At Vanderbilt

Chinese Medicine

This course discusses the historical divergences between medicine in China and the West. Reading will include Chinese medical classics, such as the Inner Cannon of the Yellow Emperor and early herbal manuals. Chinese medicine’s encounter with Western medicine in the twentieth century; the creation of “Traditional Chinese Medicine” in the PRC and the emergence of Chinese medicine as “alternative medicine” in the U.S.

CCASAnet

The Caribbean, Central and South America network for HIV epidemiology (CCASAnet) brings together the expertise and resources of Vanderbilt University and clinical and research sites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti, Honduras, and Peru. The goal of the CCASAnet project is to create a shared repository of HIV data from Central and South America and the Caribbean, and use the combined data to answer questions about the characteristics of the regional HIV epidemic. CCASAnet researchers will develop and test new biostatistical methods for HIV epidemiology and conduct a program of education to assist participating sites in improving the quality and consistency of their clinical research activities.

Colombian Neonatal Research Network

The Colombian Neonatal Research Network (CNRN), through collaboration with the medical university in Bogotá (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) and the support of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN), selects epidemiologic studies designed to improve the care of sick infants. The group is tailored to study techniques and regimens that cannot be studied easily in the United States. It's hoped the results of the studies could be of immeasurable benefit in developing countries, but also be of benefit in the U.S. and other developed countries.

Shanghai Women's Health Study

The purpose of this project is to collect biological samples from the participants of the SWHS and to conduct a methodological study evaluating the validity of the physical activity instrument and evaluating the relationship of physical activity with inflammatory markers. The methodological study includes 300 SWHS study participants and 300 SMHS study participants. The study includes multiple physical activity assessments, physical activity monitoring and collection of biological samples (blood and urine).

Breast Cancer Research Center

The Breast Cancer Research Program has a strong emphasis on breast epithelial cell and molecular biology, basic-science driven translational and clinical research, and molecular epidemiology.

Cardiovascular disease/population genetics research

Dr. Scott M. Williams' work in Ghana focuses on human population genetics and the differential distribution of disease-causing genes across populations.

Sedimentology and impact of shoreline erosion, wetland loss and climate change on life, infrastructure and habitat

Steven Goodbred, PhD Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at VU, studies the rivers and deltas of South Asia in the Ganges and Brahmaputra valleys. His projects include: the control of floodplain development on groundwater arsenic contamination (Columbia University collaboration); source-to-sink responses to quaternary climate change (with University of Colorado); and geochemical tracing of source-area erosion under different climate regimes (with SUNY, Stony Brook).

Climate change and impact on human health and sustainable development

Jonathan Gilligan, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at VU, pursues research on the ways in which science and religion or spirituality can engage to address practical and ethical questions about sustainable development, climate change, and other environmental issues that will affect future generations. For most important anthropogenic (human-caused) environmental hazards, there is significant scientific uncertainty about the nature and severity of the consequences, such that standard approaches to risk management are not helpful. Dr. Gilligan is working to develop new approaches rooted in deliberative democracy that might improve upon strict cost-benefit analyses to achieve better public participation and political legitimacy in addressing major environmental threats to our future. This work engages the Ecology and Spirituality research group at VU's Center for the Study of Religion and Culture.

International emergency medicine

Vanderbilt's department of emergency medicine has an active international medicine program. Four or more faculty members travel annually to countries with limited medical technologies and practices to assist local care providers in upgrading their emergency medical programs. In a rural Zambian program conducted through overseas Baptist church contributions, for example, more than 10,000 persons are screened and treated yearly in a rural mobile medical program. In 2006, a pilot HIV rapid testing program was successfully in identifying persons for referral to newly available PEPFAR-supported services in a nearby town. Faculty ties to Zambia, India, Peru, and Guyana are sustained, permitting repeat visits and more sustained service and training contributions. In turn, Vanderbilt faculty and students learn a tremendous amount about tropical medicine and cultural competencies.

Lwala Community Alliance

Two brothers, both Vanderbilt medical students from western Kenya, have built a medical clinic in their home village of Lwala. What began as a medical student summer project culminated with broad assistance from both the Vanderbilt and Dartmouth University and alumni communities.

Research on emerging infectious diseases - SERCEB

Vanderbilt is one of the six principal southeastern universities in the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense (SERCEB) consortium to study microbes that could be used in a bioterrorist attack.

Ethics in research training

A multi-institutional collaboration to expand ethics and institutional review board training in Costa Rica is spearheaded by Dr. Elizabeth Heitman in a partnership built from years of interaction. The joint expectation is that excellence in teaching and conduct of research ethics and review will create a Central American hub of excellence that can serve neighboring nations' academic and government institutions. In this way, training excellence is extended far beyond the Fogarty training institutions themselves.

