Celebrating the UVM Larner College of Medicine Community

The Larner College of Medicine joins communities across the U.S. celebrating National Rural Health Day on November 21, 2024. This annual event recognizes individuals and organizations dedicated to addressing health care needs of people living in rural areas. Vermont is the most rural state in the country—with 65 percent living in rural areas—and Larner initiatives support rural communities not only here but also across the U.S. and around the world.

Read about rural health initiatives at Larner

Aspiring medical students from populations underrepresented in medicine visited UVM October 25–26 for Look at Larner, a medical student–led event that aims to help learners envision what their experience in medical school might look like. Activities included lessons in the anatomy lab, clinical simulations, campus tours, and admissions advice.

Read more about Look at Larner 2024

As a Black kid growing up in Queens, Tony Williams never saw a doctor who looked like him, and becoming a doctor himself felt impossible. Today, Dr. Williams is a family medicine physician, assistant professor, and assistant dean of admissions at the Larner College of Medicine. He reflects on his life experience for the UVM Health Network’s Mosaic Project series “Our People. Their Stories.”

Read Dr. Williams’s story

Larner medical students who recently participated in the Nuvance–UVM Global Health (GH) Program reflected on the challenges and rewards of their experiences in Uganda (Sarah Chiavacci ’27), Vietnam (Max Pendleton ’27), and the Dominican Republic (Arya Kale ’27). The GH Program was established in 2012 by founding director Majid Sadigh, M.D., a former UVM clinical associate professor of medicine.

Read more about the Global Health Program

VOICES OF THE COLLEGE

“This experience was formative in how I want to practice medicine, constantly learning from other communities and sharing ideas, stories, and culture with people from around the world.”
—Arya Kale, Class of 2027

ACCOLADES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

This fall, dozens of teens interested in the medical field joined Anthony Williams, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine and assistant dean of Larner admissions, for a series of fun, interactive Health Heroes workshops offering career-pathway discovery and practical health information. The series was a collaboration between the Larner Office of Admissions and UVM Extension 4-H.

Erika Ziller, Ph.D., director of the UVM Larner College of Medicine Health Services Research Center, and researchers from the University of Southern Maine (USM) recently received a $2.8 million grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to address the need for rural health care improvement. Ziller and her team will establish the Northeast Rural Health Research Center as a consortium between UVM and USM to conduct applied research focused on rural care access.

Douglas Taatjes, Ph.D., director of UVM’s Center for Biomedical Shared Resources, was recently appointed to serve on the strategic planning advisory group for the National Institutes of Health Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, responsible for developing a strategic plan for 2026–2030. Taatjes was selected for Phase II of the plan, titled “Innovative Instruments and Equipment to Accelerate Research Discoveries.”

Kalev Freeman, M.D., Ph.D. (pictured with UVM Graduate College Alumni Award Winner Elizabeth J. Kovacs, Ph.D.’84, left), has been appointed to the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Science Policy Committee for a three-year term. FASEB serves as a collective voice for biomedical researchers, working closely with federal agencies to advance scientific research.

Daniel Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, has been named president-elect of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) for 2026–28. Established in 1992, ISCT is a global society of clinicians, regulators, researchers, technologists, and industry partners with a shared vision to translate cell and gene therapy into safe and effective therapies to improve lives worldwide.

MEDICAL EDUCATION REPORT 2023–24
Read about medical education initiatives at the Larner College of Medicine in the new issue of Art & Science. Stories include curricular innovations, community-based learning opportunities, and initiatives to promote student well-being.

SAVE THE DATE

The month of November is “MOVEMBER”—a moustache-growing charity event held each year to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. Get involved! Grow a mustache. Move your body. Create your own challenge and have a good time for a good cause. Founded in 2003, MOVEMBER has since funded more than 1,320 men’s health projects around the world. Register today!

The application deadline for the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont’s Viridis Montis Early-Career Investigator Challenge, a unique early-career investigator competition highlighting cardiovascular research, health/wellness, and service in the state of Vermont conducted by early-career scientists at the University of Vermont and UVM Health Network, is December 2, 2024. Apply today!

