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

(OCTOBER 15, 2019) Several news outlets recently covered a research study on flavored e-cigarettes and asthma published in Nature Scientific Reports by Larner faculty and trainees, including senior author and Professor of Medicine Charles Irvin, Ph.D. The study was funded through UVM's Tobacco Center on Regulatory Science (TCORS) grant.

(OCTOBER 7, 2019) A story about the University of Vermont’s Conversation Lab, “which uses machine learning to develop algorithms designed to optimize clinician-patient discussions of serious illness, palliative care and end-of-life care," led by Robert Gramling, M.D., associate professor of family medicine and Miller Chair in Palliative Medicinewas featured in Hospice News.

(OCTOBER 7, 2019) Coverage of recommendations from an Endocrine Society-convened panel of diabetes experts published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society and led by Professor of Medicine and Director of Endocinology, Diabetes & Metabolism John Leahy, M.D., received coverage in several media outlets.

(SEPTEMBER 9, 2019) LGBTQ community members and allies filled Burlington's Church Street and downtown area with smiles, rainbow flags, and bright colors on Sunday, September 8, at the 2019 Vermont Pride Parade and Festival. The Larner College of Medicine was one of more than 90 organizations that participated in the event, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and had the largest attendance to date.

(SEPTEMBER 9, 2019) A VTDigger article, titled "NEK social services group paid fines for asbestos, other violations," featured comments by UVM Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Arti Shukla, Ph.D., regarding the link between asbestos and lung disease.

(AUGUST 27, 2019) A long feature story published in Mosaic and The Atlantic focuses on research led by Bob Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., Miller Chair in Palliative Medicine, and colleagues about conversations between clinicians and dying patients.

Led by Vermont Center on Behavior and Health researcher and Associate Professor of Psychiatry Stacey Sigmon, Ph.D., the UVM Center on Rural Addiction will serve as a resource for scientific and technical assistance, and will provide information and training to clinicians, programs, and policymakers seeking guidance on how to address substance use disorder challenges in their rural communities. During its initial three years, the center will focus on disseminating evidence-based practices to rural counties in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, relying on partnerships with collaborators throughout New England.

(AUGUST 21, 2019) An article in Burlington, Vt. weekly Seven Days, titled "How Far Along? How Vermont Delivers Help for Pregnant Women With Opioid-Use Disorder," features comments from Marjorie Meyer, M.D., associate professor and vice chair of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, and Abigail Crocker, Ph.D., biostatistician and assistant professor of mathematics & statistics.

(AUGUST 19, 2019) Assistant Interim Dean for Students Shaden Eldakar-Hein, M.D., M.S., associate professor of medicine, and first-year medical student Akua Frimpong were featured in an NBC 5 segment on Larner's newest class of medical students, who arrived on campus last Monday.

(AUGUST 7, 2019) Prema Menon, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic at the University of Vermont Medical Center, was featured in a WCAX-TV Channel 3 segment about the Medical Center's new designation from the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation as a member of their Care Center Network.

(AUGUST 2, 2019) David Fassler, M.D., UVM clinical professor of psychiatry was featured in an article in Psychiatric News from the American Psychiatric Association on a recent report stating that more than half of children and adolescents with ADHD may not be taking stimulant medications as prescribed.

(AUGUST 2, 2019) Healio.com highlighted research conducted by Assistant Professor of Surgery Thomas P. Ahern, Ph.D., M.P.H and colleagues in an article, titled "Certain medications linked to increased breast cancer risk."

It’s August 12—day one of orientation. Looking across the Sullivan Classroom at the smiling, anxious faces of 124 new medical students, it’s hard to imagine their individual journeys that led to this point. But they found their way to medicine, and they are needed. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, “The United States will see a shortage of nearly 122,000 physicians by 2032 as demand for physicians continues to grow faster than supply.”

(AUGUST 2, 2019) Richard Wasserman, M.D., professor of pediatrics, commented on motivational interviewing techniques used to encourage patients to adopt healthier behaviors in an Advisory.com article.

(JULY 31, 2019) Robert Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurological sciences, commented on findings he presented at the national American Headache Society meeting in an MDEdge/Neurology article.

(JULY 15, 2019) Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Russell Tracy, Ph.D., was interviewed on WCAX-TV's "You Can Quote Me" program about the scope of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont’s involvement in the National Institutes of Health’s Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Study.

(JULY 11, 2019) Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Erica Gibson, M.D., commented on expanding healthcare access for transgender youth under Medicaid in VT Digger. Gibson, who is also the medical director of the UVM Medical Center’s Transgender Youth Program, addressed potential changes to transgender healthcare covered by Medicaid, including eliminating the minimum age for gender affirming surgeries.

(JUNE 18, 2019) Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Lori Racha, M.D., was interviewed on Vermont Public Radio's “But Why: a Podcast for Curious Kids.”

When Jose Calderon was six years old, his mother began exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia. As he watched her cycle in and out of psychiatric units – sometimes enduring run-ins with law enforcement and negative encounters with neighbors and members of their church - he came to understand how the stigma associated with mental illness can devastate a family already struggling to cope with a brutal disease.

(JUNE 18, 2019) Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Jeremiah Dickerson, M.D. was interviewed by the Beaumont Enterprise about the benefits of swim lessons for children on the autism spectrum.