Health Equity Research

In April 2022, Class of 2024 medical student Kiana Heredia was named the inaugural recipient of the Oguejiofor Scholarship, named in honor of Collins Oguejiofor, a member of the medical Class of 2022 who died unexpectedly at the end of his second year. The scholarship is supported by The Oguejiofor Fund, which was established in the fall of 2020 with gifts from family, students, faculty, staff, friends and the UVM Larner Alumni Association.

The Larner College of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted the third annual Celebration of Gender Equity in Medicine and Science on March 3, 2022.

Christine M. Crawford, M.D., M.P.H., associate director of medical student education and assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University (BU) School of Medicine. Crawford presented UVM's 2022 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Health Equity Lecture on "Impact of Racism and Trauma on Black Mental Health" on January 19, 2022.

Described as “a traditional summer camp experience with a queer twist,” Camp Outright provides a supportive environment and a range of activities focused on community, social justice, and fun for youth aged 13 to 17. During the two 2021 summer sessions, the camp also served as a place for medical trainees and campers to see a different side of patient care and clinicians, respectively.

Thanks to health outreach groundwork laid prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, farm worker communities across Vermont had access to on-site vaccine clinics through a partnership between UVM Extension, the Vermont Department of Health, UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UVM Larner College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center.

In a salute to graduating medical students’ accomplishments and to honor the faculty and staff who have supported them during their medical education journey, the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine launched a virtual 2021 Honors Celebration on May 6, 2021.

University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Margaret Tandoh, M.D., has been named to the Senior Advisory Group of Dean Richard L. Page, M.D.

The Larner College of Medicine's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion held its second annual Celebration of Gender Equity in Medicine and Science on March 4, which featured a keynote by Diane Magrane, M.D., and an awards ceremony.

One of the most alarming realizations of the past year has been the clear link between structural racism in the U.S. and the racial and ethnic health disparities that have led to a disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. Thanks to the collaboration of numerous partners in Vermont, members of the New American community are getting the education they need to make informed decisions about their health and the COVID-19 vaccine.

​For Professor Elizabeth Bonney, M.D., M.P.H., juggling the roles of scientist, clinician, mentor, and advocate has been the norm for decades. So, it’s no surprise that in a year turned upside-down by the COVID-19 pandemic, the delayed reckoning with racial injustice in America, and political turmoil, she has forged ahead with her science, delivered care on the front lines, and used this pivotal moment in history to raise issues of critical importance not only to science, but society.

This week, the University of Vermont's Dana Medical Library, in conjunction with representatives from the UVM Larner College of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, the Office of Medical Communications, and medical students from the College's Student National Medical Association, Latino Medical Student Association, Social Justice Coalition, and the gender & Sexuality Alliance launched a digital resource collection called "Together We Learn."

Margaret A. Tandoh, M.D., F.A.C.S, an expert in trauma, burn, and wound care and acute care surgery, has been invested as the inaugural Richard L. Gamelli, M.D.’74 Green and Gold Professor in Surgery at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. The ceremony was held remotely on September 22, 2020.

(JUNE 9 & 11, 2020) Maria Mercedes Avila, Ph.D., M.S.W., program director of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Program, associate professor of pediatrics, and health equity and inclusive excellence liaison, was featured in local news stories on COVID-19 and racial disparities in health on Vermont Public Radio and NBC5.

The Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held its first-ever event to celebrate and recognize achievements in gender equity on March 4, 2020. Governor Madeleine Kunin provided a keynote address, followed by an awards ceremony at which Ramsey Herrington, M.D., Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., Debra Leonard, M.D., Ph.D., and Lauren Elizabeth Faricy, M.D., were recognized.

From the tiniest ticks of genetic expression to the sweep of organ systems, medical students gain a deep understanding of human body function. They spend hundreds of hours learning how to use tools and technologies, from stethoscopes to point of care ultrasound, to deliver the best patient care they can. However, when it comes to thorny societal issues like the intersection of race and class in medicine, unequal access to health care, and the outsized toll chronic disease can take on marginalized populations, medical students have historically had little opportunity to engage.

Award-winning, mixed heritage, Asian American, transgender writer, public health consultant, and cultural competency trainer Willy Wilkinson, M.P.H., presented the 2019 Vito Imbasciani, Ph.D., M.D.'85 and George DiSalvo LGBTQ Health Equity Lecture, titled “Advancing Trans-Affirming Care in a Changing Healthcare Landscape,” on October 3.

The Larner College of Medicine Gender Equity Initiative in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion held the first event in the Gender Equity Education Series - "Town Hall: Gender Equity at the Larner College of Medicine" - on September 25, 2019.

UVM's 2019 MLK Celebration and Learning Series included a Health Equity Lecture at the College of Medicine featuring Herman A. Taylor, Jr., M.D., director, Cardiovascular Research Institute, at the Morehouse School of Medicine, on January 23.

Anne Dougherty, M.D.’09, M.A., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, has been appointed as Gender Equity Liaison in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

Erin Montgomery, coordinator of faculty development, graduate education and postdoctoral training at the Larner College of Medicine at UVM received a 2018 President's Our Common Ground Award.