June 12, 2019 | Volume I, Issue 7
College Hosts Congressman Welch Dream Act Press Conference
Congressman Peter Welch joined Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., UVM President Tom Sullivan, and Class of 2021 medical student Juan Conde, Ph.D., in the College’s Hoehl Gallery for a June 7 press conference focused on the need to pass the Dream and Promise Act. The legislation aims to create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who, like Conde, come to the U.S. as minor children. News outlets covering the press conference included Local 22/Local 44 (ABC/Fox); VT Digger; WAMC Northeast Public Radio; NBC5; and WCAX-TV Channel 3.
Staff Members Carney and Doh Receive Our Common Ground Award
Respect. Integrity. Innovation. Openness. Justice. Responsibility. These qualities are the foundation of the UVM community's aspirations and shared values, as highlighted in the "Our Common Ground" statement.
On June 6, the Larner College of Medicine’s Bridget Carney and Naw “Esther” Doh were among six UVM staff members recognized with a 2019 Our Common Ground award for exemplifying these qualities, making extraordinary contributions, and having significant impact on the university community.
Carney, a grant proposal specialist in the Department of Medicine, was nominated by five colleagues, including Jason Botten, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, who has worked closely with her to assemble numerous research grant applications. He told award breakfast attendees that she consistently gives 110 percent in her position, supporting dozens of researchers. "I can unequivocally state that Bridget is one of the top three professionals I have worked with in my career," he said.
The Program Coordinator for the Vermont Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Program (VT LEND) in the Department of Pediatrics, Doh was nominated by VT LEND Director Mercedes Avila, Ph.D., M.Ed., and several colleagues for her high-level support for program activities and invaluable interactions with trainees, fellows, faculty, and staff. Doh, who received a UVM master’s degree in social work last month, "excels at multitasking, is respectful and courteous with every individual, and fulfills every task responsibly," said Avila, who also highlighted Doh's critical connection to the refugee community.
UVM Medical Center Opens Miller Building
On June 1, the University of Vermont Medical Center opened its newly constructed Miller Building. More than 100 patients were moved to this expanded facility, which features such amenities as single-occupancy rooms, comfortable family lounges, and team collaboration spaces. Read more about the facility and view a slideshow featuring snapshots from the first few days of operation here >>
Building a Community through Professionalism
(Authored by Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Debra Leonard, M.D., Ph.D., and excerpted from the Larner College of Medicine blog)
I was honored when Dean Page asked me to chair a Task Force with a small, but representative membership to draft the Professionalism Statement for the Larner College of Medicine. Our aim was to help define what Professionalism meant to our community, so we gathered people from diverse personal backgrounds from all of the different roles that make up the College of Medicine—staff, medical student, resident, fellow, graduate student, research faculty, and clinical faculty—to address this objective. During our three meetings and in our email exchanges, the discussions were vibrant, and everyone participated and contributed thoughtfully, creatively, and respectfully. Then, we shared the draft statement with the entire College community and asked for feedback.
My hope is that our Professionalism Statement will be a beacon for the welcoming and affirming environment we want and expect, where we all can be passionate about our work and feel supported, respected, and encouraged by those we work with here at the Larner College of Medicine.
UVM Lab for Clinical Biochemistry Research Serves as Biorepository in NIH RURAL Study
Why are some people born in the rural South less healthy and prone to die sooner? Researchers from across the U.S., including several at the Larner College of Medicine, aim to understand why certain factors amplify risk in some counties and what renders some communities more resilient. The six-year, $21.4 million multi-site Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Study is funded by the National Institutes of Health. At UVM, University Distinguished Professor Russell Tracy, Ph.D., will head the RURAL Biorepository, developing the protocol for and collecting blood and urine, and storing hundreds of thousands of biosamples for future research.
Teaching Academy Offers Medical Education Fellowship Program
In 2017, the Teaching Academy launched a new program aimed at helping faculty enhance their instructional and assessment skills through interactive seminar-style sessions and readings. In the spirit of active learning, each of the sessions was modeled after the flipped classroom approach and participants not only had the opportunity to observe teaching sessions in action, but also to receive feedback on their own teaching and instructional materials. The Medical Education Fellowship Program also includes an educational scholarship component through which participants undertake a curriculum development initiative or other teaching-related project suitable for presentation and publication.
Assistant Professor of Radiology and Fellowship Director for the Neuroradiology Program Adam Ulano, M.D. (pictured above), participated in the program in 2018 because he was looking for ways to “set our fellowship apart from others.” Ulano felt the well-planned program helped him strengthen the structure of the Neuroradiology Fellowship curriculum, as well as improve his individual teaching skills. He’s looking forward to welcoming a new fellow on July 1.
