Office of Medical Communications

University of Vermont Professor of Surgery and cardiothoracic surgeon Bruce Leavitt, M.D., received the New England Surgical Society’s 2015 Nathan Smith Distinguished Service Award at the organization’s annual meeting in fall 2015.

On a Friday afternoon in early December, Cary Jewkes was busily arranging cubicle walls in the Given Courtyard atrium at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

For more than twenty years, The University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington City Arts and many dedicated volunteers have brought creativity, imagination and expression to pediatric patients, families and caregivers through the Art from the Heart program. Now, Art from the Heart is expanding from supporting children in the hospital to also serve adult patients.

The Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont hosted a lecture by CVRI Visiting Professor Ali J. Marian, M.D., titled “’Ariadne Auf Naxos’ and the Riddle of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy,” at 12 p.m. on Monday, April 25, 2016 in the Sullivan Classroom in the University of Vermont College of Medicine's Larner Medical Education Center.

The hallmarks of adolescence – mood swings, confusing physical changes, and shifting social norms – can sometimes lead to alienation or even bullying for some kids. In a culture that tends to identify people as either ‘male’ or ‘female,’ this transitional time can be even more difficult for young people who have questions about their gender identity.

He’s not a personal trainer, but University of Vermont Associate Professor of Medicine Michael Toth, Ph.D., has an idea for counteracting the muscle loss that commonly occurs in cancer patients. What causes this loss in muscle loss – or atrophy – with cancer and its treatment is still not known, but Toth believes that the reduction in physical activity during cancer treatment may be an important factor.

University of Vermont College of Medicine faculty members Ira Bernstein, M.D., and Jason Bates, Ph.D., have been named as two of four University Scholars for 2016-17. Led by the UVM Graduate College, the program recognizes “sustained excellence in research, creative and scholarly activities.”

Thousands of people in Vermont suffer from lung diseases. On April 27, 2016, nearly 100 people attended the inaugural LUNG FORCE Expo - a new one-day educational event designed to provide healthcare professionals and lung disease patients and their caregivers with information about the latest trends, research and treatment for lung disease.

The University of Vermont Cancer Center’s annual Clinical and Translational Research Symposium took place on Friday, April 29, 2016 in the UVM Medical Center’s Davis Auditorium and provided a day of learning and scientific collaboration on the topic of “Thrombosis, Hemostasis, and Cancer.” Experts from across North America joined UVM Cancer Center members and colleagues to discuss the science of bleeding, blood clots, and related complications in cancer care.

Heralded a miracle by many infertile couples, in vitro fertilization can pack a painful financial punch for those without insurance coverage for the treatment. This prohibitive cost leads many would-be parents who pursue in vitro fertilization to transfer multiple embryos at once to increase their chances of getting a baby – and reduce the need to pay for subsequent attempts.

Music, history and first-time experiences marked the University of Vermont College of Medicine’s Class of 2019 Convocation of Thanks ceremony April 23, 2016 in UVM’s Ira Allen Chapel, which was attended by more than 250 donor family members, medical students, Doctorate in Physical Therapy students and faculty members.

The “Reverence for Life” philosophy established and lived by 1952 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, M.D., provides the foundation for the mission of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) program. On May 3, the New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellowship announced the names of 33 graduate students, including nine medical students at the University of Vermont, who will serve as Fellows in the 2016-17 class.

When IBM’s inventors heard about Eric Clark’s data-driven healthcare projects at the University of Vermont, they asked him to join their efforts to develop personal technology that will help doctors take care of patients.

Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., UVM professor of medicine and director of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Program at the UVM Medical Center discusses why elite athletes can develop abnormal blood clots.

University of Vermont College of Medicine Dean Frederick C. Morin III, M.D., and University of Vermont Medical Group President and CEO Claude Deschamps, M.D., have announced the appointment of Mazen A. Maktabi, M.B.B.Ch., as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and health care service chief of anesthesiology, effective August 1, 2016.

Maria Mercedes Avila, M.Ed., Ph.D., program co-director of Vermont Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (VT LEND) and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont, received the 2016 Local Hero Award from the Child Mind Institute. The awards event took place May 10 in New York City.

At the Girls’ Science Discovery Day at the University of Vermont College of Medicine on May 14, brains were a particularly big hit. Hosted by the College’s chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), the annual event drew about 110 seventh- and eighth-grade girls from middle schools across Vermont to the College of Medicine, where they learned about such topics as blood-clotting, neuroanatomy, and how to perform physical exams from medical student and faculty volunteers.

Only days away from Commencement and their medical degrees, students in the University of Vermont College of Medicine’s Class of 2016 took a moment to be acknowledged for their accomplishments over the past four years at Honors Night on Tuesday, May 17.

Like its state, Vermont’s only medical school tends to attract a unique, determined and community service-oriented set of individuals who want to make a positive change. Some have overcome significant struggles, enjoyed notable achievements, explored new therapeutics, and cared for people across the globe, and all are ready to move on to residencies with their newly-minted medical degrees in tow.