Mass Casualty Education

The Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) has formal agreements with the following international hospitals and universities: Bournemouth, United Kingdom; Upsalla University, Sweden; Pohojivous, Finland; Scheer Hospital, Nepal; Free University School of Medicine, Belgium; and University of Central Piedmont School of Medicine, Italy. The development of expertise at VUSN in disaster planning, systems management, and online education will contribute to establishing it as a core for a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Collaborating Center for Mass Casualty Education.

Health development and education – Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East

Faculty led by Dr. Stephen P. Heyneman, of the department of human and organizational development in Vanderbilt's Peabody School of Education, work with the World Bank, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, other multilateral development agencies, the private sector (Harza Engineering Company International), and academic research institutions in fostering international community development at the policy, design, and project implementation levels. Related work abroad includes study of the contribution of education to social cohesion, education and corruption, trade issues associated with education commerce, comparisons in reform of higher education finance and management, issues of examinations and standardized testing, policy shifts in vocational and technical education, education financing and educational quality, economic choices of educational technologies, and cognitive skills and economic development. In recent years, other members of the education faculty have worked on the promotion of value-based practice and interventions in community mental health overseas.

The Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership in the Professions

The Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership in the Professions is a university-wide program dedicated to the discussion and promotion of moral values relevant to the professional schools and the practice of the professions. It seeks to foster an environment conducive to faculty research and teaching in areas associated with moral leadership, and develop students' abilities to provide moral leadership within their chosen profession as well as within the broader community.

Graduate Program in Economic Development

VU’s Graduate Program in Economic Development (GPED) provides world economic leaders with a thorough understanding of the process of economic development, enabling them to craft policies that expand the opportunities and achievements of their people. The program trains participants from all regions of the world and with varied backgrounds, including government, international organizations, universities, or the private sector. Program alumni have taken positions in international development organizations, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and the United Nations.

Mentoring in HIV and Tuberculosis Research

Dr. Timothy Sterling is fostering the next generation of HIV and tuberculosis researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Vanderbilt Meharry Center for AIDS Research

The Vanderbilt-Meharry Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) will build on existing strong interactions between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee to develop improved infrastructure support, and to enhance the multidisciplinary, collaborative environment for AIDS research. Innovative research will be promoted in all areas relevant to HIV epidemiology/prevention, pathogenesis, and treatment. The Vanderbilt-Meharry CFAR will function through 4 Cores: Developmental, Clinical Discovery, Immunopathogenesis, and Virology. CFAR will also support development of minority scientists, improve outreach to the community and education for biomedical trainees/scientists about AIDS research, and enhance international HIV research.

HIV Resistance and Treatment Strategies

Richard T. D'Aquila, MD, Director Center for AIDS Research, Addison B. Scoville Jr. Professor of Medicine, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, conducts research on new treatment techniques in a world of increasing HIV Resistance.

Vanderbilt HIV Clinical Trials Unit

Richard D'Aquila, M.D., conducts HIV vaccine research through the CTU.

Human Selenium Nutritional Requirement and Biomarkers in Health and Disease

Raymond Burk, MD (Professor of Medicine, VICC Member, Researcher), studies nutritional selenium deficiency in Sichuan Province in China.

Genetic Modifiers of Congenital Long QT Syndrome

Alfred L. George, MD (Grant W. Liddle Professor of Medicine; Director, Division of Genetic Medicine; Associate Chairman for Science Education; VICC Member; Researcher), studies genetic predictors for sudden cardiac death.

Clinical Discovery Core

David W. Haas, MD (Associate Professor of Medicine; Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Director, Vanderbilt AIDS Clinical Trials Center), heads the Vanderbilt-Meharry Clinical Discovery Core.

The Vietnam Children’s Mental Health Research Training Program

 

Shanghai Men's Health Study: Cohort Study of Cancer- Inhibitory Factors in Men

This ongoing cohort study of 61,000 men is focused on prospectively investigating dietary and other lifestyle factors involved in the etiology of cancer and other chronic diseases. Ninety two percent of study participants donated biospecimens (urine and blood or cheek cells) for future genetic and molecular epidemiological studies.

Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study

This cohort study of 5,000 breast cancer patients recruited study participants at 6 months after they were diagnosed with cancer and have/will contact the patients at 18, 36 months and 5 years post cancer diagnosis.

