News

A new Vanderbilt University Medical Center genetic association study of more than 1 million adults supports the use of thiazide diuretics for kidney stone prevention. Kidney stones affect nearly 10% of the global population. For more than three decades, thiazide diuretics, a common medication used for high blood pressure, have… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $10 million, five-year research funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study the ideal “dose” of behavioral interventions to treat childhood obesity in rural and minority communities across Tennessee and Louisiana. Bill Heerman, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of… Read More

If you sequence the DNA of adult research participants with respect to pathologic variants that, if found, could be expected to prompt diagnostic tests and perhaps also preventive measures, and you return that information to participants and their doctors along with preventive care recommendations, many of those found at risk… Read More

Iron storage “spheres” inside the bacterium C. diff — the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections — could offer new targets for antibacterial drugs to combat the pathogen. A team of Vanderbilt researchers discovered that C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) produces the spheres, called ferrosomes, and that these structures are important for… Read More

Despite national medical guidelines supporting the use of antiviral medications in young children diagnosed with influenza, a recent study reports an underuse of the treatment. “Trends in Outpatient Influenza Antiviral Use Among Children and Adolescents in the United States” was published in Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of… Read More

Jennifer Cunningham Erves, PhD, MPH, MAEd, MS, CHES, has joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center as associate professor of Health Policy, director of Community Engaged Research, Office of Health Equity, and scholar, Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research. Erves is a public health oncology researcher focused on cancer prevention behaviors and lowering… Read More

Flu season is ramping up, and it’s important for everyone, especially health care professionals, to not only get the flu vaccine but also educate patients about what to expect. The current flu season has started later and more gradually than last year, according to William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive… Read More

COVID-19 cases in the United States, first reported on January 22, 2020, began to increase in March 2020 (1). The pandemic resulted in a substantial number of employed persons being laid off or furloughed, especially during spring 2020, and increased prevalence of teleworking (2–4). Employers were advised to actively encourage… Read More

Neuropsychiatric complications among children and adolescents with influenza are poorly studied and often attributed to antiviral medication, or a combination of antivirals and influenza. But a better understanding these events and their causes is important for determining risk stratification and prevention strategies, according to Vanderbilt University Medical… Read More

By: Kyra Letsinger When applying to Vanderbilt’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program, prospective students immediately face a pivotal choice: Do they want to follow the Epidemiology, Global Health, or Health Policy track? For those who choose the Global Health track, there is a passion for education, an… Read More