Researchers at VUMC and the University of Calgary have established an analytical framework that integrates genomic, proteomic and electronic health record data to identify cancer risk proteins and therapeutics for cancer prevention. The study, reported Dec. 2 in the American Journal of Human Genetics by co-senior author Xingyi Guo, PhD (Epidemiology), and colleagues, identifies previously unreported protein biomarkers and candidate drug targets across six major cancer types and highlights approved drugs with potential cancer preventive effects.

Timothy Sterling, MD, professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), has received a five-year, $5.7 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to investigate how Mycobacterium tuberculosis spreads from person to person.

VUMC researchers, including Division of Nephrology and Hypertension Drs. Fabian Bock, Roy Zent and colleagues, have discovered that a protein called Rac1 acts like a molecular switch to promote tubule repair.

It was recently announced that Department of Medicine Cardiology Drs. Jamie Pfaff and Kathryn Sunthankar will receive the 2026 David C. Leach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) at the February 2026 Annual ACGME Educational Conference.

E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, a physician-scientist at VUMC whose research has helped establish delirium as an important risk factor for long-term brain dysfunction in critically ill patients, has been invested as a member in the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.

The study was published in JAMA Dermatology by Infectious Disease colleagues, Drs. Elizabeth Phillips and Michelle Martin-Pozo.

“Dr. DeFilippis is a visionary leader with a proven track record of excellence across research, clinical care and education," said Bryan Harris, MD, MPH, MMHC, interim chair of the Department of Medicine.

Infectious diseases specialist Anna Person, MD, professor of Medicine and director of Education and Faculty Development in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been named chair of the board of directors of the HIV Medical Association (HIVMA).