Vanderbilt researchers, including Hematology and Oncology Drs. Justin Balko, Brian Lehmann and Vandana Abramson, have discovered a druggable target on natural killer cells that could potentially trigger a therapeutic response in patients with immunotherapy-resistant, triple-negative breast cancer.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine has received a grant to establish a research fellowship for genetic counselors that will prepare them to contribute more fully to the advancement of personalized medicine. Nancy Cox, PhD (Genetic Medicine), is co-principal investigator of the grant, which was awarded by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Vanderbilt infectious diseases specialist Anna Person, MD, has been named to a four-year term as vice-chair of the board of the HIV Medicine Association .

Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists are launching a research platform called ELVIS that is devoted to molecular underpinnings of early-childhood determinants of health. The seven-year, $51 million project is being led by Infectious Diseases Dr. Suman Das. 

Vanderbilt researchers, including Clinical Pharmacology Dr. Elizabeth Rendina-Ruedy, have detailed how aging alters the metabolism of bone-forming cells, which could contribute to age-related osteoporosis.

The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has funded an ambitious initiative to overcome one of the most perplexing and frustrating mysteries of cancer treatment — how to prevent drug resistance. The three-year grant was awarded to Hematology and Oncology Dr. Ben Ho Park and Biochemistry Dr. Houra Merrikh. 

Following a successful pilot program, music therapy is now being offered to patients on three additional units at Vanderbilt University Hospital.

Upon receiving a $9.7 million grant from The Warren Alpert Foundation (WAF), the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) has partnered with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) and three other institutions to design and provide continuing education programs for genetic counselors. In the first year of funding, Kelly Taylor, MS, LCGC, CCRP, senior associate in Medicine (Genetic Medicine), will work with genetic counselors at the partnering institutions to develop online educational modules.

Drs. Sara Horst and Ashley Spann of the Department of Medicine's Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition are among the 12 Vanderbilt faculty members currently serving two-year terms on 55 specialty steering boards, comprised of from 627 clinicians, constituted by Epic Systems Corp.