In the News

Tens of thousands of people arrive at the United States border each year seeking refuge from violence, torture and trafficking, but they often have

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has received a $10 million endowed gift to fund translational research, support clinical programs and create an endowed chair within the department.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., recently received national news coverage for her work on affective touch and autism. The story, titled "'I will feel actual rage.’ Unusual responses to kind touches could help explain autism traits," was originally covered in Spectrum News and picked up by Science Magazine. The article discusses findings from her lab and others.

Meghan Riddle, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Bill Petrie, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, were invited to take part in Vanderbilt University's Alumni Speaker Series, themed "Looking in the Rearview Mirror." The two will present their talk, "Happiness in Life and Work: Reflections from Two Psychiatrists," on Sunday, Apr. 7, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in Commons Center 235. Click here for more information on the lecture.

According to a new study by Vanderbilt researchers, normal brain aging patterns in patients with a psychotic disorder occur at an accelerated rate, impacting the patient’

Paul Newhouse, M.D., Jim Turner Chair in Cognitive Disorders, professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology, and Medicine, and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine, recently contributed an opinion piece to the Tennessean titled "A cure for Alzheimer’s is not possible without you." Click here to view the opinion piece.

On Halloween morning, a patient nervously listened to Greg Fricker, fourth-year medical student from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, as he explained the importance of receiving an influenza vaccine. Fricker told the patient that roughly 80,000 people died last year due to complications from the flu and confidently reassured him that getting the vaccine could in no way make him sick.  

Using data from the UK Biobank and Vanderbilt’s BioVU, a new study in the journal Molecular Psychiatry finds that approximately 4 percent of suicide attempt risk is captured by genotype data. “Heritability estimates of this sort try to quantify the portion of a given trait that is contributed by genetics,” said Douglas Ruderfer, PhD, MS, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center geneticist who led the study.

A new study examining stress and arousal across pubertal development in youth with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is now enrolling participants, thanks to a $2.3 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).