Larner pediatrician Lewis First, M.D., M.S., has been awarded the Vermont Association of Broadcasters (VAB) Friend of Broadcasters Award. According to the VAB, this award has only been given out five times in 29 years, and First is the sixth recipient.

In addition to his day jobs as chief of pediatrics at the UVM Children’s Hospital and professor and chair of pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine, since 1995 First has written and hosted a clever weekly segment called “First with Kids” that currently airs on both WPTZ-TV (NBC5) and on 98.9 WOKO-FM. This long-running series offers tips to parents and families on how to keep infants, children, and adolescents safe, happy, and healthy and is delivered with First’s special brand of humor.

First also plays an active and passionate role educating the community about the important work of the UVM Children’s Hospital while co-hosting WOKO’s annual Big Change Roundup for Kids broadcasts, a campaign that has raised millions of dollars for the UVM Children’s Hospital over the course of more than 20 years.

In honor of his 30th year as chair of pediatrics at the University of Vermont and chief of pediatrics at UVM Children’s Hospital, First was featured as the cover story of the Spring 2024 issue of Vermont Medicine magazine.

Second-year medical students Kimberly Bau and Elizabeth Medve recently presented their 2024 AHEC summer quality improvement research project to the Vermont Blueprint for Health team. They spent several months working on the project, titled “Screening for Social Determinants of Health at Little River Health Center (LRHC),” alongside advisors Susan White of Southern Vermont AHEC and Thomasena Coates, M.P.H., CPHQ, QI practice facilitator for the Vermont Blueprint for Health. Bau and Medve worked with Little Rivers Health Center to increase the percentage of adults being screened with multiple screening tools as part of a Community Health Team Expansion (CHT) Expansion pilot. This was a program led by the Vermont Blueprint for Health to fund staff positions to implement universal screening, appropriate interventions, and navigation to resources.

The team completed a data and workflow analysis to determine the screening rates and barriers to implementation for a number of screening tools. One of the conclusions shared at the meeting was: “If we don’t distribute the survey, the patient can’t get screened!” The next steps identified were to collect more PDSA data by expanding the timeframe, extend to all providers at all sites, and discuss receptiveness to changes in screening processes with employees.

Bau and Medve chose this AHEC summer project because it aligned with their interest in rural primary care. They were thankful to the LRHC leadership and staff for the opportunity to spend time learning about this rural practice, and to Thomasena Coates for her knowledge and expertise in quality improvement.

On this year’s Lung Cancer Screening Day, November 9, the University of Vermont Cancer Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital screened 57 patients with the goal of catching lung cancer early to improve survival.

Screenings for lung cancer at the UVM Cancer Center have increased by 32.9 percent over the past three years. To date 2,000 new patients have received first-time screens at the UVM Medical Center since January 2020—a huge impact on overall rates. But even with the positive trends, only 10 percent of high-risk Vermonters are being screened, and in New York, 4.9 percent of those at high risk are being screened, according to the most recent data from the American Lung Association.

That number for Vermont is more than double the national average of 4.5 percent but still much too low, said Beth Zigmund, M.D., associate professor of radiology at the Larner College of Medicine and director of the UVM Cancer Center’s Lung Screening Program.

“The increase is very encouraging,” she said, “but we’re still screening far too few people. We need to continue to get the word out that lung screening is vitally important and can save lives.”

The American Cancer Society and Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer, Vermont’s statewide cancer coalition, supported participating screening sites for this year’s Lung Cancer Screening Day.

Read more about Lung Cancer Screening Day

Larner faculty members who attended Learn Serve Lead 2024: The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) Annual Meeting in Atlanta November 8–12 included Leila Amiri, Ph.D., M.A., assistant professor of psychiatry and associate dean for admissions; Katie Dolbec, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and assistant dean for students; Garth Garrison, M.D., associate professor of medicine and assistant dean for advanced integration; Kathryn N. Huggett, Ph.D., director of the Teaching Academy, Robert Larner, M.D.’42 professor of medical education, and assistant dean for medical education; Richard L. Page, M.D., professor of medicine and dean of the Larner College of Medicine; Jason Sanders, M.D., M.B.A., assistant professor of medicine and senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the Larner College of Medicine and president and CEO of the UVM Medical Group; Rebecca Wilcox, M.D., professor of pathology & laboratory medicine and associate dean for faculty; and Yichen Zhao, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and director of evaluation and assessment.

Wilcox delivered a presentation at a focused discussions lunch session on Saturday, November 9; at a separate event on Saturday, Amiri presented “Rethinking Holistic Admission Strategies and Pre-Med Competencies in the New Regulatory Landscape”; and on Sunday, Sanders spoke about “The Growth of Medicare Advantage Plans: Implications for Academic Medicine.” Huggett was a collaborator for “Student and Faculty Perspectives on Excellent Teaching: A Potential Driver of Educational Evaluations?” presented by the project PI, Paul Haidet, M.D., M.P.H., on Tuesday, November 12.

