Office of Medical Communications

The Larner College of Medicine medical Class of 2023 Honors Night on May 15 featured recognition and awards for graduating medical students, faculty, and staff.

(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.

Three Larner College of Medicine faculty-led, group projects have been selected to receive 2023 Frymoyer Scholars funding. The three projects focus on supporting decisions on graduated responsibility in pathology residency; creating a two-week Ob/Gyn bootcamp curriculum focused on skill-building; and developing simulation-based educational modules for high-acuity, low-occurrence patient presentations in emergency departments at critical access hospitals.

(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.

The Larner College of Medicine has been at the vanguard of technology transfer over the past decade, supporting patents and commercialization of faculty research, which has led to several successful startups. Recent examples of commercially successful innovations by Larner faculty include Prolocor, a startup company focused on developing a more precise method and diagnostic tool for assessing and managing risk in cardiovascular disease.

(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.

(MAY 10, 2023) With the COVID-19 public health emergency expiring on the national level, WCAX-TV interviewed Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., associate dean for graduate medical education and professor of medicine, and Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean of public health and health policy and professor of medicine, about what changes Vermonters can expect.

(MAY 5, 2023) Whether or not the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the mental health crisis for young people that spiked over the past two years continues, child psychiatrist Andrew Rosenfeld, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, told WCAX-TV.

(MAY 3, 2023) Vermont has become one of the only states in the nation to grant out-of-staters the right to exercise medical aid-in-dying. Palliative medicine specialist Diana Barnard, M.D., associate professor of family medicine — the Middlebury doctor who’s credited with helping to change the law — says it’s a victory for equal access to health care, WCAX-TV reported. (Click on headline for more.)

(MAY 3, 2023) Judith Shaw, Ed.D., M.P.H., RN, FAAP, professor emerita of pediatrics, told Healio that the annual Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, held April 28–May 1 in Washington, D.C., “highlights a broad issue of interest across the full spectrum of pediatric research, science, and education.” Shaw served as program chair for the 2023 conference.

Stephen Higgins, PhD, Director of the VCBH, and Sarah Heil, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of UVM TCORS, have each been honored with 2023 UVM Faculty Recognition Awards for their accomplishments in scholarship, teaching, and advising. Dr. Higgins is a recipient of the University Distinguished Professor Award, and Dr. Heil has earned the University Scholars Award.

(MAY 2, 2023) Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health and health policy, professor of medicine, and director of the graduate public health program at Larner, was interviewed by WalletHub about the future of the nursing profession and how recent graduates can find success.