Celebrating the UVM Larner College of Medicine Community

Larner Class of 2025 medical students Liz Kelley and Jessie Lucas have been chosen as recipients of the Ignat Scholars Incentive Scholarship/Loan Forgiveness Program, which will forgive their medical school loans if they return to Vermont within one year of completing their medical training. The incentive program aims to strengthen the physician workforce pipeline into Vermont.

Read more about the Ignat Scholarship winners

A pilot study by Larner medical students in partnership with Windham Aging identified key factors that influence recruitment of primary care professionals in rural Vermont. The study found that personal and lifestyle factors—such as housing affordability, political association, and community demographics—outweigh financial considerations when deciding where to work after training.

Read more about the rural physician recruitment study

Amber Goerner, M.S.’24, who earned her master’s degree in cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, has studied the parasite Toxoplasma gondiifor more than five years. Works in her crocheted viruses exhibition, currently on display in the Larner Given Courtyard, represent three major viral epidemics that ravaged humanity—COVID-19, HIV, and polio.

Read more about Goerner’s crochet viruses exhibition

Friends from the medical class of 1967 gather regularly to catch up, check in with each other, and reminisce about their days together at the University of Vermont. The now-retired physicians collectively represent about 450 years of clinical practice. “We have memories and treasures to share,” said Mimi Reardon, M.D.’67.

Read more about friends from the Class of ’67

VOICES OF THE COLLEGE

“My experience as a Climb 4 Kidney Cancer Scholar was invaluable in teaching me how to efficiently conduct clinically relevant research with a wonderful interdisciplinary team.”
—Clara Goebel, Class of 2027

ACCOLADES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Larner pediatrician Lewis First, M.D., M.S., chief of pediatrics at the UVM Children’s Hospital and professor and chair of pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine, 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 will be the sixth recipient.

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 from Southern Vermont AHEC and Vermont Blueprint for Health.

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. “Lung screening is vitally important and can save lives,” stated Beth Zigmund, M.D., director of the UVM Cancer Center’s Lung Screening Program.

Several Larner faculty members—including Dean Richard L. Page, M.D.,Katie Dolbec, M.D., Yichen Zhao, Ph.D., Garth Garrison, M.D.,Rebecca Wilcox, M.D., Leila Amiri, Ph.D., M.A., and Jason Sanders, M.D., M.B.A.—attended the AAMC Annual Meeting in Atlanta November 8–12. The meeting brought together a diverse group from across academic medicine to explore the most pressing issues in health care.

On November 16, Larner Assistant Professor of Medicine Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D., M.S., moderated a panel on science policy advocacy at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2024 conference in Chicago. The panel included the current and immediate past AHA presidents and two Boston University physicians.

SAVE THE DATE

The deadline for nominations for the 2025 Gender Equity Awards in Medicine and Science is December 9, 2024. Held annually during Women’s History Month in March, the Celebration of Gender Equity and the Annual Gender Equity Awards and Lecture honor the achievements and contributions of women and gender-diverse individuals. Complete the nomination form.

Larner College of Medicine faculty, staff, and students are invited to a Community Conversation Town Hall on Tuesday, December 10, 5–6 p.m. in MedEd 200. This event will be hosted by Larner Dean Richard L. Page and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The Larner College of Medicine and the University of Vermont will be closed from December 24, 2024, through January 1, 2025, for the holidays and winter break.
·       Holiday Break: December 24 & 25, 2024
·       Winter Break: December 26, 27 & 30, 2024
·       New Year’s Eve: December 31, 2024
·       New Year’s Day: January 1, 2025

LARNER IN THE NEWS

WCAX-TV
Ziller Quoted in Story on $2.8M Rural Health Grant

BRATTLEBORO REFORMER
Vt. Working Group ‘Not Ready’ to Endorse Psychedelics to Improve Mental Health

PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Ahern TP, Collin LJ, MacLehose RF, Littenberg B, Haines L, Bonnett M, Asmussen FB, Chen J, Lash TL. Adjusting adjustments: Using external data to estimate the impact of different confounder sets on published associations. Epidemiology. 2024 Nov 22. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001821. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39575936.

Anker CJ, Tchelebi LT, Selfridge JE, Jabbour SK, Akselrod D, Cataldo P, Abood G, Berlin J, Hallemeier CL, Jethwa KR, Kim E, Kennedy T, Lee P, Sharma N, Small W Jr, Williams VM, Russo S. Executive Summary of the American Radium Society on Appropriate Use Criteria for Nonoperative Management of Rectal Adenocarcinoma: Systematic Review and Guidelines. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2024 Nov 15;120(4):946-977. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.05.019. Epub 2024 May 25. PMID: 38797496.

