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

(AUGUST 11, 2022) A $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to the New England Clinical and Translational Research Network (NNE-CTR) will allow NNE-CTR members from UVM, MaineHealth Institute for Research, and the University of Southern Maine to address chronic and life-threatening diseases in northern New England, VermontBiz reports.

(AUGUST 9, 2022) Five high school students from Bennington County recently completed a MedQuest 2.0 program designed and delivered by first-year medical students from the Robert Larner College of Medicine to gain a richer understanding of health careers available to them in Vermont.

(AUGUST 5, 2022) A new survey by UVM’s Center on Rural Addiction — which is headed by Stacey Sigmon, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry — working with the University of Southern Maine’s Cutler Institute highlights challenges in access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders in Maine’s rural areas.

(AUGUST 1, 2022) After the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency and the first case of the virus was recently confirmed in Vermont, Tim Lahey, M.D., M.M.Sc., professor of medicine, spoke with Vermont Public about what we need to know about the virus, and who’s at highest risk.

(AUGUST 1, 2022) Karen Lounsbury, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and director of foundations and preclinical assessment, is quoted in an article in “Social Work Today” on integrating service delivery by medical or physical health providers, behavioral health providers, and social service providers.

(JULY 31, 2022) In response to statistics showing that lung cancer kills more Vermonters than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers combined, family medicine professor John King, M.D., and colleagues at the UVM and Dartmouth Cancer Centers are spearheading a new community education program called Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer, the (Nashua, N.H.) Telegraph reported.

(JULY 29, 2022) Retired oncology professor Jerome Yates, M.D., spoke with Alexandria Carolan, a reporter with The Cancer Letter and associate editor of the Cancer History Project, about building a cancer center at the University of Vermont.

(JULY 28, 2022) Sean Diehl, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, spoke with CT Insider about an Omicron-specific mRNA vaccine developed by Yale scientists that creates a strong antibody response against subvariants BA.1 and BA.2.12.1.

(JULY 28, 2022) Rheumatologist Jeanne Gosselin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, spoke with CreakyJoints about what monkeypox is and what people who are immunocompromised because of an autoimmune or inflammatory health condition or taking immunosuppressant medication need to know.

(JULY 27, 2022) Lauren MacAfee, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, commented to Seven Days on “blatant misinformation” dispensed at certain innocuously labeled “pregnancy resource centers.”

(JULY 27, 2022) A recent study by Timothy Plante, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, and colleagues found that so-called stiff-heart heart failure accounts for about half of all cases; in addition, most stiff-heart patients take beta-blocker medications despite unclear benefits from their regular use, according to Knowridge Science Report.

(JULY 27, 2022) Professor of Medicine Tim Lahey, M.D., M.M.Sc., said in a story on Vermont Public that "it’s just a matter of time" before the monkeypox virus is found in the Green Mountain State.

(JULY 27, 2022) In this summer of increasingly dangerous and even record-breaking heat waves, Associate Dean for Public Health and Health Policy Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., offered potentially life-saving guidance on how to prepare for and adapt to extreme heat in an article in “Health” magazine.

(JULY 26, 2022) Emily Bruce, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, was one of several experts interviewed for a news story in the journal “Nature” on what scientists know so far about COVID-19 infectiousness.

(JULY 22, 2022) In an interview with WCAX-TV, infectious disease specialist Timothy Lahey, M.D., M.M.Sc., professor of medicine, said the number of confirmed cases of monkeypox has likely been undercounted because people with mild or no symptoms have not gone to a doctor for a diagnosis. Vermont health officials Friday said monkeypox is likely here even though there are still no confirmed cases in the state.

(JULY 20, 2022) Robert Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurological sciences, joined other experts for a conversation about the impact of migraine on quality of life, as well as the pain of stigma and how advocacy can reduce stigma, in an editorial collaboration between Medscape and the American Headache Society.

(JULY 19, 2022) More than half of thyroid cancers are identified among patients with no symptoms, according to a study by Mirabelle Sajisevi, M.D., associate professor of surgery, and colleagues, HealthDay News reported.

(July 18, 2022) Despite the strong evidence for early lung cancer screening and its widespread availability, very few eligible individuals take advantage of this potentially lifesaving procedure, Beth Zigmund, M.D., associate professor of radiology, wrote in an opinion piece in VTDigger.

(JULY 15, 2022) UVM Cancer Center director Randall Holcombe, M.D., M.B.A., told the Burlington Free Press that the center, together with the Dartmouth Cancer Center and Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer, has launched a campaign to increase screening for lung cancer — the leading cause of cancer death in Vermont and the country.

(JULY 14, 2022) A new study by Matthew Albaugh, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, and colleagues has found that smoking marijuana as a teen likely affects the still-developing brain, Our Time Press reports.