Department Of Medicine

Cells lining crucial structures in the kidney are full of mitochondria—parts of the cell that help it do its job. The cost of doing that job, though, can be damage to the mitochondria, which then cripples the cells and leads to poor kidney function. Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that the protein Rac1 kicks cell repair into high gear to help the body remove and replace damaged mitochondria. Their work was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; Assistant Professor Fabian Bock is among the paper’s authors. Read More

The announcement of the recognition of VMAC as an NIH Center of Excellence comes nearly five years after the creation of an exploratory NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Read More

Thirteen outstanding faculty members from across the university have been selected for the 2024 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise.    Read More

The distinguished faculty members and deans representing eight colleges and schools were presented with medallions that symbolize the attainment of their positions and will become part of their official academic regalia. Chair holders contribute their expertise to real-world challenges, including climate change, political inequality and access to justice, artificial intelligence and ICU trauma.   Read More

A U.S.-Canadian research collaboration led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center has identified common, age-associated changes in the blood as a risk factor for acute kidney injury, which occurs in more than 1 in 5 hospitalized adults worldwide. Read More

An international genetic study using multiancestry biobanks has identified novel genetic locations associated with primary open-angle glaucoma, the most common type of glaucoma and the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally. Read More

An analysis of genomic data from nearly 250,000 participants in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program has identified more than 275 million previously unreported genetic variations, nearly 4 million of which have potential health consequences. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified Rac1, a molecular switch that regulates the actin cytoskeleton of epithelial cells in the collecting ducts, as a driver of post-obstructive kidney repair. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have discovered why most colorectal tumors escape detection and destruction by the body’s immune system. Read More

A comprehensive study that integrates multiple analytic approaches has linked a regulatory gene network and functional defects in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells to Type 2 diabetes. Read More

Vanderbilt's James E. Crowe, Jr, MD, and Neil Osheroff, PhD, are among 12 individuals honored by the Association of American Medical Colleges during its 2023 Awards Recognition Event. Read More

Vanderbilt research shows that commensal gut microbes impact the host-pathogen competition for iron and have implications for therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing pathogens from acquiring essential nutrients. Read More

A multidisciplinary team of investigators has received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research to support four closely linked projects exploring the fundamental mechanisms that drive the obesity-cancer connection, Read More

A new study by Vanderbilt researchers provides a remarkably detailed view of the earliest events leading to the development of cancer, and of potential new ways to prevent it. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have uncovered a potential new way to help curb the rapidly rising worldwide prevalence of metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center have “cracked” the genomic code for sepsis in the lungs and kidneys. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers found that that T cells become “exhausted” within hours of encountering a tumor, challenging existing ideas about how T cells become dysfunctional. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have received a four-year, $28 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to study the relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes. Read More

Nancy Cox, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, is the recipient of the 2023 ASHG Leadership Award from the American Society of Human Genetics. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Cambridge have developed a method of or predicting gene expression in hard-to-access tissues like the brain from more accessible tissues, including whole blood. Read More