Department of Psychiatry

(JUNE 4, 2019) The state’s three University of Vermont (UVM) Health Network hospitals are expanding access to treatment for patients with opioid use disorder with the support of a $1.5 million federal grant. The grant will support expansion of a program to offer rapid access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), such as buprenorphine, for opioid use disorder in the hospitals’ emergency departments.

(MAY 22, 2019) In April, the Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (UVM), and UVM Cancer Center launched a new longitudinal pilot study, called PACE Vermont (Policy and Communication Evaluation Vermont), which is engaging young people ages 12 to 25 to help close the knowledge gap in effective substance use prevention efforts.

The Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and UVM Medical Center are hosting a Community Medical School lecture by Associate Professor of Psychiatry Andrea Villanti, M.P.H., Ph.D., titled “Vaping, Juuling, and E-Cigarettes: Public Health Implications” on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 6 p.m. in Carpenter Auditorium in the Given Building at the College of Medicine.

A study authored by Hugh Garavan, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, and former UVM postdoctoral fellow Catherine Orr, Ph.D., focused on the impact of even small amounts of cannabis on the adolescent brain, was recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience and has gained mass international attention from multiple news outlets.

David Fassler, M.D., UVM Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, who presented at the Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates at National Harbor in Washington, D.C., was featured in a meeting recap article in Psychiatric News.

Jim Hudziak, M.D., UVM professor and chief of child psychiatry, was featured on "CBS This Morning" to discuss the UVM Wellness Environment (WE) program.

The NIH announced December 3, 2018 that enrollment for the landmark Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is now complete and, in early 2019, scientists will have access to baseline data from all ABCD Study participants. There are over 11,874 youth, ages 9-10, participating in the study at 21 research sites around the country, including the University of Vermont (UVM).

Alexandra Potter, Ph.D., and Hugh Garavan, Ph.D., were featured in a Burlington Free Press article about UVM's role in the national Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

An $11.7 million Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant renewal to the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) at the University of Vermont will support another five years of research on addressing and better understanding the unhealthy behaviors that negatively impact health and cost the U.S. healthcare system billions of dollars.

On July 18, 2018, UVM Larner College of Medicine clinical department chairs issued a letter to the community.

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.

Vermont is among the top ten states in per capita research funding in the U.S., according to a State of Research at the College presentation delivered by Larner College of Medicine Senior Associate Dean for Research Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., at the Dean’s Excellence in Research Awards event held November 13, 2017. The last of three 2017 Celebrating Excellence in Research events held at the College on November 10 and 13, 2017, the awards ceremony recognized the accomplishments of faculty, residents, medical students, graduate students and postdoctoral trainees.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) presented James Hudziak, M.D., professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, with the 2017 Irving Philips Award for Prevention at the organization’s 64th Annual Meeting on October 25, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

On October 16, 2017, UVM Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics David Rettew, M.D. was highlighted in the VT Digger article, "Vermont physicians propose go-slow approach on pot legalization," regarding two proposed resolutions to Vermont's medical marijuana program

New interdisciplinary research conducted by University of Vermont researcher Jane Nathan, Ph.D., and colleagues, has found that the Benson Henry Institute’s (BHI) evidence-based Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) is a valuable model to use with health professionals to enhance their well-being.

University of Vermont Medical Center President Eileen Whalen, M.H.A., R.N., announced today that Isabelle Desjardins, M.D., has accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for The University of Vermont Medical Center, effective October 1.

The FDA is right – when it comes to disease culprits, cigarette smoking tops the list. While recognized as the number-one cause of preventable disease and death, it’s an incredibly tough habit to break due to the addictiveness of nicotine. New research from the University of Vermont (UVM) and colleagues suggests that reducing nicotine content in cigarettes may decrease their addiction potential in especially vulnerable populations and suggests how regulatory policies could shift preferences to less-harmful tobacco products.

On August 14, UVM Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, David Fassler, M.D., wrote to the New York Times in response to an editorial titled "Evolving Attitudes on Solitary for Juveniles."

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded a three-year, $1.8 million grant to James J. Hudziak, a professor of child psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, to determine if the UVM Wellness Environment, or WE, in concert with a health promotion and disease prevention app he developed will promote wellness among college students, in the process reducing their use of alcohol and other drugs.

Pioneered by Professor James Hudziak, M.D., Dr. Jim to his students, WE has significantly reduced substance abuse on campus while earning national buzz for its novel and ground-breaking approach to neuroplasticity, mindfulness, and the charismatic mastermind behind the program. No college has tried at this level before.