LARNER IN THE NEWS

WVNY-TV
Zigmund Featured in Story on Lung Cancer Screening

NBC5
Leffler Comments on Opening of New Mental Health Urgent Care Center

PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Argentieri KT, M Brent C, Noel SK. Adrenal Insufficiency With Hypoglycemia in a Medically Complex Pediatric Patient. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2024 Nov 6:1-4. doi: 10.1080/10903127.2024.2417364. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39431708.

Baker MB, Liu EC, Bully MA, Hsieh A, Nozari A, Tuler M, Binda DD. Overcoming Barriers: A Comprehensive Review of Chronic Pain Management and Accessibility Challenges in Rural America. Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Sep 4;12(17):1765. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12171765. PMID: 39273789; PMCID: PMC11394986.

Baker MB, Ortoleva J, Wang Y, Nozari A, Baker WE. Damage Control Resuscitation in Traumatic Hemorrhage: Comment. Anesthesiology. 2024 Oct 14. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000005178. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39401345.

Debryn D, Cheung A, Gupta V, Mukerji S, Price R, Baker MB, Binda DD, Nozari A, Streed C, Kim E. Airway events in transgender women during facial feminization surgery. Transgender Health. 2024 Oct 10. DOI: 10.1089/trgh.2024.0023.

Gomes SH, Canelli R, Corradi F, Pêgo JM, Baker MB, Bilotta F. The Use of Ultrasound in Airway Management: Video in Clinical Anesthesia. Anesth Analg. 2024 Oct 1;139(4):887-890. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007046. Epub 2024 Sep 4. PMID: 39284139.

Gorbenko AA, Heuberger JAAC, Klumpers LE, de Kam ML, Strugala PK, de Visser SJ, Groeneveld GJ. Cannabidiol Increases Psychotropic Effects and Plasma Concentrations of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Without Improving Its Analgesic Properties. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Nov;116(5):1289-1303. doi: 10.1002/cpt.3381. Epub 2024 Jul 25. PMID: 39054656.

Ingason AB, Galenkamp AL, Jonsdottir F, An G, Sigurdsson MI. Epidemiology and Outcomes Associated with New Persistent Opioid Use After Transabdominal Operation. J Am Coll Surg. 2024 Oct 21. doi: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001198. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39431619.

Leung J, Tao B, Binda DD, Baker MB, Jhaveri A, Norris MC. Residency Wellness: A Historical Narrative Review. J Surg Educ. 2024 Oct 7;81(12):103294. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2024.09.013. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39378673.

Morgan HK, Banks E, Gressel GM, Winkel AF, Hammoud MM, Akingbola B, George K. Inequities at the Transition to Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency. J Surg Educ. 2024 Jul;81(7):905-911. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2024.04.005. Epub 2024 May 4. PMID: 38705787.

Navi BB, Zhang C, Miller BR, Pawar A, Cushman M, Kasner SE, Tirschwell D, Longstreth WT, Kronmal R, Elm J, Zweifler RM, Tarsia J, Broderick JP, Gladstone DJ, Beyeler M, Kamel H, Elkind MSV, Streib C. Diagnosis of Incident Cancer After Cryptogenic Stroke: An Exploratory Analysis of the ARCADIA Randomized Trial. Neurology. 2024 Nov 26;103(10):e210027. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000210027. Epub 2024 Oct 31. PMID: 39481070; PMCID: PMC11527484.

Santen SA, Ginzburg SB, Pusic MV, Richardson J, Banks E, George KE, Hammoud MM, Wolff M, Morgan HK. The Association of Master Adaptive Learning With Less Burnout and More Resilience in Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents. Acad Med. 2024 Apr 5. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005733. PMID: 38579263.

Vinekar K, Qasba N, Reiser H, Banks E, Arora K,Tucker Edmonds B, George K. Segregation by Payor in Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Ambulatory Care Sites. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(9):e2434347. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.34347.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Published by the Office of Medical Communications © 2024