Faculty, Vaccine Testing Center, Larner College of Medicine, UVM

Vaccine Testing Center Faculty

Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., FASTMH, FIDSA

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease

Director, Vaccine Testing Center

Chairperson, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Dr. Kirkpatrick obtained a B.S. in Biology and Political Science at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and her Doctor of Medicine from Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. Her Residency and Chief Residency in Internal Medicine were done at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. Dr. Kirkpatrick completed her Infectious Disease Fellowship at John's Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland in 1999. She founded the Vaccine Testing Center (VTC) in 2001 and continues to serve as Director. More information.

Caroline Lyon, M.D., M.P.H

Hospitalist, Internal Medicine
UVM Associate Professor & VTC Researcher

Dr. Lyon obtained a Master of Arts in Medical Sciences from Boston University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, Vermont in 2002. She joined the Vaccine Testing Center in 2006. More information.

Kristen Pierce, M.D.

Division of Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine
UVM Professor & VTC Researcher

Dr. Pierce began her studies with B.A in Humanities from the University of Colorado. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Vermont in 2003, where she also did her Residency in Internal Medicine and completed a Fellowship in Infectious Disease. Dr. Pierce began her work with the Vaccine Testing Center in 2008. More information.

Benjamin Lee, M.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
VTC Researcher

After receiving a B.A degree from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dr. Lee went on to obtain a Doctor of Medicine degree from Case Western University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He did a Pediatric Residency at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and completed a Fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Lee came on board at the Vaccine Testing Center in 2015. More information.

Sean Diehl, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
VTC Researcher

Dr. Diehl received a B.S. in Biology from State University of New York at Geneseo. He obtained his doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology (Immunology) from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont in 2003. Dr. Diehl joined the Vaccine Testing Center faculty team in 2013. More information.

Chris Huston, M.D.

Professor of Medicine, Infectious Disease Medicine

Dr. Huston received a B.A. in Physics from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and his Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University Medical College in New York, NY in 1994. He did his internship, residency and was chief resident in medicine at the University of Vermont Medical Center (then called Medical Center Hospital of Vermont). His infectious diseases clinical fellowship and a post-doctoral fellowship in microbiology/parasitology were done at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center. Dr. Huston joined the UVM Infectious Disease Faculty in 2003 and became a faculty team member at the Vaccine Testing Center in 2015. More information.

Kelly Cowan, M.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics

The newest member of our faculty team, Dr. Cowan earned her Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, and her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont in 2007. Dr. Cowan did her residency at UVM Children's Hospital in Pediatrics and her Fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a pediatric pulmonologist in the Vermont Children's Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics. Dr. Cowan began working with the Vaccine Testing Center in 2016. More information.

Jason Botten, Ph.D.

Professor of Medicine, Immunobiology Medicine

Dr. Botten earned a Doctor of Philosophy from University Of New Mexico in 2000. His research expertise lies in post immune response to viral infection, the basis of persistent viral infection in reservoir hosts, host-pathogen interactions, and the development of novel therapeutic agents and vaccines. More information.