Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

(JUNE 28, 2023) A Seven Days profile of Lisa Carlson, a Vermont author, teacher, and funeral consumer advocate who passed away on June 4, 2023, mentions the Anatomical Gift Program at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine.

(JUNE 23, 2023) Professor Emeritus of Medicine Arthur Kunin, M.D.’52, and fellow Larner alum Ned MacCarty, M.D.’57, commented in a WVNY-TV story about an Alzheimer’s fundraiser held at The Residence at Quarry Hill, where they both live.

(JUNE 22, 2023) Colchester-based Vernal Biosciences is providing labs with reliably consistent mRNA, said Dev Majumdar, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgery (who is not affiliated with Vernal), in a VTDigger article on the new company.

(JUNE 14, 2023) Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Daniel Wolfson, M.D., FACEP, and Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Heidi Melbostad, Ph.D., MFT, spoke to Seven Days about the state’s efforts to address opioid addiction.

(JUNE 13, 2023) According to a study by Brian Sprague, Ph.D., professor of surgery and biochemistry, and colleagues, many women at high risk of screening mammography failure do not undergo supplemental screening after mammography, HealthDay News reported.

(JUNE 13, 2023) Like many clinicians, Timothy Plante, M.D., M.H.S., assistant professor of medicine, is excited about the potential of cuffless blood pressure monitors. However, “We’ve been burned by it before,” he told Medscape Cardiology.

(JUNE 7, 2023) Greater efforts are needed to connect children with mental health services after a firearm injury, according to a study by a research consortium of Children’s Hospital Association professionals that included Christian D. Pulcini, M.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., assistant professor of emergency medicine, Healio reported.

(JUNE 1, 2023) UVM ophthalmologists Jeffrey Young, M.D., and Sujata Singh, M.D., are two members of a larger team of Vermont medical experts traveling to The Republic of The Gambia with a mission to improve pediatric vision services and ophthalmology infrastructure in the country, WCAX-TV reported.

(JUNE 1, 2023) Andrew Solomon, M.D., associate professor of neurological sciences, discussed the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) misdiagnosis and what can be done about it in his opening lecture at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), NeurologyLive reported.

(MAY 25, 2023) In an opinion piece published in The Other Paper, chronic pain sufferer John R. Killacky lauded the UVM Medical Center Comprehensive Pain Program, whose medical director is Jon Porter, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine and director of UVM’s Osher Center for Integrative Health.

(MAY 17, 2023) Deirdre O’Reilly, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine, was interviewed for an opinion piece in the Washington Post about the increase in denials of health insurance claims, and the increasingly nonsensical reasons given by insurers.

(MAY 17, 2023) NBC5 featured pulmonologist Anne Dixon, M.A., B.M.B.Ch., professor of medicine, in a story about recruiting millennials for a long-term nationwide Lung Health Cohort Study. The pioneering study will follow 4,000 young, healthy adults to paint a clearer picture of lung health and the factors involved in predicting and preventing lung disease.

(MAY 17, 2023) Jeremiah Dickerson, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Larner College of Medicine and a child psychiatrist at the UVM Medical Center, was interviewed by WCAX-TV for a story on social media and teen mental health.

(MAY 17, 2023) Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences Lauren MacAfee, M.D., and three doctors who are midway through their four-year OB-GYN residencies at the University of Vermont Medical Center spoke to VTDigger about the challenges of being on the front lines of providing abortions and gender-affirming care in the current political climate.

(MAY 16, 2023) Neonatologist Leslie Young, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, was interviewed by Fox5 TV about her research on more effective ways to care for newborns exposed to opioids in the womb. In short, these littlest patients have shorter hospital stays when treated with the “Eat, Sleep, Console” (ESC) care approach.

(MAY 14, 2023) Megan Malgeri, M.D.’12, assistant professor of family medicine, says climate change is extending the growing season, bringing allergies earlier and creating more severe symptoms for Vermonters, WCAX-TV reported.

(MAY 12, 2023) A group of researchers led by Andrew Solomon, M.D., associate professor of neurological sciences, tested different groups of neurologists using the McDonald criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) and showed that knowledge gaps or misunderstandings often led to errors, Time News reported. Various studies show that the criteria are sometimes incorrectly applied by neurological specialists, including MS specialists.

(MAY 10, 2023) Larner Class of 2024 medical student Dana Allison was interviewed by Medscape about presenting her research on Virtual Reality Interventions for Autistic Spectrum Disorder Therapy at the 2023 American Academy of Neurology Meeting in Boston.

(MAY 10, 2023) A federal health task force now recommends that all women with an average risk of breast cancer start screening every other year beginning at age 40 — rather than at age 50, as was recommended in the previous update in 2016, WCAX-TV reported. Brian Sprague, Ph.D., professor of surgery and biochemistry, hopes this will reverse the decline in screening that UVM Cancer Center research has shown for the past several years. “I’m hoping this will help,” he says.

(MAY 10, 2023) Natasha Withers, D.O., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, will soon start treating depression with a mind-altering drug that’s shown promise in helping people who don’t respond to traditional medicine — despite lingering questions about the drug’s long-term safety and effectiveness — Seven Days reported.