Office of Medical Communications

At a Vermont Statehouse hearing on February 8th, 2018, UVM Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Mariah McNamara, M.D., testified in favor of new gun control legislation that would require universal background checks on all gun sales in the state of Vermont.

On February 7, 2018, The Burlington Free interviewed Emily Tarleton, Ph.D., bionutrition research manager at the UVM Clinical Research Center, about a recent clinical trial conducted at the College relating to use of magnesium for treatment of mild to moderate depression.

In a February 6 Tech Transfer Central article, Vice President for Research at the University of Vermont (UVM), Richard Galbraith, M.D., Ph.D., spoke about UVM's recent joining of the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI).

Larner College of Medicine Senior Associate Dean for Research Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., and Research Committee Chair Matthew Wargo, Ph.D., have announced the next round of targeted pilot funding – the New Methodologies in Basic Research Grant Awards.

UVM medical students are nothing if not multi-faceted and often use their vast and varied skill sets, talents, previous education, and work experiences to undertake groundbreaking projects and research in addition to their studies. Following in the footsteps of designMED Student Interest Group (SIG) founders Al Marchese '19, Lillian Chang, MD'17, and Anna Lidofsky '20, are Jhaimy Fernandez '21, Collin Anderson '21, Cari Carpenter '21, and Jenny Holland '21. The students are next in a growing group of #UVMFutureDocs who are combining their passion for medicine with an interest in innovation to positively impact and improve healthcare systems and technologies within the state of Vermont and beyond.

An evaluation of Vermont’s Hub and Spoke system of care led by University of Vermont Research Professor of Psychiatry Richard Rawson, Ph.D., shows that people in treatment for opioid addiction reported a 96 percent decrease in opioid use and a 100 percent drop in overdose incidences.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently raised concerns about the effects of prescribed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication on unborn children. David Jones, M.D., director of the University of Vermont Medical Center Fetal Diagnostic Center, explains that while there is not much research on this topic, the risk of taking ADHD medication for women considering pregnancy is low.

This week, Student Interest Group (SIG) leaders in the Class of 2020 are passing the baton to their counterparts in the Class of 2021 as they prepare to start clinical clerkships.

Elizabeth Bonney, M.D., M.P.H., professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, was appointed to a five-year term on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Division of Intramural Research.

In the sixteen months since becoming the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, the University of Vermont’s medical school has made great strides – and multiple innovations – towards achieving its vision of a 100 percent active learning curriculum and fulfilling late alumnus-donor and namesake Dr. Larner’s wish for a “medical education that is second to none.”

On October 26, 2017, UVM Larner College of Medicine Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education William Jeffries, Ph.D., was interviewed by Eric Clemons for a Comcast Newsmakers segment on the College of Medicine’s active learning efforts.

UVM medical alumnus Samuel Topkins, M.D.'15, and his daughter, alumna Marjorie Topkins, M.D.'50, created a legacy of giving to their alma mater that continues to this day.

University of Vermont Provost David Rosowsky and Larner College of Medicine Dean Frederick Morin, M.D., have announced the appointment of Michael LaMantia, M.D., M.P.H., as director of the UVM Center on Aging. LaMantia, who is currently associate professor of medicine and neurological sciences, as well as section head of geriatric medicine, will succeed William Pendlebury, M.D., professor emeritus of pathology and laboratory medicine, who will step down from the position in January 2018.

In early 2017, University of Vermont researchers Michael Toth, Ph.D., and Christian Skalka, Ph.D. were awarded one of two inaugural UVM Biomedical Engineering (BME) Pilot Research Program grants for their project, “Cyber-physical system innovations to monitor and improve compliance with at-home neuromuscular rehabilitation.” Through the project, Toth and Skalka have worked to create a cyber-physical electrical stimulation system that acts as a bridge therapy for patients immediately post-injury and in the time between surgery and the start of physical therapy.

Where does a musician who's also a medical student find inspiration for their next song? Scott Mitchell '20 didn't have to look far when he began to write a spunky ditty about his experience as a first-year medical student at the Larner College of Medicine. The song is titled "Second-to-None," in honor of the late Robert Larner, M.D. '42 after whom the College is named, and weaves through the first-year curriculum verse by verse with a healthy dose of wit and humor.

The Madison-Deane Education Fund presented the inaugural Madison-Deane Award for Excellence in End-of-Life Care to Zail Berry, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, at the program’s “Evening of Gratitude” event held October 24, 2017 at Burlington Country Club.