Personalized Medicine

When the human genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists around the world turned their collective attention to discovering what roles genetic variation plays in human health and illness. Their goal: to use that knowledge to tailor disease treatment and prevention strategies based on an individual’s own DNA blueprint, a concept… Read More

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded Vanderbilt researchers a two-year, $1 million grant to Vanderbilt to develop a model for applying genomic testing to drug prescribing in “real-world” settings. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center doctors announced today they will begin screening patients who take commonly prescribed statin drugs for a rare genetic variation that can increase risks for side effects from these drugs such as muscle aches, kidney damage and even death. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a laboratory for health care reform. Increasingly, Vanderbilt researchers are applying their expertise in informatics, genomics, drug discovery, basic science and clinical medicine to the solution of critical problems in patient care. Bedside checklists and electronic “dashboards” developed at Vanderbilt, for example, enable doctors and… Read More

A new online tool enables cancer patients and researchers to track the latest developments in personalized cancer medicine and connect with clinical research trials. Read More

Vanderbilt is using a bold new approach in the fight against cancer; learn how each patient’s genetic make-up is creating the newest weapon against tumors. Plus, the app you need before having a baby, and 365 amazing views of Vandy! [vucastblurb]… Read More

Personalized medicine refers to the relationship between genetic differences among individuals and corresponding differences in their chemical state and how they respond to various nutrients, drugs, and compounds in their environment. (Photo courtesy of Scripps Research Institute) Leftover blood samples from Vanderbilt’s clinics are retrieved daily from the Pathology lab. Read More

Watch video of a Sept. 29, 2010, Lunch and Learn Event with Dr. Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Too often, physicians must base life-and-death decisions not on how an individual will respond to therapy but instead on how large groups of patients did —… Read More