Faculty in the The Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology are pioneers in studying genetic ancestries and understanding the mechanisms of drug action in humans to improve therapeutics.
Faculty lead national efforts in electronic health records (EHR) diagnosis for:
- Neuropsychiatric disease and international consortia on suicide
- Genetic studies of diabetes and related traits in populations of recent African ancestries
- Genetic studies of lipids and cardiometabolic traits in Hispanic populations
To pursue its mission of advancing personalized health care and therapeutic discovery, the division collaborates with several external and internal research centers, labs and institutes, including BioVU, the Oates Institute, Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology, Vanderbilt Center in Molecular Toxicology and the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, as well as many individual investigators throughout Vanderbilt.
Watch the video to learn more about research in the Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology with Division Director Dr. Alexander Bick.
Clinical pharmacology research focus areas
Early-career and senior faculty are engaged in six major areas of research within the division.
- Genetic variability and drug response: Using genetic approaches to understand variability in human drug response. Senior Investigators: Drs. Dan Roden and Mike Stein
- Ion channel pharmacology and arrhythmia pharmacogenomics: Basic mechanisms of antiarrhythmic drug action and variability in response to antiarrhythmic drugs. Senior Investigators: Drs. Dan Roden, Bjorn Knollmann, Kathy Murray, Andrew Glazer and Brett Kroncke
- Hypertension and cardiovascular inflammation: Defining how inflammation and immune activation participate in cardiovascular diseases and the end-organ damage associated with diseases like hypertension and metabolic dysregulation. Senior Investigators: Drs. Annet Kirabo, David Harrison, and Monica Santisteban
- Human autonomic and cardiovascular pharmacology: Mechanistic studies in humans using pharmacological probes to dissect the interactions between neural (autonomic), metabolic (renin-angiotensin, insulin) and local (adenosine, nitric oxide, incretins) involved in cardiovascular regulation. Senior Investigators: Drs. Italo Biaggioni, Cyndya Shibao, Andre Diedrich and Luis Okamoto
- Bone and cancer pharmacology: Investigating diseases of bone and mineral metabolism; ongoing projects aim to identify mechanisms regulating bone remodeling and repair, cancer-induced bone disease, osteomyelitis, fracture repair and embryonic bone development. Senior Investigators: Drs. Jeff Nyman, Elizabeth Rendina-Ruedy and Ella Knapik
- Pharmacoepidemiology: Studying the effects of drugs in large populations using databases such as Medicaid and Medicare. Senior Investigators: Mike Stein and Kathy Murray
Innovations by division faculty in genetics
- Formed the basis for predictive modeling of the transcriptome using genome variation
- Accelerated research in the dynamics of the somatic genome including Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) improved our understanding of the genetic basis for immune disease
- Identified subclinical presentations of known congenital anomalies in the EHR
- Led to new kinds of phenomic analyses that increase our understanding of health and disease
- Developed novel approaches for drug repurposing studies, including Mendelian randomization studies in the context of gene-based drug targets
In the video, Dr. Piper Below discusses her research to better understand the genetic factors that influence stuttering in general populations.
Faculty publish in leading academic journals
Faculty members in the Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology regularly publish in leading academic journals including Nature, Science, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, Nature Human Behavior, Cell Genomics, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Genomics, Genomic Medicine, JAMA Surgery, JAMA Psychiatry, American Journal of Human Genetics, Annals of Internal Medicine, and Brain, as well as a wide variety of specialty journals.
Trainees have also given plenary presentations and developed symposia for national and international meetings.