Celebrating the UVM Larner College of Medicine Community

The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine welcomed its 203rd medical class August 10–14 with a week of orientation activities designed to build community, introduce students to the college’s learning environment, and familiarize them with the academic programs, resources, faculty, staff, and classmates who will shape their medical school experience.

Read more about Orientation Week for the Class of 2030

Research co-led by Julie Dragon, Ph.D., has found that mysterious black skin lesions afflicting catfish in New England and Canadian lakes are caused by a transmissible cancer—the first ever identified in a freshwater fish species. The discovery, recently published in the journal Nature, raises important questions about how cancer works in all animals, including humans.

Read more about the team’s discovery and its scientific impacts

Join the Larner College of Medicine and UVM partners Sunday, September 13, 12–5 p.m., for Pride Vermont 2026 to promote equality and inclusive health care. Gather at 10:30 a.m. in the UVM Davis Center’s Grand Maple Ballroom for bling and celebration. Wear what makes you feel authentically fabulous, and please bring your CatCard. Questions? Contact Janet Franz.

ACCOLADES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

A K08 award from the National Institutes of Health will support research by Peter Hyson, M.D., on babesiosis, a tick-borne disease. K08 awards provide five years of salary support and protected time for early-career clinician-scientists to develop independent research programs. Dr. Hyson’s research investigates effective medications for babesiosis treatment.

Megan Tarte, a pathology graduate student in the Janssen-Heininger Lab, has been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Fellowship to research protein oxidation in lung fibrosis to better understand how oxidation leads to abnormalities. She also received several honors at a recent Gordon Research Seminar and Conference in Spain.

Dermatologist Santana VanDyke, M.D., a UVM Cancer Center member and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, was a featured guest on the July 10 episode of Across the Fence, a daily television program co-produced by UVM Extension and WCAX-TV. Dr. VanDyke (right) spoke with program host Amy Finley (left) about summer sun safety.

The UVM “Rally Against Cancer” team placed in the finals at the Dragon Boat Race on August 9, part of the 20th annual Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival at Burlington’s Waterfront Park, hosted August 8–9 by Dragonheart Vermont. Part competition, part community celebration, more than 50 dragon boat teams raised money for breast cancer survivors and Vermont cancer organizations.

U.S. News & World Report has released its 2026–27 Best Hospitals Rankings & Ratings list, which features the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) as a Best Regional Hospital, ranked #1 in Vermont. UVMMC is rated High Performing in 13 adult procedures and conditions, including abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, colon cancer surgery, heart arrhythmia, heart attack, and heart bypass surgery.

SAVE THE DATE

Health C.A.R.E. Series | Wednesday, September 2, 12–1 p.m. via Zoom. Join the Larner community for a presentation by Nancy Spector, M.D., of Drexel University on “Reimagining Leadership in Academic Medicine for 2026.” This event is hosted by the Office of Intercultural Excellence.

UVM Health Asha Clinic for Mental Health and Suicide Care | Friday, September 4, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 1 Prospect St., 4th floor. Join Craig Bryan, Psy.D., director of the Asha Clinic, and UVM Health leadership in learning how the clinic will increase access to effective, patient-centered suicide care in Vermont and Upstate New York. RSVP by August 28 to rsvp@uvmhealth.org or call 802-847-2887.

Women’s Health & Cancer Conference | UVM Davis Center / Zoom, Friday, September 18, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. 2026 theme: “Voices in Oncology.” Free hybrid educational event to empower and support individuals and communities with knowledge about cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship. Register by September 8.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE

By April 2027, all UVM public-facing and internal communications, including websites, newsletters, brochures, and content on Drupal and SharePoint, must include required non-discrimination, accessibility, and privacy notices to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards and Section 508 requirements. Visit the Office of Accessibility Services website for training, resources, updates, and information about UVM’s Digital Accessibility Roadmap. 

To view recent publications by members of the Larner College of Medicine community, visit the National Institutes of Health PubMed website.

Published by the Office of Medical Communications © 2026