Soyfood and Coronary Heart Disease in Women

This is an ancillary study of the Shanghai Women’s Health Study focused on the investigation of the effects of soy food intake on the risk of coronary heart disease and identifying women who are most likely to benefit from consumption of soy food.

Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS): Expansion of Biologic Specimens

The purpose of this project is to collect biological samples from the participants of the SWHS and to conduct a methodological study evaluating the validity of the physical activity instrument and evaluating the relationship of physical activity with inflammatory markers.

Hypertension and Arterial Thrombosis (Heart) Study

This population based study of more than 4000 adults from Sunyani, Ghana, is focused the role of genetic variation in blood pressure and plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and tissue plasmingnen activator (tPA). All of the study participants have provided biospecimens (DNA and plasma) for genetic and molecular epidemiological studies.

Preterm Birth Genome Project (PGP)

This study is being developed to examine the genetic risk factors of preterm birth. Current plans are to perform genome wide studies on samples from more than 10,000 pregnancies from around the world. DNA samples are in hand or are currently being collected from South Korea, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and the US.

The Shanghai Breast Cancer Study ABCS

This is an ongoing study funded since 1996 to investigate genetic and lifestyle factors as well as other biomarkers for breast cancer risk and survival. Included in the study are approximately 3,500 breast cancer cases and an equal number of community controls recruited among female residents of Shanghai, China.

The Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS)

This is a large population-based prospective cohort study initiated in 1996. From 1996 to 2000, approximately 75,000 Chinese women who lived in Shanghai were recruited into the study (AJE, 162:1123, 2005).

The Nashville Breast Health Study

This is an ongoing study based in the Nashville metropolitan area to evaluate lifestyle and genetic factors as well as gene-environment interaction in breast cancer etiology.

Molecular Epidemiologic Study of Breast Cancer

This ongoing study is to evaluate gene-gene and gene-diet interaction in relation to the risk of breast cancer.

Tennessee Colorectal Polyp Study (TCPS)

As part of the Vanderbilt SPORE in GI cancer, we are conducting a colonoscopy-based study to evaluate biomarkers and lifestyle factors for colorectal polyps.

Tumor Markers and Recurrent Adenomas: A Follow-up Study

This on-going study will evaluate approximately 20 tumor markers in relation to adenoma recurrence in a large cohort of patients with multiple or advanced adenomas.

International Visiting Scholars Program in Neurology (IVSP)

The aim of this program is to provide a clinical experience as well as a basic overview of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, particularly of the Department of Neurology and the neurosciences. Observers, which will be the term used for all qualified medical students or physicians trained or working outside of the United States who wish to enhance their clinical and educational skills in a particular area of neurospecialty, are expected to participate in medical rounds and conferences. In addition, the program aims to develop and strengthen working clinical, educational and research relationships between Vanderbilt University and international medical institutions, public and private. The spirit of this program is that of collaboration and collegiality.

National Center for Emergency Preparedness

The National Center for Emergency Preparedness (NCEP/VUMC) was established in October 2003 for the purpose of developing a formal organization at Vanderbilt University Medical Center dedicated to addressing the educational and training needs of the nation’s medical and emergency response personnel in preparing them to deal with all-hazards mass casualty incidents.

Vanderbilt’s International Core Partner Strategy

The Vanderbilt International Strategy of 2005, endorsed by the Chancellor and the Provost, calls for the establishment of "broad and profound institutional partnerships with a small number of peer institutions in strategic locations throughout the world." Since early 2006, the Advisory Council for International Affairs has identified a select group of potential core partners for Vanderbilt, focusing on the three key criteria of research: prominence (world-class strengths in areas similar to Vanderbilt's), disciplinary breadth (at least five counterparts to VU's ten Schools), and strategic location (in terms of geopolitics, economics, and accessibility). The primary goals of a core partnership are to foster valuable research collaboration, create new educational opportunities for students, and enhance each partner's institutional presence and academic reputation abroad.

The Vietnam Children’s Mental Health Research Training Program

The Vietnam Children’s Mental Health Research Training Program is seeking a small number of highly qualified individuals who are interested in pursuing graduate training in clinical psychology in the United States, or possibly in Canada or Australia. The purpose of this program is to advance the field of clinical psychology in Vietnam, in particular with regard to children’s mental health.

Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health

The Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health collaborates with the Shanghai Cancer Institute to conduct research in cancer epidemiology.

Emphasis

Vanderbilt Medical Students may choose global health as the focus of their Emphasis Project.

Medical Scholars

The Vanderbilt University Medical Scholars Program is a one-year, in-depth research experience for Vanderbilt medical students.

