VUMC Publications

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Naazariah Thomas and her mom, Marissa, make the trek from Clarksville to Nashville every two months because the customized, comprehensive health care the toddler needs is not available in her hometown. Naazariah has sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that affects the red blood cells. The disease can cause… Read More

According to Food Allergy Research and Education, about 1.5 million Americans have food allergies. They affect 1 in every 13 children under 18 in the U. S.—or about two in every classroom. Those who have them must approach food with a great deal of caution. Read More

While patient care is an important part of the careers of the majority of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduates, some find that they can make the greatest leadership contributions in non-clinical roles. “The solid foundation that these graduates have received in the art and science of medicine allows them… Read More

It all started with a faint glow. It was November 1895, and the German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen was experimenting with an early cathode ray tube—a vacuum tube with a contained electric current. During his experiments he noticed an odd fluorescence in crystals on a nearby table. Surprisingly, the glow continued even… Read More

When the Clinic at Mercury Courts opened in the summer of 2012, the staff expected to be inundated with patient visits. Designed to provide medical care for people and families transitioning from homelessness and other poverty situations, the clinic on Murfreesboro Road is located within a 5-mile radius of 12… Read More

John Heusinkveld, M.D., thought when he was a medical student that he didn’t want to practice obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN). So, during his third year, he chose the specialty as his first clinic rotation to get it out of the way. But he was surprisingly pulled in that direction, and… Read More

Mia Sharp Bransford, R.N., EMT, works as a nurse at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, helping injured and sick children in the Emergency Department. Usually, her work and dedication to treat children and patients is performed in the hospital. But the soft-spoken, friendly nurse unselfishly rose to the… Read More

Vanderbilt University basketball player Christina Foggie, the top scorer, male or female, at her New Jersey high school and the top-rated recruit, came into her freshman season in 2010 doing all it took to make plays, taking the inevitable bumps and elbows from her opponents. At the sixth game of… Read More

Minutes from now, the newly conscious patient will flail softly in her bed and try to pull out her breathing tube. A nurse will be there to stay her hand. Right now, though, she’s slipping toward death. As she was being turned in her bed, her heart rate plummeted, and… Read More

Although clichés are passé, omnia vincit amor – love conquers all – is highly appropriate in describing the longtime relationship between third-year Vanderbilt medical student Sarah Proffitt and her boyfriend, Amos Clark. Proffitt and Clark grew up in the small town of Athens in East Tennessee where almost everyone knows… Read More

Dogs experience the world through their noses. With an average of 200 million scent receptors (compared to a measly 5 million in humans), dogs can pick up a scent from a mere handshake and follow trails that are years old. That was good news for the family of Johnny Hahn,… Read More

Nine-year-old Stevie Wintz stares down the pitches that sail over home plate and is rewarded with a walk to first base. Once safely on the bag, with the sound of “Party Rock Anthem” blaring from another field, he breaks into his signature dance moves – like his whole body is… Read More

When the United States declared a “War on Cancer” 40 years ago, the endeavor was envisioned as a strategic battle, with doctors and researchers employing overwhelming force and lethal technology in a straightforward march to victory against a disease that claimed millions of lives. Scientists have made progress in the… Read More