Accolades & Accomplishments
December 20, 2023
The second annual online ranking of the top female scientists in the world conducted by Research.com again includes three members of the Larner College of Medicine faculty. University Scholar Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine and pathology & laboratory medicine, is ranked #90 in the U.S. and #144 in the world (up from #124 and #193, respectively, in 2022); Jane Lian, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, is ranked #175 in the U.S. and #275 in the world (up from #194 and #305 in 2022); and Janet Stein, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, is ranked #243 in the U.S. and #399 in the world (up from #265 and #430 in 2022). All three scientists serve on the Larner College of Medicine faculty and are UVM Cancer Center members.
The ranking of the top female scientists in the U.S. was based on an examination of 166,880 scientists from all key areas of science on Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph. Inclusion criteria for this global ranking of top scientists were based on the H-index, a measure of scholarly contributions made within the scholar’s given discipline, in addition to the awards and achievements of the scientists. Only the top 1,000 female scientists with the highest H-index were featured in the ranking.
According to a November 23, 2022, online article by Research.com, “The aim of this ranking is to inspire female scholars, women considering an academic career, as well as decision-makers worldwide, with the example of successful women in the scientific community.” The Research.com article described the long history of gender bias in research and commented on the need to address systemic gender inequality.
An art exhibit in the Teaching Academy features photographs by Teaching Academy Distinguished Educator Cate Nicholas, Ed.D., M.S., PA, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences and director of education and operations for UVM’s Clinical Simulation Laboratory. The photographs feature details of colorful creatures on the Boston Common Frog Pond Carousel and a winged clock on the Old Brick Store in Charlotte, Vermont. The photos are part of a larger collection titled Whimsy.
“My photos are meant to pull you in to the world that surrounds the photo, to evoke a memory, to create a feeling, or to invite a question,” said Nicholas, whose photos have also been displayed at the South End Art Hop in Burlington and the Shelburne Town Hall.
This is the third rotation of artwork exhibitions in the Larner Learning Commons showcasing the creative works of Teaching Academy members. The exhibits provide an opportunity to promote engagement among members and the wider Larner College of Medicine community.
“The exhibit contributes to the Teaching Academy’s mission of sustaining and supporting a community of educators,” said Amanda Broder, conference and member event coordinator for the Teaching Academy. “This round feels extra special, as Cate was a founding member of the Teaching Academy and will be retiring in February.”
The exhibit will continue through January and can be viewed Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at the Teaching Academy, located on the Larner Medical Education Center concourse that connects the College of Medicine and the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine and pathology & laboratory medicine, delivered the Robert Reneman Lecture at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM)’s 2023 symposium in The Netherlands in November. Her talk was titled “Stroke and Cognitive Impairment in a Biracial U.S. Cohort: The REGARDS Study.”
The REGARDS Study focuses on identifying reasons that Black Americans and those living in the Southeastern US have higher death rates from stroke and a higher risk of cognitive impairment. Cushman is a multiple PI on this large NIH project that has been funded since 2002. Her talk emphasized the role of risk factor differences like hypertension and diabetes as explaining the racial disparities, and delved into the improved understanding her research has provided on novel biological pathways that might relate to these disparities, such as differences in inflammation. The talk featured research by a number of LCOM students and trainees, including Brittney Palermo, M3, and recent graduate Sam Short, MD '23, who both completed a Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship.
A review of some of this work is published here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.030425
Shani Legore (Vermont Campus), Julia Halverson-Phelan (Vermont Campus), and Alex Tran (Connecticut Campus) have been elected as Class of 2026 representatives to the Learning Environment and Professionalism (LEAP) Committee. Composed of faculty, residents, students, and staff from the Larner College of Medicine and the University of Vermont Medical Center, the LEAP Committee is charged with reviewing and recommending initiatives and policies to support professional behavior across the academic medical center and its affiliate training site.
A recent study coauthored by Mikayla Howie, Class of 2027, during her work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital before entering medical school, establishes a framework that bridges genetic variants and complex diseases through standardized phenotyping of primary human cells. The study, published in the December 2023 issue of Nature Genetics, identified 119 genomic loci implicating 96 genes associated with these cellular responses and discovered associations between evoked blood phenotypes and subsets of common diseases.
On December 1, 2023, Julie Dragon, Ph.D., director of the Vermont Integrative Genomics Resource, and Kirsten Tracy, Ph.D., senior scientist in the Vermont Integrative Genomics Resource Core, traveled to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to conduct the next phase of the µTitan project: guiding crew members on the International Space Station (ISS) through a zero-gravity DNA extraction experiment.
The Huntsville Operations Support Center at the Marshall Space Center facilitated direct communication between Earth and the ISS during the experiments. Dragon and Tracy were chosen for this opportunity to interact with ISS Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa, who conducted the experiments under Larner scientists’ guidance.
With the mission now concluded, Scott Tighe, technical director for the Advanced Genome Technologies Core, will retrieve the extraction cartridges and microbial samples upon the return of SpaceX Commercial Resupply Mission 29 to the Kennedy Space Center later this month. Hardware will be examined, and microbes sequenced to evaluate the effects on the materials of launch, zero gravity, and reentry.
