Accolades & Accomplishments
May 8, 2024
Each year, the University of Vermont honors esteemed faculty members with prestigious awards acknowledging their contributions to innovative scholarship, exceptional teaching and advising, and outstanding community engagement. This year, Stephen Everse, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry at the Larner College of Medicine, has been selected to receive the Distinguished University Citizenship and Service Award. This award acknowledges exceptional service by a UVM faculty member who is recognized as a true university citizen for contributions to institutional building at the university.
Since joining the UVM faculty in 1988, Everse has consistently made significant contributions as a scientist, educator, and architect for expanding institutional capabilities in research competency and capacity. As a scientist, Everse has made widely recognized advances in coagulation biology and pathology. As a mentor, he has been crucial in the Larner College of Medicine’s support of biochemistry and academic departments throughout the university. As an educator, he has been instrumental in providing strategies for developing programs that emphasize campus-wide participation. As an active contributor to the university’s mission, Everse demonstrates by his actions and personality that being a good citizen means building trust and creating knowledge and innovation in a friendly, respectful, and collaborative environment.
The award recipient receives a taxable cash award of $1,000 and has their name displayed on a plaque on the third floor of the Waterman Building.
Larner Class of 2026 medical student Anika Advant won the best student research award at the Northern New England CO-OP Practice and Community Based Research Network (NNE CO-OP PCBRN) 44th Annual Meeting in January, for her poster titled “Identifying Barriers and Facilitators to Awareness and Rural Vermont Participation in Cancer Clinical Trials.”
Advant’s study identified facilitators and barriers that affect rural Vermonters’ access to and enrollment in cancer clinical trials. Results demonstrated opportunities to increase enrollment through improved patient education, community health workers and dedicated personnel, transportation, and local availability of clinical trials. Advant worked with faculty mentors Elizabeth Woods, Ph.D., community engagement research navigator for the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network Community Engagement and Outreach Core, and Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine, associate dean for public health and health policy, and division chief for public health. The project received funding from the University of Vermont Cancer Center’s Summer Student Fellowships in Cancer Research Program.
Other speakers/panelists from Larner who participated in the annual meeting, held January 26–28, 2024, in Bartlett, New Hampshire, included Michelle Cangiano, M.D., associate professor of family medicine; second-year medical student Molly Hurd; Alicia Jacobs, M.D., associate professor of family medicine; Charles MacLean, M.D., professor of medicine; Gary Stein, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and surgery; and Carrie Wulfman, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine.
Geriatric medicine fellow Owen Maguire, M.D., (left) facilitated the Ask the Expert session featuring Jim Boyd, M.D., an expert on Parkinson's disease and movement disorders.
The 18th annual Vermont Geriatric Conference held on April 16 in Burlington was attended by some 200 health care professionals and others who care for older adults from throughout the state. Isaura Menzies, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, served as course director for the conference, and Katherine Martin, conference coordinator for Larner Continuing Medical and Interprofessional Education, served as course coordinator.
Regina Koepp, Psy.D., clinical psychologist with the UVM Health Network, delivered the keynote address, which focused on mental health and aging and challenged participants to elevate the care of older adults by drawing on resilience, removing “us versus them” barriers, and creating healing social spaces. A favorite session at this conference, “Ask the Expert,” featured Jim Boyd, M.D., professor of neurological sciences, as an expert on Parkinson’s disease. Owen Maguire, M.D., geriatric medicine fellow, served as facilitator for this session, which presented a unique opportunity for attendees to get their questions about Parkinson’s disease answered. Attendees also learned practical information from experts on how to treat and manage lung disease, urinary incontinence, wounds, and chronic pain. Natalie Elder, M.D., Pharm.D., assistant professor and director of geriatric emergency medicine for the Larner College of Medicine and the UVM Medical Center, described an initiative at the medical center to improve the older adult experience in the Emergency Department. Additionally, a panel of community and government experts shared resources to support our aging population in Vermont. Many attendees shared throughout the day that they enjoyed the sessions and learned a lot!
Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D. (second from right), and colleagues at the World Health Organization Polio Research Committee meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, April 2024
Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., professor and chair of microbiology and molecular genetics, professor of medicine, and director of the Vaccine Testing Center at the Larner College of Medicine, was chosen to participate in the World Health Organization’s Polio Research Committee (PRC) meeting in April in Geneva, Switzerland. Members of the PRC are scientists from across the world, including virologists, epidemiologists, and modelers, as well as infectious disease physicians.
The PRC is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership led by national governments with six partners: the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance. PRC meetings offer an opportunity for members to receive updates from multiple research partners, choose new projects for funding, and help to determine the overall research strategy to move polio closer to worldwide eradication.
Clockwise from top left: Sydney Cardozo, William Robinson, Rachel Carpenter, Amanda Galenkamp
On March 21, the Larner College of Medicine’s Department of Surgery held the 54th Annual Surgery Senior Major (SSM) Scientific Program in the Davis Auditorium. Coordinated by Scholarly Research Project Program Director Alia Aunchman, M.D., SSM Resident Readiness Course Director Hannah Kooperkamp, M.D., Surgery Student Education Director Patrick Forgione, M.D., Surgery Student Education Associate Director Katelynn Ferranti, M.D., and Program Coordinator Lisa Washburn, the event showcased the scholarly work of 10 Larner students who will be specializing in surgery following their graduation in May.