The AAMC Annual Meeting once again brought together a diverse group of leaders and professionals from across academic medicine to explore the most pressing issues in health and health care. Attendees—including deans, educators, researchers, and students—had the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking discussions and network with peers.

Learn Serve Lead caters to all roles in the academic medicine community and leverages their experiences and expertise to address and rectify critical challenges faced by many in the field. Amidst the bustling environment, attendees reunite with distanced colleagues, connect with new peers, and constructively challenge each other through civil discourse that leaves a positive, lasting impression, both professionally and personally.

On November 16, Larner Assistant Professor of Medicine Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D., M.S., moderated a panel on science policy advocacy titled “How can we engage scientists from historically underrepresented backgrounds in policymaking and advocacy?” at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2024 conference in Chicago. The panelists were AHA President Keith Churchwell, M.D.; past AHA President Michelle Albert, M.D., M.P.H.; Emelia Benjamin, M.D., Sc.M., associate provost and professor of medicine and epidemiology at Boston University; and Carl Streed, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine at Boston University.

The focus of the panel was on how scientific research and medicine inform laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels but scientific and medical engagement in policymaking and advocacy remains limited. The panelists discussed how scientists and clinicians—particularly early-career scientists and clinicians from historically underrepresented communities—can increase the policy impact of their work, build long-term relationships with policymakers (i.e., lawmakers), and communicate scientific and clinical evidence to policymakers in a clear and concise manner.

A series of new publications by Larner Professor of Medicine and UVM Cancer Center Member Marc Greenblatt, M.D., hematology/oncology postdoctoral researcher Emily Nadeau, Ph.D., and colleagues advances the interpretation of genetic variants of unknown significance. This work will influence the clinical care of patients who undergo DNA testing to assess genetic risk factors for cancer.

Read more about Drs. Greenblatt and Nadeau’s work

Larner medical students from each class year traveled to Atlanta in November to attend Learn Serve Lead 2024: The AAMC Annual Meeting and participate in a Diversifying the Next Generation of Physicians recruitment fair. Class of 2025 students Tyler McGuire and Chellam Nayar hosted a hands-on exhibit titled “Understanding What Noises from Your Body Tell You What Is Going on Inside,” using a mobile point-of-care ultrasound device and stethoscopes to help attendees listen to body sounds. Other Larner students, including Shruthi Santhanankrishnan ’26, Harsimran Multani ’27, and Trevor Watkins ’26, presented posters on such projects as “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy Education: Student Led Initiatives and Outcomes” and “Spaced Repetition Career Counseling.”

Rachel McEntee, M.D.’12, chief medical information officer for the UVM Health Network and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, has been inducted into the 2025 class of Fellows of the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA) in the Applied Informatics Recognition Program. A committee of 66 reviewers selected the 87 Fellows who will join a community of 579 current FAMIA inductees.

FAMIA recognizes AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) member professionals who apply informatics skills and knowledge toward the goals of enhanced personal and population health, improved organizational performance and learning, and individual empowerment in health care.

AMIA, the leading professional association for informatics professionals, is the center of action for more than 5,500 informatics professionals from more than 65 countries. As the voice of the nation’s top biomedical and health informatics professionals, AMIA and its members play a leading role in assessing the effect of health innovations on health policy and advancing the field of informatics. AMIA actively supports five domains in informatics: translational bioinformatics, clinical research informatics, clinical informatics, consumer health informatics, and public health informatics. AMIA supports the current and next generation of informatics professionals through education, training, accreditation, and certification.

Stephen Everse, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, has received the President’s Distinguished University Citizenship and Service Award, in recognition of his demonstrated sustained and exceptional leadership and service. This annual award honors members of the UVM faculty who have established a consistent and outstanding record of service to the university community as a member of committees, governance groups, and advising student organizations at the department, college, school, or university level.

Everse has been a member of the UVM faculty since 1998 and has consistently made highly significant contributions as a scientist, educator, and architect for expanding institutional capabilities in research competency and capacity. As a scientist, he has made widely recognized contributions to coagulation biology and pathology. As a mentor, he has been highly significant 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, by his actions and personality, Everse demonstrates that being a good citizen is building trust and creating knowledge and innovation in a friendly, respectful, and collaborative environment.

Nine Larner medical students attended Future Scope: Introduction to Arthroscopy and Orthopaedics, in Raynham, Mass., on November 9. Hosted by the Arthroscopy Association of North America and DePuy Synthes, this biannual course series is intended for first and second-year medical students who are from populations underrepresented in the profession of medicine, including women. Activities included cadaveric arthroscopy demonstrations, robot-assisted bone saw practice, suturing, and knee injection simulations.

“Early exposure is critical to help students make informed decisions about sub-specialization,” said Chason Ziino, M.D., assistant professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation.

“An event like this helps students understand the technical aspects of surgery and get them excited about orthopaedics,” said Monika Donlevy, medical student education coordinator for the department of orthopaedics and rehabilitation. “Orthopaedics has the lowest diversity in medical specialties and a big reason for that is exposure. We need to continue to build relationships with outside organizations to give our medical students the best opportunities to explore their medical options.”