Reporter Oct 30 2015

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

Clinics with more non-physician clinicians are associated with better access for Medicaid patients and lower prices for office visits, according to a recent study. Read More

The timing of folic acid-containing prescription filling during pregnancy was associated with childhood asthma, according to a new Vanderbilt study. Read More

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

A compound developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University can improve early symptoms and delay progression of Huntington’s disease in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disorder. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to test the effectiveness of a transdermal nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

Nearly half of all patients with malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, have a mutation in the BRAF gene found in their tumors. Mutations in the BRAF gene turn on a cancer growth switch known as the MAP kinase pathway. Read More

While 12 million Americans are enrolled in health care networks through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance marketplace, a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) raises concerns about patient access to specialists within these insurance plans. Read More

This week, Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH) was awarded a Fall 2015 Patient Safety Grade of “A” from the Leapfrog Group, a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage that works to encourage health care safety, quality and affordability. This is the eighth consecutive time VUH has scored an “A.” Read More

The Holiday Project, now in its 42nd year, features art by children — patients and siblings — whose lives have been touched by Children’s Hospital. Read More

A large group of Vanderbilt nurses attended the 2015 National Magnet Conference, which took place earlier this month in Atlanta. Read More

Elazer Edelman, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in the application of engineering and physical sciences to understand fundamental biological processes and the mechanisms of disease, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Nov. 5. Read More

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and Buena Vista Enhanced Option Elementary School leaders, students and community recently celebrated the opening of a new outdoor classroom and garden. Read More

Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, will present the ninth annual Meredith S. and John A. Oates Lectureship in Clinical Pharmacology on Nov. 5. Read More

Howard Baum, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, has been elected vice president (physician-in-practice) of The Endocrine Society. Read More

Kaz de Jong, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist with Doctors Without Borders, will discuss the mental health challenges of caring for people traumatized by war during a special lecture at the Vanderbilt Nursing Annex on Monday, Nov. 2. Read More

Michael Porter, Ph.D., MBA, of Harvard Business School, a leading authority on organizational strategy, spoke recently at the Owen Graduate School of Management during the opening session of the First Annual Value-based Health Care Delivery Seminar. Read More

Quinton Smith doesn’t remember much of what happened one Sunday evening last March. He was disoriented, unable to stand and could not even recognize his girlfriend’s face after she returned home from work. Read More

Children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs), such as conduct disorder, are most likely to benefit from psychosocial interventions that include a parental component alone or in combination with other interventions, according to a newly published systematic review by Vanderbilt researchers. Read More

There’s a little bit of Peru in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. Read More