- Third place - Rachel Carpenter, for her project “A Retrospective Analysis of How Pre-Operative Nutritional Status Influences Post Operative Complications in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery” (Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery Fuyuki Hirashima, M.D., research mentor); and Amanda Galenkamp, for her project “Impact of Early Initiation of Colorectal Cancer Screening: A UVMMC Cohort Analysis” (Associate Professor of General Surgery Jesse Moore, M.D., research mentor)
- Second Place - William Robinson, for his project “Noise Audit of Device Selection for Peripheral Vascular Interventions in the Vascular Quality Initiative” (Professor of Vascular Surgery Daniel Bertges, M.D., research mentor)
- First Place - Sydney Cardozo, for her project “Personality trait–like Individual Differences of Residents and Medical Students: Implications on Surgical Training & Medical Specialization” (Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery Marek Polomsky, M.D., research mentor)
Ramsey Herrington, M.D., associate professor and chair of emergency medicine, will serve as Interim Network Chief Operating Officer, effective April 15. He will focus on clinical integration across the health system in the COO role, while continuing to serve as chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine for the University of Vermont Health Network and the Larner College of Medicine.
Ramsey, who joined the UVM Medical Center in 2006 as an Emergency Department physician, is a strong leader with a track record of bringing teams and systems together to improve patient care, strengthen clinical practice, and further integrate the health system. Ramsey led the transition of emergency medicine from a division of UVMMC’s Department of Surgery to a Network Department, simultaneously expanding the department’s clinical mission while building an academic program of teaching and research. One benefit of this change has been that emergency medicine physicians now practice at multiple partner locations—sharing their expertise while filling a patient care need and gaining valuable perspectives from across the health system.
Amber Goerner, Ph.D. candidate in cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences (left), with Holger Hoock, D.Phil., dean of the Graduate College
On April 17, Amber Goerner, Ph.D. candidate in cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences (CMB), won second prize in the 3MT Three Minute Thesis Competition for her research project "Investigating Host Pathogen Interactions in Chronic Toxoplasma Gondii Infection." Six Larner-affiliated Ph.D. candidates—three each from CMB and neurological sciences—and five other graduate students—from chemistry, biology, plant biology, and natural resources—competed in the event, which was held as part of UVM Research Week.
Besides Goerner, other CMB Ph.D. candidates included the following speakers and their topics:
Paola Peña Garcia, "From Wheeze to Ease: How Weight Loss Reduces Inflammation in the Lung"; and Jacob Dearborn, "Beyond the Horizon: Exceeding Technological Boundaries in Immune Repertoire Analysis."
Neuroscience Ph.D. candidates included the following speakers and their topics:
Jenan Husain, "Let the Stress Begin ..."; Daniel Peipert, "Gut Bacterium Exacerbates Disease in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis"; and Abigail Testo, "Three Things About Menopause Scientists Do Want You to Know."
All UVM Ph.D. students who passed their candidacy exam by the date of the competition were invited to compete for cash prizes in this first annual global competition that challenges Ph.D. students to communicate the significance of their research projects in just three minutes.
Left to right: third-year medical student Katie Barker, pediatric resident Jill Phillips, M.D., third-year medical student Kass Little, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics Rebecca Bell, M.D., in Washington, D.C., for the American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy Conference
Thanks to sponsorship from UVM Children’s Hospital faculty, pediatric resident Jill Phillips, M.D., and third-year Larner medical students Katie Barker and Kass Little were able to attend the 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Advocacy Conference April 14–16 in Washington, D.C. Along with Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and president of the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, they met with Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) to discuss child health issues.
The AAP Advocacy Conference, held in the nation’s capital for the first time since 2019, brought together more than 300 pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, and pediatric trainees for two and a half days of child health advocacy. Attendees put their advocacy skills to the test and took to Capitol Hill to urge their lawmakers to pass bipartisan policies to protect the privacy and safety of young people online.
Two graduate students from the University of Vermont’s Division of Public Health—Pallas Ziporyn ’24 and Patrick Payne ’23—had their work selected by the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health for national recognition as outstanding student research projects. Ziporyn, now a student advisor in UVM’s Division of Public Health, completed a project titled "Are Vermonters living on private water systems testing their water as frequently as the state health department recommends?" Payne, now a research analyst in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Larner College of Medicine, completed a project titled "Association between insurance type and extended length of stay in urban and rural Vermont hospitals." Members of the research teams attended the American Public Health Association meeting in Atlanta in November to present their work and receive the awards.
Metabolic health (normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels, among other factors) influences the effectiveness of influenza vaccinations. Vaccination is known to be less effective in people with obesity compared to those with a healthier body mass index (BMI), but St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Larner College of Medicine scientists—including postdoc Rebekah Honce, Ph.D.—have found that it is not obesity itself, but instead metabolic dysfunction, that makes the difference. In a study recently published in Nature Microbiology, the researchers found switching obese mice to a healthy diet before flu vaccination, but not after, completely protected the models from a lethal dose of flu, regardless of BMI.
"We found that the vaccines worked effectively if at the time of vaccination an animal is metabolically healthy," said corresponding author Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Host-Microbe Interactions and Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response co-director. "And the opposite was also true: Regardless of what the mice looked like on the outside, if they had metabolic dysfunction, the vaccines did not work as well."
Prior research has shown that when exposed to influenza virus, even after vaccination, 100 percent of obese mice succumbed to disease. Contrary to the scientists’ original expectations, when mice who were vaccinated while obese returned to a healthy weight, outcomes did not improve. These now outwardly healthy mice still all succumbed to disease when exposed to the real virus. Only switching to a healthy diet four weeks before vaccination improved survival, with drastic effect, despite high BMI.
"Seeing this effect was exciting because obese mice are highly vulnerable to severe illness and often succumb to infection," said Honce, who is one of the study’s co-authors. "Achieving 100 percent survival with the vaccine, where previously there was 0 percent survival, was remarkable to see." The enhanced survival rate indicates that the researchers may have uncovered a fundamental factor influencing influenza vaccine effectiveness.