Bennett D, Sarathy A, McKenna K, Reeder A, Raziel C, Adhikari P, Houle E, Orgain C. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with Orbital and Sinonasal Manifestations. Ear Nose Throat J. 2024 Nov 20:1455613241287013. doi: 10.1177/01455613241287013. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39567844.

Bergeron J, Marchese C, Jensen C, Meagher S, Kennedy AG, Tompkins B, Cheung KL. Nephrology providers' perspective and use of mortality prognostic tools in dialysis patients. BMC Nephrol. 2024 Nov 26;25(1):425. doi: 10.1186/s12882-024-03861-y. PMID: 39587463.

Corteselli E, Alexis N. Cough Variant Asthma: The Asthma Phenotype No One Coughs About. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2024 Nov 20. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2024-0517ED. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39565184.

Field TS, Shu L, Kim DJ, Klein P, Siegler JE, Cushman M, Zhou LW, Nguyen TN, Yaghi S. Lead-In Parenteral Anticoagulation Prior to Direct Oral Anticoagulation for Cerebral Venous Thrombosis. Can J Neurol Sci. 2024 Nov 11:1-6. doi: 10.1017/cjn.2024.325. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39523979.

Franco J, Fung MK. Laboratory Literacy: Surveying Lab Result Interpretations of a Local Patient Population. Patient Experience Journal; 11(3):145-156. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1966.

Gottlieb DJ, Hansen SL, McClelland RL, Cornell E, Kim JS, Tracy RP, Lederer DJ, Redline S, Jelic S. Association of OSA with Soluble Biomarkers of Lung and Vascular Injury: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Sleep. 2024 Nov 20:zsae271. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsae271. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39565921.

Gupta T, Malaisrie SC, Batchelor W, Boudoulas KD, Davidson L, Ibebuogu UN, Kpodonu J, Singh R, Sultan I, Theriot M, Reardon MJ, Leon MB, Grubb KJ; A Perspective From the American College of Cardiology Cardiac Surgery Team and Interventional Cardiology Councils. Decision-Making Approach to the Treatment of Young and Low-Risk Patients With Aortic Stenosis. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2024 Nov 11;17(21):2455-2471. doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2024.08.032. PMID: 39537269.

Keyloun JW, Kelly EJ, Carney BC, Nisar S, Kolachana S, Moffatt LT, Orfeo T, Shupp JW. Plasmas From Patients With Burn Injury Induce Endotheliopathy Through Different Pathways. J Surg Res. 2024 Nov 11;304:90-100. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2024.10.011. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39531984.

MacLehose RF, Ahern TP, Collin LJ, Li A, Lash TL. CYP2D6 Phenotype and Breast Cancer Outcomes: A Bias Analysis and Meta-Analysis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Nov 14:OF1-OF10. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-24-0755. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39540781.

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.

Perera DC, Chodosh J, Chen TC. Tibial Bone Keratoprosthesis: Seeing into the Third Decade. Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2024 Nov 16:S2589-4196(24)00181-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ogla.2024.10.003. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39556078.

Poston JN, Bryan C, von Drygalski A, Al Banaa K, Zhou JY, Parnes A, Chen EC, Khan O, Ellsworth P, Cafuir L, Walsh C, Escobar MA, Wu JF, Malec LM, Kessler CM, Janbain M, Kruse-Jarres R. Real-world impact of emicizumab and immunosuppression on acquired hemophilia A: a multicenter US cohort. Blood Adv. 2024 Nov 26;8(22):5896-5905. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2024013882. PMID: 39361769.

van Eeghen C, Soucie J, Clifton J, Hitt J, Mollis B, Rose GL, Scholle SH, Stephens KA, Zhou X, Baldwin LM. Implementation outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of a strategy to improve integration of behavioral health and primary care services. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Nov 8;24(1):1361. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11801-7. PMID: 39511571; PMCID: PMC11545095.

Volaric AK, Fedoriw Y. Epstein-Barr virus-associated B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and lymphomas: Diagnostic overlaps and defining features. Hum Pathol. 2024 Nov 19:105697. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2024.105697. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39571693.

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Published by the Office of Medical Communications © 2024