Office of Medical Communications

(MAY 17, 2020) Andrea Green, M.D., professor of pediatrics, was featured in a VTDigger article, titled "The doctor is online: Telehealth may become big part of new normal." Green discussed how patients and families in the New American clinic she directs are adjusting to telehealth, as well as newfound advantages to the use of this technology.

In this era of COVID-19, celebrating the world’s newest physicians is more important than ever. On Sunday, May 17, members of the Class of 2020 at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont will mark this major milestone by participating in a live online commencement ceremony.

(MAY 13, 2020) University of Vermont Assistant Professor of Medicine Diego Adrianzen-Herrera was interviewed for an ASCO Daily News special series on treating patients with cancer in the wake of COVID-19.

On May 11, awardees from the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2020, faculty and staff were recognized through an online Honors Celebration featuring remarks from Dean Page and videotaped presentations of each award.

(MAY 12, 2020) Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine, and Sherrie Khadanga, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, were featured in an ABC22/Fox44 news story, titled "'Each time there's a commercial break, take a lap around the house': Experts encourage health stay-at-home habits."

(MAY 12, 2020) Larner College of Medicine Class of 2022 students Claudia Russell and Ashleigh Peterson were featured in an NBC5 news story about their volunteer work with seniors who are isolated to help them combat loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch a video of the story here.

(MAY 11, 2020) Jason Bates Ph.D., D.Sc.,professor of medicine, and C. Matthew Kinsey, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of medicine, are featured in a New Yorker article, titled "The Engineers Taking on the Ventilator Shortage," about a ventilator they invented with College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences faculty colleagues designed for COVID-19 patients.

(MAY 10, 2020) University of Vermont Chair and Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Vaccine Testing Center Director Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., was featured in a national NBC News article regarding the controversial human challenge model used in vaccine development and testing.

We are living in unprecedented times. The COVID-19 crisis has had profound effects on the health and financial stability of the world. I am tremendously proud of the way our community has responded, allowing us to maintain our teaching mission, preserve our vital research and modify our health care system to address the needs of our patients.

Larner College of Medicine faculty members Gregory Holmes, M.D., professor and chair of neurological sciences, and Gary Stein, Ph.D., Perelman professor and chair of biochemistry, have been selected as University Scholars for the 2020-21 academic year.

Class of 2002 UVM alumnus Ben Katz is a detective in the Vermont State Police’s major crimes unit whose work to investigate homicides, process crime scenes and interview witnesses has changed in the world of COVID-19. His wife, Megan Malgeri, a Class of 2012 alumna of the Larner College of Medicine and family medicine specialist, now sees most of her patients via telehealth visits. They are working to safely balance their roles as professionals and parents of two young children during the pandemic.

(MAY 5, 2020) Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology and a member of the Center for Health Services Research, discusses ongoing research to track behavioral adjustments in response to social distancing and stay-at-home orders and their impact on the spread of COVID-19 infection in this WCAX-TV news story.

(MAY 2, 2020) Comments from Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology, are featured in a Wall Street Journal article, titled "Coronavirus Kills People an Average of a Decade Before Their Time, Studies Find."

In a week where the United States has surpassed the tragic milestone of 60,000 deaths from COVID-19, we are seeing many encouraging signs and we are planning for an eventual return to clinical education and resumption of clinical and research activities. UVM and our College intend to provide on-campus education in the fall, even as we all must acknowledge that many changes in daily life will persist. We are at this juncture only because of all our collective response to flatten the curve. Getting back to any semblance of “normal” will require continued vigilance, testing and contact-tracing, with mid-course adjustments based on data and science.

(MAY 1, 2020) Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., chair and professor in the department of microbiology and molecular genetics and director of the Vaccine Testing Center at the University of Vermont, was quoted in a STAT article, titled "Infect volunteers with Covid-19 in the name of research? A proposal lays bare a minefield of issues". Kirkpatrick discusses the challenges that come with testing a new vaccine and the steps it takes to even get to the testing stage.

(APRIL 26, 2020) An article in VTDigger featured the Larner College of Medicine's Match Day for Class of 2020 medical students on March 20, which was swiftly adjusted to be a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.