Department Of Pediatrics

Understanding how the immune system responds to the respiratory virus HMPV is crucial for developing vaccines and anti-viral treatments. Read More

A newly identified receptor allows mammalian reovirus to infect neurons, shedding light on factors important for viral encephalitis. Read More

Unique molecular "fingerprints" could explain the disparity in Wilms tumor incidence and point to novel, race-specific therapeutic targets. Read More

Virus-like particles containing a protein from human metapneumovirus are a promising vaccine candidate for this respiratory virus. Read More

Chris Lehmann, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt, has been appointed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office as the first pediatrician to serve on the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee. Read More

Morgan Walls, M.D., a second-year resident in Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named an Academic Pediatric Association (APA) New Century Scholar. Read More

Understanding how chikungunya virus binds to and enters cells offers a new target for antiviral medications. Read More

Maria Rahmandar, M.D., a third-year resident in the Department of Pediatrics, recently received the 2014 Career Development Award in Adolescent Health from the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Read More

Smooth muscle cells that line the aorta differ in development but not in the adult, a finding that has implications for understanding aortic development and disease. Read More

Influenza and parainfluenza infections – but not other respiratory viruses – increase the risk of acquiring pneumococcal bacteria, the most common cause of severe pneumonia. Read More

Premature babies who receive an interventional therapy combining their mother’s voice and a pacifier-activated music player learn to eat more efficiently and have their feeding tubes removed sooner than other preemies, according to a Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt study published today in… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Richard Ho, M.D., MSCI, has received a presidential honor for his innovative studies of mechanisms by which drug transporter proteins mediate the absorption, distribution and elimination of chemotherapeutic agents. Read More

An association between rigid-compulsive behaviors and gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder may point to a common biological pathway that impacts both the brain and the gut. Read More

A new Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows there is no evidence that the risk of suicide differs with two commonly prescribed antidepressants prescribed to children and adolescents. Read More

MRI brain scans reveal that children with autism spectrum disorders respond to a narrower range of familiar rewards. Read More

Kevin C. Ess, M.D., Ph.D., has been named chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurology within the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Read More

Susan H. Guttentag, M.D., is joining Vanderbilt University on Feb. 1, 2014, as the new director of the Division of Neonatology within the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Read More

A non-invasive measure of electrical brain activity in preterm infants predicts cognitive and communication functioning during early childhood, according to a new Vanderbilt University study. Read More

Lisa Young, M.D., associate professor of Pediatrics and Medicine and Cell Biology, has been awarded a five-year, $1.9 million National Institutes of Health grant to study what causes cellular dysfunction and pulmonary fibrosis in patients with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS). Read More

Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, delivers Tuesday’s State of the Department of Pediatrics address, stressing adaptation in the changing health care landscape. (Photo by John Russell) Academic medical centers are at a “fork in the road,” but Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP,  is confident that Vanderbilt and… Read More