Center for Medicine, Health & Society

The Center for Medicine, Health and Society offers an innovative and forward-looking way of linking the humanities and social sciences to a major academic medical center. CMHS programs are horizontally integrated across Vanderbilt’s nine schools and colleges, and vertically integrated, from freshman seminars to postdoctoral training and continuing medical education. In this trans-institutional and interdisciplinary model, research, teaching, and community outreach and service are interconnected.

The Kampala Project

Global service program where students work for 4 weeks in medical clinics, schools, and orphanages in Kampala, Uganda.

Vanderbilt Students for Kenya

Seeks to raise awareness about global health and economic issues affecting Lwala, a remote village in western Kenya, and to broaden the perspective of the Vanderbilt and Nashville community. Their major event, the Lwala Benefit, is in the spring and all proceeds go toward the Lwala Community Clinic founded by Milton Ochieng here at Vanderbilt Medical School. Other events are focused on HIV/AIDS and Africa Awareness.

Unite for Sight

Unite For Sight is a non-profit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness. More than 4,000 volunteers work in ninety chapters established at universities, medical schools, corporations, high schools, and in communities throughout the world. Additionally, volunteer teams are sent to 25 countries to provide eye care and eye health education programs to medically underserved communities.

Vanderbilt China Care

A chapter of the national China Care Foundation, an organization dedicated to the support of underprivileged Chinese orphans. The mission for the foundation is to provide aid for the orphans in China who don’t receive proper care and have slim chances for adoption and/or survival. The Vanderbilt chapter concentrates on their medical relief and on securing needed supplies. They are currently fundraising to pay for surgeries ranging from cleft pallets to spina bifida.

Manna Project International

Manna Project International's vision is to establish a global network of Manna Project communities where young adults live and work alongside one another in underserved communities to initiate positive change.

International Health Committee

The International Health Committee is a student-driven organization in the School of Medicine, but a main strength is the significant involvement of Vanderbilt faculty with interest, experience, and connections in the realm of international health.

HIV-Cervical Cancer Prevention Program

The HIV-Cervical Cancer Prevention Program at the Vanderbilt University Institute for Global Health is focused on generating evidence critical for improving the secondary prevention options for women at highest risk for development of HPV-induced cervical cancer.

Measuring Incident HIV-1 Infections in China - NIH/NIAID (RO3)

 

Building Capacity in Evidence-based HIV Prevention Research for MSM in China - NIH/NIAID (RO1)

 

HIV-Cervical Cancer Prevention Research Training Program in China – NIH/NCI (AITRP supplemental)

 

Community-level HIV testing for prevention and care in Chinese drug users – MV-CFAR/NIH

 

NIH/FICRS Training Site for AIDS Research—Chinese National Center for AIDS Control (NIH/AMA/Vanderbilt)

 

PEPFAR in Mozambique (Friends in Global Health)

PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in Mozambique - CDC-GAP

Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars & Fellows

The Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars and Fellows (FICRSF) Resource and Support Center at Vanderbilt University is located in VIGH.

HIV Prevention Trials Network Leadership Group (HPTN)

The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) is a worldwide collaborative clinical trials network that develops and tests the safety and efficacy of primarily non-vaccine interventions designed to prevent the transmission of HIV.

AIDS International Training & Research Program

The Vanderbilt-CIDRZ-AITRP (PI: Vermund) is designed to train foreign scientists and key research support staff to conduct independent HIV/AIDS-related research and training in their home countries and to perform at an internationally credible level in collaborations with both local and foreign scientists. Now in its eleventh year of funding from the Fogarty International Center, AITRP partners with international collaborators from 6 countries (Zambia, Pakistan, India, China, Bangladesh and Mozambique).

Vesicovaginal Fistula Repair

The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health has sponsored two medical mission trips to Ganta United Methodist Hospital in Nimba County, Liberia to treat women suffering from Vesico-vaginal fistula and to provide instruction in VVF repair to medical staff. VIGH is in the process of formalizing a partnership to build capacity and treat women suffering from VVF.

The Vanderbilt-Meharry Framework Program in Global Health

 

VVF Liberia Trip Report

In June '08 and January '09, Andy Norman, MD led a team to Ghanta United Methodist Hospital in Nimba County, Liberia to perform VVF surgeries and train local medical staff on the procedure. Read the report of his trip here.

Inter-American Health Alliance

The Inter-American Health Alliance is a volunteer-run 501(c)3 charitable organization that supports community health organizations working with marginalized populations in the western highlands of Guatemala. They provide financial, technical and organizational support to partnering organizations. They work to improve access to health care and health education through the development of innovative collaborations between governmental, non-governmental, and educational institutions.