MPH News

An estimated one in six older adults in the United States who take multiple prescription drugs risk major drug-drug interactions and other adverse drug effects that can worsen their medical conditions, increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment and falls, and lead to hospitalization or death. Deprescribing is a systematic effort… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center had a leading role in a large national study designed to compare two early interventions in the treatment of patients with sepsis, the body’s severe response to an uncontrolled infection. Sepsis can cause dangerously low blood pressure, which is typically treated with intravenous (IV) fluids and/or… Read More

Mutations in the gene MYO5B cause microvillus inclusion disease (MVID), which prevents nutrient absorption in the intestines and is characterized by severe watery diarrhea that typically starts in the first hours after birth. People with MVID usually require lifelong intravenous feedings (parenteral nutrition) or small bowel transplantation.  Izumi Kaji, PhD,… Read More

Acute kidney injury, or AKI, is a common complication of cardiac catheterization, posing higher costs, longer hospital stays and increased short-term and long-term mortality risk. In a large, randomized trial conducted over a period of 18 months at 19 medical centers of the Veterans Health Administration, a quality improvement implementation… Read More

New research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators found that the household spread of flu during the 2021-2022 season was more than twice as high as it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that season, 50% of household contacts of someone with flu were infected within seven days after… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s participation in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine effectiveness research continues to grow, with the Medical Center playing critical roles in several networks focused on surveillance of vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases. Here’s a list of networks and projects, in reverse chronological order based on the… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers are inviting non-health care essential workers to participate in a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded study to better understand how they continue to be impacted by COVID-19 and to guide efforts to keep them and their families safe as new variants emerge. Read More

The Tennessee Emerging Infections Program (EIP) was recently recognized with the Toby Merlin Award for Excellence in Emergency Response, presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The award was given for the EIP team’s collaboration with partners across… Read More

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently appointed Velma McBride Murry to the National Advisory Mental Health Council. The council advises the current U.S. secretary of health and human services and the director of the National Institute for Mental Health. McBride Murry, University Distinguished Professor of Human and… Read More

COVID-19 hospitalizations are again increasing this winter, and researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are redoubling their efforts to aid the recovery of patients hospitalized with severe disease from the viral infection. VUMC’s Sean Collins, MD, MSc, Wesley Self, MD, MPH, and Matt Shotwell, PhD, oversee the nationwide ACTIV-4 Host Tissue clinical trial platform, which… Read More