Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

(JANUARY 6, 2025) HealthTree Foundation reported on a presentation by Mansour Gergi, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, at the 2024 American Society of Hematology annual conference.

(JANUARY 3, 2025) Vermont Public’s Vermont This Week podcast featured an expert panel—including Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., professor of medicine, and Steven Schlozman, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry—discussing the state of youth mental health in the state. Vermont’s latest statewide survey of middle and high school students has intensified concerns about the issue.

(DECEMBER 30, 2024) Larner Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Daniel Wolfson, M.D., M.S., the state’s EMS medical director, commented for a Vermont Public story on a new initiative launched in the state’s largest city that allows first responders to administer opioid addiction treatment medication at the scene of overdoses.

(DECEMBER 28, 2024) Every year since 2011 (save for a COVID hiatus), the Green Mountain Mahler Festival, founded in 2002 by Larner Professor of Medicine Daniel Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., has celebrated New Year’s Day with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

(DECEMBER 19, 2024) Kalev Freeman, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and pharmacology, commented to WCAX-TV for a story on slope safety tips to avoid head injuries. “My advice is to wear a helmet but don’t expect a miracle,” he said.

(DECEMBER 10, 2024) Infectious disease physician Lindsay Smith, M.D., M.A., assistant professor of medicine, and John Ahern, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, an infectious disease pharmacist at UVMMC, discussed the correct use of antibiotics with WCAX-TV.

(DECEMBER 9, 2024) A new study led by Mark Nelson, Ph.D., reveals how electrical and calcium signaling work as one to regulate blood flow in the brain, according to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

(DECEMBER 6, 2024) Larner Professor of Medicine Philip Ades, M.D., a prominent cardiologist and pioneer in the field of cardiac rehabilitation, passed away on November 27, 2024, according to an obituary published in VT Digger.

(DECEMBER 5, 2024) In a VT Digger article, Courtney Fleisher, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, praised a new program offered by Vermont Professionals of Color Network that pairs a potential out-of-state employee with a long-term Vermont resident who, through their already established networks, can help dispel the notion that Vermont is unwelcoming and lacking in communities of color.

(DECEMBER 4, 2024) Lewis First, M.D., M.S., professor and chair of pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine and chief of pediatrics at the UVM Children’s Hospital, welcomed Santa to the UVM Medical Center, WCAX-TV reported.

(DECEMBER 4, 2024) Researchers from Saint Michael’s College and the Larner College of Medicine have made a groundbreaking new discovery—guided by previous research of spider brains—that provides a better understanding of how Alzheimer’s disease develops in the human brain, according to Verve Times.

(NOVEMBER 30, 2024) In his regular child health column in the Adirondack Daily Messenger, Lewis First, M.D., M.S., professor and chair of pediatrics, recently shared his gratitude for “children who have parents that have set great examples for them” by following his First with Kids weekly tips over the years.

(NOVEMBER 28, 2024) Jeremiah Dickerson, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, shared tips for handling holiday stress with WCAX-TV.

(NOVEMBER 27, 2024) Dhruv Shah, D.O., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Larner College of Medicine, discusses seasonal affective disorder in a WVNY-TV story.

(NOVEMBER 27, 2024) Andrew Rosenfeld, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, spoke with the Saint Albans Messenger about mental health and self-care while weathering a New England winter.

(November 21, 2024) Erika Ziller, Ph.D., director of Larner’s Health Services Research Center, will use a $2.8 million grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to establish a new research center to study the effect of federal policy on rural health care, WCAX-TV reports.

(NOVEMBER 20, 2024) NBC5 featured Lindsay Smith, M.D., M.A., director of the UVM Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, and John Ahern, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, discussing the importance of using antibiotics and antifungal medications correctly.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2024) Members of a working group studying the use of psychedelics to improve mental health—including Vermont Health Commissioner and Larner Professor of Medicine Mark Levine, M.D.—are not ready to endorse a state program at the moment but have their sights set on the future, the Brattleboro Reformer reported.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2024) UVM Medical Center President and COO Stephen Leffler, M.D., was featured on WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s Roundtable in a discussion about recently announced cuts to patient services by the University of Vermont Health Network.

(NOVEMBER 14) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, commented to Seven Days on the University of Vermont Health Network’s recent announcement of sweeping service cuts—which the network blames on recent regulatory decisions.