VUSM Alumni News

Ninety-eight Tennessee women died in 2020 during or shortly after pregnancy. More than a quarter of those deaths were tied to substance abuse. Numbers like that are why Firefly — a rigorous program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center — is helping mothers in recovery have a healthy pregnancy and postpartum… Read More

Erin Gillaspie, MD, MPH, has a number stuck in her head that she’s not likely to ever forget: 289. That’s because the Vanderbilt University Medical Center thoracic surgeon is only the 289th female surgeon in her specialty in the United States. “There aren’t a lot of women in my field in… Read More

During the COVID-19 pandemic, outpatient telehealth appointments at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reached a peak of 2,700 in one day as clinicians worked to ensure patients received uninterrupted care as the public health crisis continued. In response to the pandemic, Tennessee legislators passed a law in August 2020 requiring health… Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine alumnus, Dr. Henry Nelson, turned 99 on Jan. 16, 2022. Nelson died shortly after this interview sharing his reflections on a life in medicine. This story is dedicated to his memory. By: Lexie Little The year was 1949. Kathryn Wolff Nelson sat next to the… Read More

For more than a decade, a rare side effect reported by patients with influenza has puzzled clinicians and researchers. In some cases, patients with flu have experienced neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as behavior changes, hallucinations and even attempted suicide. The question: Are these neurologic or psychiatric complications due to the infection… Read More

Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver honored faculty from across the university at an endowed chair investiture ceremony on campus Feb. 24, conferring the university’s highest scholastic rank on those who had received the designation during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020… Read More

Family bonds strengthen at VUSM for two students, one alumna by Lexie Little Claire and Brie at Brie’s Match Day Google “White-Dzuro M.D. Vanderbilt” and three names will appear: Gabrielle (Brie), an anesthesiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital; Colin, a fourth-year medical student; and Claire, a first-year medical student. Each… Read More

Perinatal Genetic Counselor Carly Smith, MGC, LCGC helps families along the West Coast by Lexie Little In 2021, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) celebrated the graduation of its first class of genetic counselors. The Master of Genetic Counseling program launched in 2019. Each member of the… Read More

The white coat ceremony is a particularly important memory for me even though my parents were unable to attend. It was difficult for my mother to travel at the time and my father died suddenly, two years prior from an MI. When I was in college, he bought… Read More