pancreatic cancer. Read More

Engineered bacteria that produce beneficial compounds — and that could potentially be administered in foods like yogurt — may be a future treatment for obesity and other chronic diseases. Read More

A previously unrecognized role for a cell surface receptor may open new therapeutic options for the treatment of fibrotic diseases. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have now discovered that, in contrast to prevailing dogma, fibroblasts are not all alike; instead, they have distinctive functions following tissue injury. Read More

Women who consume alcohol during pregnancy — even in small amounts — have a 19% greater risk of miscarriage than women who don’t use alcohol. Read More

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has awarded two Vanderbilt epidemiologists the Memorabilia Medal “For the People’s Health” in appreciation of their contributions in helping the nation establish a population-based research program for cancer, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Read More

Michael Savona, MD, has received a competitive grant to develop therapies for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Read More

Understanding the roles of various immune cells that reside in the gut lining could shed light on inflammatory bowel diseases. Read More

Microtubules, part of the cell's cytoskeleton, regulate the secretion of insulin, suggesting that they may be a new target for treating diabetes. Read More

A national study is seeking to determine whether genetic testing can help physicians choose the best drugs for their patients to relieve pain and depression. Read More

Investigators have discovered how a DNA repair pathway protein shields sites of damage to avoid mutations and maintain genome integrity. Read More

Men are more susceptible to progressive kidney disease than women; new VUMC studies point to differences in the expression and activation of the EGF receptor. Read More

A first-of-its-kind mouse model may help reveal mechanistic underpinnings for the altered behaviors of autism spectrum disorder. Read More

Researchers are chronicling rare but serious toxicities that may occur with immune checkpoint inhibitors, the most widely prescribed class of immunotherapies. Read More

Vanderbilt collaborators focused on minimally invasive prostate surgery are developing an endoscopic robotic system with two-handed dexterity at a much smaller scale than existing options. Read More

The ways certain proteins spread may help explain why the prevalence of Alzheimer’s is higher in women than in men. Read More

Meena Madhur, MD, PhD, has received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Read More

Megan Rasmussen, a Ph.D. student in Cell and Developmental Biology, has been selected as the 2019 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. Read More