NIH

Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity. Read More

Biomedical engineering graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are recipients of highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Awards from the National Institutes of Health and NIH Individual Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Awards. A majority of the students are in the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and are researchers in labs... Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Associate Professor of Nursing Stephanie DeVane-Johnson, PhD, MSN’97, CNM, FACNM, has been awarded a two-year Diversity Supplement grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). The National Institute of Health (NIH) supplement supports early career researchers of color by providing mentorship, training and career development opportunities... Read More

A new technique will allow researchers to track subsets of immune cells that patrol and defend the lungs, to better understand the roles of these cells during lung inflammation, infection and injury. Read More

Fluorescent nanoparticles clearly identified colonic adenomas — precursors to colorectal cancer — in mice, and the formulation should translate to clinical use in humans. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers detail the landscape of RNA editing — a form of RNA modification — in primary effusion lymphoma cells during Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and identify an edited viral microRNA that is critical for infection. Read More

One way to monitor a healthy pregnancy is tracking placental growth because a healthy placenta is crucial for a healthy baby. However, there are no practical tools to monitor placental development—to ensure proper fetal growth—into clinical care. Vanderbilt University computer scientist and grant PI Ipek Oguz aims to expand a medical image analysis tool she... Read More

Biomedical engineering doctoral student Sarah Goodale has been awarded a National Institute on Aging Transition to Postdoc Fellowship for her proposed work on investigating fatigue and sleep disturbance symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease and their relationship with functional and structural properties of the brain and intellectual decline. The National Institutes of Health NIA F99/K00 award supports... Read More

Audrey Bowden, Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow and associate professor of biomedical and electrical engineering, has won a grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to develop a novel noninvasive smartphone-integrated device to provide accurate, point-of-care detection of jaundice in newborns of all skin tones. Audrey Bowden Newborns have immature... Read More

Vanderbilt reseach shows that resources for lung cancer screening programs increased the number of veterans screened. Read More

New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered why the uropathogenic bacterium E. coli, the leading cause of urinary tract infections, is so tenacious; their findings could lead to new ways to prevent recurrent UTIs. Read More

by Bill Snyder The growth of epithelial ovarian cancer, one of the most lethal malignancies, is associated with the presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), white blood cells that can block the anti-cancer activity of the immune system and immunotherapy. Fortunately, TAMs can be “repolarized,” converted from immunosuppressive tumor-promoters to inflammatory tumor-fighters. Now, Associate Professor of Pharmacology Fiona Yull,... Read More

Reported June 13 in Neurology, an Alzheimer’s disease risk study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center measures significantly reduced risk associated with healthy lifestyles, including non-smoking, leisure-time exercise, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption, adequate sleep and healthy diet. Read More

A team led by Vanderbilt researchers has described and characterized the first zinc metallochaperone: a protein that puts zinc into other “client” proteins. Read More

Combining genetic testing with information from electronic health records revealed undiagnosed heart rhythm disorders and new conditions associated with inherited cancer gene mutations. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a critical regulatory factor in the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax and has been used as a biological weapon. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have found that children with a genetic makeup that predicts high blood pressure as adults are more likely to survive congenital heart defect repair surgery. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers find that invasive Group B Streptococcus strains, a significant risk to pregnant patients and infants, can grow in presence of toxic zinc levels. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers report on a new PET imaging probe that will be useful for exploring Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Read More