The Path to a Healthy Heart Starts with Awareness

In recognition of February as American Heart Month, cardiologist Sherrie Khadanga, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, offers some timely reminders about cardiovascular health, including “Life’s Essential 8”—tips from the American Heart Association to reduce cardiovascular risk and improve heart health.

Read Dr. Khadanga’s full article on heart health

The College of Medicine’s ‘Forerunners’

For African American History Month in February, we revisit the stories of the first Black medical students at UVM’s College of Medicine. These “Forerunners” (Vermont Medicine, Fall 2022) include anesthesiologist Myrtle Douglas Johnson (pictured at left, center), who in 1953 became the first African American woman to receive her M.D. degree from UVM.

Read more about “The Forerunners”

Larner’s Very Own Winter Olympian

As the world looks to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics February 6–22, we at the Larner College of Medicine turn to our very own Olympian—2014 snowboarder Ty Walker, M.D.’25, now a resident in internal medicine at UVM Medical Center. Her blog post from May 2025, “From Olympic Athlete to Doctor,” reflects on her post-athletic career choices and how Olympic training has translated to her medical career.

The Unsung Hero Powering Family Med

Lori Durieux, business manager for the Department of Family Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, is one of six recipients of the President’s Our Common Ground Staff Award for 2025. The annual award honors staff who have made extraordinary contributions, had a significant impact on our university, and are exemplars of the values reflected in Our Common Ground.

LARNER VOICES

“Mascot duty has an element of responsibility and pride. Wearing the costume means stepping into a character that represents something much bigger than myself—the UVM Larner College of Medicine.”

— Aiden Masters, Larner Class of 2027

READ THE BLOG POST

ACCOLADES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Zailing Xing, Ph.D. (left), with Tracy Madsen, M.D., Ph.D.

Zailing Xing, Ph.D. (left), a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Larner Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Tracy Madsen, M.D., Ph.D. (right), was a finalist for the 2026 American Heart Association Systemic Inflammation Data Challenge, a national competition in which investigators had the opportunity to conduct a research project on the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease.

Larner Professor of Medicine Macaulay Onuigbo, M.B.B.S., was featured in a recent article about his work collaborating with UVM colleagues in biomedical engineering to reduce blood clots during dialysis treatment. What started out as an improvised hand-rotation device has since grown into a fully prototyped Hemodialysis Filter Rotator with a pending U.S. patent and growing international interest.

The Aequitas Health Honor Society has announced the selection of Larner medical students Sarah Chiavacci ’27, Nicki Nikkhoy ’27, and Javier Rincon ’26 as the recipients of the society’s 2025 Fellow Project Grant, for their menstrual equity project to install dispensers at Larner’s clinical branch campus in Connecticut, Nuvance/Northwell Health.

The Vermont Psychological Association (VPA) Board of Directors has selected Lee Rosen, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at the Larner College of Medicine, director of student well-being, and clinical educator of psychological science at the University of Vermont, as the recipient of the 2025 VPA Service Award, for outstanding contributions to the field of psychology.

The Larner College of Medicine’s Teaching Academy held a two-day, hybrid Snow Season Education Retreat in January on the UVM campus. The event featured a plenary on “Professional Identity Formation in Medical Education” presented by Eva Aagaard, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine, as well as poster sessions, workshops, networking, and a Teaching Academy Induction and Award Ceremony.