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

(DECEMBER 9, 2019) News about a study on machine learning and end-of-life conversations led by Robert Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., Miller Chair in Palliative Medicine, and published in the journal Patient Education and Counseling, was picked up by several online news outlets.

(DECEMBER 9, 2019) Associate Professor of Nursing Jennifer Laurent, Ph.D., FNP, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Scott Mackey, Ph.D., were featured in an Associated Press story about their JAMA Pediatrics study looking at BMI and brain function that was picked up by multiple national outlets, including the New York Times.

(DECEMBER 4, 2019) A study published in JAMA Network Open last week and coauthored by Timothy Plante, M.D., Asst. Prof of Medicine, and Daniel Silverman, M.D., cardiology fellows, has been covered fairly widely in the media, including U.S. News & World Report, HealthDay News and Breitbart.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2019) Coverage of the U.S. News & World Report's Healthcare of Tomorrow conference in Washington, D.C., included quotes from Alicia Jacobs, M.D., vice chair and associate professor of family medicine, who served on a panel addressing the opioid crisis and how hospitals and healthcare providers are approaching this epidemic. Jacobs discussed how the University of Vermont Medical Center began to address the opioid crisis and what steps they are taking to help the crisis. Read more at U.S. News & World Report and on the American Hospital Association website.

(NOVEMBER 9, 2019) A study led by John McPartland, D.O., M.S., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, suggests that while cannabis is generally believed to have evolved in Asia and later dispersed to Europe by people, the plant was most likely indigenous to Europe long before humans were present.

(OCTOBER 15, 2019) Several news outlets recently covered a research study on flavored e-cigarettes and asthma published in Nature Scientific Reports by Larner faculty and trainees, including senior author and Professor of Medicine Charles Irvin, Ph.D. The study was funded through UVM's Tobacco Center on Regulatory Science (TCORS) grant.

(OCTOBER 7, 2019) A story about the University of Vermont’s Conversation Lab, “which uses machine learning to develop algorithms designed to optimize clinician-patient discussions of serious illness, palliative care and end-of-life care," led by Robert Gramling, M.D., associate professor of family medicine and Miller Chair in Palliative Medicinewas featured in Hospice News.

(OCTOBER 7, 2019) Coverage of recommendations from an Endocrine Society-convened panel of diabetes experts published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society and led by Professor of Medicine and Director of Endocinology, Diabetes & Metabolism John Leahy, M.D., received coverage in several media outlets.

(SEPTEMBER 9, 2019) LGBTQ community members and allies filled Burlington's Church Street and downtown area with smiles, rainbow flags, and bright colors on Sunday, September 8, at the 2019 Vermont Pride Parade and Festival. The Larner College of Medicine was one of more than 90 organizations that participated in the event, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and had the largest attendance to date.

(SEPTEMBER 9, 2019) A VTDigger article, titled "NEK social services group paid fines for asbestos, other violations," featured comments by UVM Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Arti Shukla, Ph.D., regarding the link between asbestos and lung disease.

(AUGUST 27, 2019) A long feature story published in Mosaic and The Atlantic focuses on research led by Bob Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., Miller Chair in Palliative Medicine, and colleagues about conversations between clinicians and dying patients.

Led by Vermont Center on Behavior and Health researcher and Associate Professor of Psychiatry Stacey Sigmon, Ph.D., the UVM Center on Rural Addiction will serve as a resource for scientific and technical assistance, and will provide information and training to clinicians, programs, and policymakers seeking guidance on how to address substance use disorder challenges in their rural communities. During its initial three years, the center will focus on disseminating evidence-based practices to rural counties in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, relying on partnerships with collaborators throughout New England.

(AUGUST 21, 2019) An article in Burlington, Vt. weekly Seven Days, titled "How Far Along? How Vermont Delivers Help for Pregnant Women With Opioid-Use Disorder," features comments from Marjorie Meyer, M.D., associate professor and vice chair of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, and Abigail Crocker, Ph.D., biostatistician and assistant professor of mathematics & statistics.

(AUGUST 19, 2019) Assistant Interim Dean for Students Shaden Eldakar-Hein, M.D., M.S., associate professor of medicine, and first-year medical student Akua Frimpong were featured in an NBC 5 segment on Larner's newest class of medical students, who arrived on campus last Monday.

(AUGUST 7, 2019) Prema Menon, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic at the University of Vermont Medical Center, was featured in a WCAX-TV Channel 3 segment about the Medical Center's new designation from the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation as a member of their Care Center Network.

(AUGUST 2, 2019) David Fassler, M.D., UVM clinical professor of psychiatry was featured in an article in Psychiatric News from the American Psychiatric Association on a recent report stating that more than half of children and adolescents with ADHD may not be taking stimulant medications as prescribed.

(AUGUST 2, 2019) Healio.com highlighted research conducted by Assistant Professor of Surgery Thomas P. Ahern, Ph.D., M.P.H and colleagues in an article, titled "Certain medications linked to increased breast cancer risk."

It’s August 12—day one of orientation. Looking across the Sullivan Classroom at the smiling, anxious faces of 124 new medical students, it’s hard to imagine their individual journeys that led to this point. But they found their way to medicine, and they are needed. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, “The United States will see a shortage of nearly 122,000 physicians by 2032 as demand for physicians continues to grow faster than supply.”

(AUGUST 2, 2019) Richard Wasserman, M.D., professor of pediatrics, commented on motivational interviewing techniques used to encourage patients to adopt healthier behaviors in an Advisory.com article.

(JULY 31, 2019) Robert Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurological sciences, commented on findings he presented at the national American Headache Society meeting in an MDEdge/Neurology article.