VUMC in the news

NBC News producer Erika Edwards interviewed William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine, for an update on the flu. Among other outlets, Schaffner also spoke to CNN and ABC News for stories about the flu.

Reuters Health reporter Marilynn Larkin interviewed David Edwards, MD, PhD, chief of Pain Medicine, for a story about a study looking at the drop in opioid prescribing in recent years and whether the decrease is in the targeted group of patients with low to moderate pain levels.

Newsweek reporter Rose McCall, Inverse health and science reporter Ali Pattillo, Daily Mail acting U.S. health editor Natalie A Rahhal and Technology Networks senior science writer and editor Laura Elizabeth Lansdowne interviewed Sachin Patel MD, PhD, James G. Blakemore Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Pharmacology and director of the Division of General Psychiatry, for stories about his Neuron study that found a molecule produced by the brain that activates the same receptors as marijuana is protective against stress by reducing anxiety-causing connections between two brain regions.

The New York Times reporter Matt Richtel interviewed Colin Walsh, MD, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics, for a story about the recent spikes in suicide rates and work that researchers are doing to look at why this is happening, in particular employing bioinformatics and predictive modeling. The “Brain Bytes Back” podcast also interviewed Walsh about his suicide predictor research and that is scheduled to air in early February.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen interviewed James Crowe, MD, professor of Pediatrics, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, for a story about the vaccine match this year.

Reuters Health reporter Marilynn Larkin interviewed Eric Gamazon, PhD, Department of Medicine and Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, for a story about a new study that suggests there are shared genetic loci between BMI and some major psych disorders. The findings should inform drug discovery and potential future individualized treatment to reduce weight gain.

Sophie Katz, MD, MPH, associate director of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and author of a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, was interviewed by Blake Farmer, senior health care reporter with WPLN Nashville Public Radio. She was also interviewed by reporter Graison Dangor, who is writing a piece for NPR online.