Health and Medicine

Close-up of young caucasian man tuning a guitar

‘Tuning’ cell shape for division

Apr. 20, 2020—Dylan Burnette and colleagues have discovered that two forms of the molecular motor protein myosin have distinct roles in regulating cell shape during cell division.

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Damage, disruption, delirium

Apr. 20, 2020—New findings suggest that treatments that decrease oxidative damage might help with postoperative delirium that occurs in up to 30% of cardiac surgery patients.

3d illustration of a ribonicleic acid chain from which the deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is composed

Research team awarded $9 million to study extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer

Apr. 15, 2020—A multidisciplinary team of investigators at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a program project grant from the National Cancer Institute to explore extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer.

x-ray of lungs with a suspicious spot highlighted in red

Study tracks genomics of lung tumor behavior

Apr. 13, 2020—A study by Vanderbilt researchers has identified genomic alterations in early stage adenocarcinomas of the lung that may indicate whether the lesions develop into aggressive tumors.

Closeup shot of an African American man testing his blood sugar level

Race, hormones and diabetes risk

Apr. 8, 2020—Variation in the levels of hormones called natriuretic peptides may contribute to racial differences in susceptibility to diabetes, suggesting that this hormone system may be a target for reducing risk of the disease.

Caucasian woman with blond hair wearing protective clothing runs an experiment housed behind protective plexiglass

Researchers developing potential coronavirus antibody therapies

Apr. 8, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is teaming up with academic, governmental and corporate partners in an unprecedented, fast-tracked global effort to develop antibody-based treatments to protect people exposed to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

Blocking stress-induced relapse

Apr. 8, 2020—Danny Winder and colleagues are teasing apart the actions of neurotransmitter receptors in a brain region linked to anxiety and addiction, with a goal of finding treatments for substance use disorders.

Elderly caucasian woman with her hands on a cane

Spasticity underdiagnosed

Apr. 8, 2020—Spasticity — a consequence of stroke and other disorders of the central nervous system — may be underdiagnosed and undertreated in nursing home residents.

A Latino grandfather sitting on an outdoor sofa surrounded by his sons and grandsons

Study reveals an inherited origin of prostate cancer in families

Apr. 8, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified haplotypes, ancestral fragments of DNA, that are associated with hereditary prostate cancer in a first-of-its-kind genomic study made possible by the study of prostate cancer patients with family histories of the disease.

The side of a cardboard box with tape on it.

Cellular factor helps package flu genome

Apr. 8, 2020—New insights on influenza genome packaging could guide strategies for interfering with the virus's life cycle and ability to cause infection.

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VUMC team aids development of potential antiviral drug for COVID-19

Apr. 6, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are playing a key role in the development of a potential new antiviral drug to treat COVID-19.

A black senior woman with cancer is wearing a scarf on her head. Her adult daughter is giving her a hug. Both women are smiling with gratitude and hope for recovery.

Triple-negative breast cancer drug therapy shows promise

Mar. 12, 2020—Researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) discovered a role for MYCN in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a particularly aggressive form of the disease, and identified a potential intervention for further clinical investigation.