Department Of Veterans Affairs

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus — two pathogens that frequently co-infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis — appear to cooperate with each other, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. When pseudomonas is starved for metal by the host, it shuts down the production of factors that would normally kill staph, promoting a co-infection. Read More

Vanderbilt University cancer researcher Ann Richmond, Ph.D., has won the 2016 William S. Middleton Award, the highest honor for scientific achievement bestowed by the Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Read More

A peptide molecule relaxes airway smooth muscle and may be a potential therapeutic for asthma that has become resistant to standard therapies. Read More

Imaging with a compound that binds to neuroendocrine cells is a safer and more effective way to detect rare neuroendocrine tumors. Read More

Defining the genes required for the function of insulin-producing beta cells is crucial for ongoing efforts to develop a cell-based therapy for diabetes. Read More

New structural details of the binding of the bacterium Streptococcus sanguinis to platelets may offer new therapeutics for life-threatening cardiovascular infections. Read More

Signaling by a receptor that is overexpressed in aggressive forms of breast cancer has been linked to glutamine metabolism, suggesting new anti-cancer therapeutic targets. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers show that a certain factor negatively impacts the first-line responder cells in the lungs, providing one explanation for why patients with asthma are at greater risk for invasive bacterial disease. Read More

James Powers, M.D., associate professor of Medicine and chief of Geriatric Medicine at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center, was recently named to receive the Iris Award from the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Read More

Using patients’ health records to assess preparedness for hospital discharge is more effective at predicting readmission or death than commonly used questionnaires. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have “turned back the clock” in a mouse model of metaplasia — precancerous stomach lesions — raising hopes that gastric cancer, a worldwide scourge that’s rising in the United States, can be prevented. Read More

Combining therapies for melanoma that induce cell senescence and that activate the immune response may improve outcomes for patients. Read More

The elasticity of a scaffold used for healing skin wounds is a key factor in promoting regeneration versus scarring. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a new method to study cell signaling networks at single-cell resolution. Read More

Microtubules — cellular “highways” that deliver cargo to the cell membrane for secretion — have a surprising role in pancreatic beta cells. Instead of facilitating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, they limit it, a team of Vanderbilt investigators reported recently in Developmental Cell. Read More

A signaling protein that is essential for recovery from acute kidney injury works by increasing the population of tissue-repairing immune cells. Read More

Understanding factors, such as the receptor TLR9, that detect and defend against pathogens may lead to therapeutic approaches that promote an effective immune response to treat infections. Read More

Vanderbilt study adds to the mounting role for inflammatory signaling in obesity. Read More

Drugs that inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway can regenerate injured skin and may be useful in treating fibromatosis, degenerative joint disease and cancer. Read More

The first study to suggest that major depressive disorder (MDD) is an independent risk factor for heart failure in HIV-positive adults has been published in Circulation. Read More