Find out more about the program here >>
Submit your application to participate by June 24, 2019 >>
On May 14, Professor of Neurological Sciences Marilyn Cipolla, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Surgery Evadne Marcolini, M.D., presented “In Stroke, Every Minute Counts: When Time = Brain,” to community members as part of the Community Medical School’s spring series. Less than 24 hours later, the importance and impact of the series was driven home for Marcolini.
The morning after our Community Medical School presentation, I saw an elderly patient in the Emergency Department who was brought in by his son-in-law for dizziness. The patient said that his wife told him ‘don’t try to guess what’s going on, just get to the Emergency Department.’ When his wife walked in, she and I realized that she had been at our talk the night before, and that is why she told her husband to come straight to the ED. Now that’s community education success!”
~ Evadne Marcolini, M.D.
On Sunday, May 26, teams of Larner College of Medicine and University of Vermont Medical Center faculty, staff, and students showed up in force at the Vermont City Marathon & Relay to run, volunteer, and cheer on their colleagues and community members. Congratulations to all of the runners and thank you to all of the volunteers!
Accolades
The University of Vermont Medical Center has received a gold-level Governor’s Award for Excellence in Worksite Wellness from the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The award recognizes programs at the UVM Medical Center that engaged 41 percent of its 8,800 employees.
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics Joseph F. Hagan, Jr., M.D., was honored by KidSafe Collaborative with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” on April 4 at the 30th Annual Outstanding Service Awards luncheon. KidSafe Collaborative is a non-profit organization that works to “engage community groups, individuals and agencies to work together to improve [the] community’s prevention of and response to child abuse and neglect [in Vermont].”
Professor of Medicine Peter Spector, M.D., recently received recognition in a Medical Design & Outsourcing article, titled “20 medical device startups you need to know,” for CoreMap, a company he founded. CoreMap is currently developing “a diagnostic catheter and EP mapping software” to help clinicians view their patients’ atrial fibrillation at high resolution, in order to better treat it on an individual level.
A Public Health Reports research article, co-authored by Associate Professor of Psychiatry Andrea Villanti, Ph.D., M.P.H., was recently highlighted by VADM Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., the United States Surgeon General, on his official Twitter feed. In the first of a series of tweets for his weekly #SundaySpotlight, Adams encouraged followers to read the article, titled “Why an FDA Ban on Menthol is Likely to Survive a Tobacco Industry Lawsuit.” View the tweet here and the article here.
Professor of Medicine Virginia Hood, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., was awarded the Alfred Stengel Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to the American College of Physicians (ACP) at the ACP's 2019 Internal Medicine meeting.
In the May 29, 2019 edition of Larner Medicine, we incorrectly noted that Professor of Medicine Richard Zubarik, M.D., was appointed Interim Division Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Zubarik had been serving as Interim Chief and on February 19 was appointed Division Chief.
We apologize for this error.
CITATION HIGHLIGHTS
- Cardio-Oncology Rehabilitation to Manage Cardiovascular Outcomes in Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.Gilchrist SC, Barac A, Ades PA, Alfano CM, Franklin BA, Jones LW, La Gerche A, Ligibel JA, Lopez G, Madan K, Oeffinger KC, Salamone J, Scott JM, Squires RW, Thomas RJ, Treat-Jacobson DJ, Wright JS; American Heart Association Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Secondary Prevention Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. Circulation. 2019 May 21;139(21):e997-e1012.
- Just a Game: the Dangers of Quantifying Medical Student Professionalism. Pinto-Powell R, Lahey T. J Gen Intern Med. 2019 May 30. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05063-x. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31147979 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Improving the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's Insurance Coverage Provisions: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians. Crowley RA, Bornstein SS, Carney JK, Cooney TG, Engel LS, Gantzer HE, Henry TL, Lenchus JD, McCandless BM, Southworth MB, Syed F, Valdrighi A, Quinton J, Wallace MA. Ann Intern Med. 2019 Apr 16.
- Detection of tissue factor in platelets: why is it so troublesome? Østerud B, Bouchard BA. Platelets. 2019 May 30:1-5. doi: 10.1080/09537104.2019.1624708. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31146606 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Artificial Neural Network Computer Tomography Perfusion Prediction of Ischemic Core. Kasasbeh AS, Christensen S, Parsons MW, Campbell B, Albers GW, Lansberg MG. Stroke. 2019 Jun;50(6):1578-1581. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.118.022649. Epub 2019 May 16.
GRANTS REPORT: UVM SPONSORED PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
Annual/Monthly Reports for Sponsored Projects
WHAT'S HAPPENING
LCOM Events Calendar | UVM Events Calendar | LCOM Student Activities Calendar
View Archive | Subscribe
Published by the Office of Medical Communications
The Larner College of Medicine
at The University of Vermont
Copyright 2019